# Is It a Stromboli or a Calzone?



## Andy M. (May 2, 2008)

Is it a stromboli or a calzone?  How do you know?

Tell me if you can, what is the difference between the two.  *No dictionary or internet definitions, please.*  I would like your opinions.


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## suziquzie (May 2, 2008)

Did I get your gears turning? 

To me a Stromboli is rolled up like a jelly-roll, so there is bread layers inside. 
Calzone is just a round pizza folded in half so all the filling is inside but no bread. 

IMHO.....

Hoe do I know? I guess I don't for sure!!


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## buckytom (May 2, 2008)

squzie's right.

both start with pizza dough. 

a calzone is pizza dough rolled out into a circle, and the fillings are placed on half of it. it's folded over and the edges crimped, forming a half moon shape. then it's either fried or baked.

a stromboli is pizza dough rolled out into a long rectangle(ish) shape, fillings placed along it's length, then it's rolled and the seam crimped, so that the fillings are enclosed. if you sliced it, it would resemble a cinnamon roll, except with the different fillings. usually they're baked, but i guess you could fry smaller ones.


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## pacanis (May 2, 2008)

Yep. Ditto the above.


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## suziquzie (May 2, 2008)

I love bein' right. 
I think I'm gonna have DH come over here and look at this thread....


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## GB (May 2, 2008)

I agree with suziquzie. 

I have seen recipes in cookbooks and magazines though that say a calzone dough is not the same as pizza dough. The Stromboli's that I have had seem to have a much different dough than pizzas too. I am not really sure how though.


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## buckytom (May 2, 2008)

gb, i think i know what you mean. it could be more of an italian bread dough, rather than pizza dough. ya know, as it rises more.


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## GB (May 2, 2008)

Thats the ticket.


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## jkath (May 2, 2008)

I agree too - I used to have the best stromboli recipe till my friend borrowed my book...10 years ago  
From what I remember, it was different than a pizza dough and less elastic.


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## pacanis (May 2, 2008)

I'll have to ask my sister on the stromboli.  She used to make an awesome one... cheese, pepperoni, ham.  I used to take one ice fishing back in the day.  I remember the dough being very thin and the ingredients shining through, which is why I prefer a thin dough pizza crust..  She may have boughten a frozen crust of some sorts and rolled it thin.

I'll be back.


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## *amy* (May 2, 2008)

Andy, left you a note here.

http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/showpost.php?p=596730&postcount=5

Calzone or stromboli can be made wth pizza dough, frozen bread ldough or crescent rolls (if you wish) - whatever you like. Calzone is half moon/crescent-shaped. Stromboli is made is a long log or a few short logs. Calzone can contain tomato/marinara sauce, where stromboli has a tomato/marinara dipping sauce.

Stromboli ingreds can be layered, and the dough folded over a few times. Cut a few slashes about 2-3" long at about 2" intervals - or prick the dough w a fork. Brush w an egg wash & sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds.


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## GB (May 2, 2008)

*amy* said:


> Calzone can contain tomato/marinara sauce, where stromboli has a tomato/marinara dipping sauce.


Interesting how the same thing can be so different in different locations. Here a calzone (usually) will not contain sauce, but will be served with marinara on the side for dipping.


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## *amy* (May 2, 2008)

GB said:


> Interesting how the same thing can be so different in different locations. Here a calzone (usually) will not contain sauce, but will be served with marinara on the side for dipping.


 
I guess it depends on where you go (restaurant etc.). For the most part, it's shaped like a log, rather than a half moon. You can make any changes you like. Since there's a lot of filling, leave about an inch around the edges. My understanding(?) is that it originated in Philadelphia. Wherever, it's all good.  I like the looks of the Philly cheesesteak (sorta) stromboli. Lots of fun coming up with different fillings.

Gourmet Stromboli : Tasty Italian Meals : Authentic Philadelphia : Leonettis Stromboli


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## PanchoHambre (May 2, 2008)

buckytom said:


> gb, i think i know what you mean. it could be more of an italian bread dough, rather than pizza dough. ya know, as it rises more.


 

It is interesting in NY there is a distinct texture difference between Pizza Stromboli and Calzone. The Stromboli does seem more like Italian Bread and the Calzone usually risies to form an air pocket and teh top is thin and crisp. It is not quite a flolded over pizza more like a very large dumpling. The doug used is probably the same for all of them but the craft is in the assembly and cooking that makes them seem different

In Philly a calzone is just a pizza flolded in half... usually doughy and soggy. and stroboli is alos usually doughy and greasy. but the three are far less distinct in taste and texture. Philly for the most part dosent "get" pizza dough. A good pizzaria can manipulat the simplest ingredients into a great variety of textures.... my favorite is a good slice of Sicillian where the bottom is crisp and the doug is moist and airy


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## DaveSoMD (May 2, 2008)

Calzone has tomato sauce as part of the filling, Stromboli does not have tomato sauce in the filling. Both can have meat and cheese in the filling. 

At least that is how I know them.


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## Andy M. (May 2, 2008)

I have seen/eaten calzones that are half moon shaped and rectangular like a strudel, though not layered.

According to Wiki, the ONLY difference is the shape.  Either can have the same ingredients/sauces.

So if I roll out a rectangular piece of dough and put fillings down the middle and fold both sides over on top of the filling and seal the edges.  What did I make?

A stromzone, or a calboli.


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## GB (May 2, 2008)

Andy would kill me if I showed him the definition I found on wikipedia (not that that is the best place to get info), but I found it quite interesting.


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## GB (May 2, 2008)

HEY you cheated Andy!!!


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## *amy* (May 2, 2008)

Andy M. said:


> ...A stromzone, or a calboli.


 


I think you're onto something!

You don't have to add meat. The spinach, provolone, mozzarella & roasted sweet red peppers were DEElish too. Oh yeah, I spread some honey dijon mustard down the center of the dough first. 

Have fun with your logs.  I think they would make tasty appies, sliced for individual servings/bites.


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## *amy* (May 2, 2008)

GB said:


> HEY you cheated Andy!!!


 
Yeah! You said no wikis/dictionaries.


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## Andy M. (May 2, 2008)

You guys are right.  I didn't want to get Wiki or other definitions from you because I can do that myself.  I wanted personal experience.  I included it in my post for a reference point.


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## auntdot (May 2, 2008)

Seems like a lot of agreement here.

Only have had commercially made calzones and the stromboli from my SIL.

The calzones always come out with thin pizza dough and contain cheese, usually meat, and I love it when they toss in tomato sauce.  A pizza in a pocket.

The stromboli my SIL used to make was more of a bread, the crust being thicker and with holes from the yeast, which contained all of the good stuff the calzones did but less of it. And it was more of a very lovely bread than of a calzone. It was very good.

That's all I know about the stuff.

That is my only experience.


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## suziquzie (May 2, 2008)

Holy moly look what popped up while I was making my calzboni! 

*amy* this is all your fault your dinner last week made me do this.

It's not pretty (dough TOO thin in some spots) but its gonna be good!!!


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## pacanis (May 2, 2008)

I heard if you use stock it's a stromboli, broth it's a calizone.


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## ChefJune (May 2, 2008)

GB said:


> I agree with suziquzie.
> 
> I have seen recipes in cookbooks and magazines though that say a calzone dough is not the same as pizza dough. The Stromboli's that I have had seem to have a much different dough than pizzas too. I am not really sure how though.



Take it from someone who taught Pizza and Calzone classes every two months for 10 years....  the doughs are the same.  I mean, if you want to get fancy, I suppose you could make different doughs for each, but basically, pizza dough is a  basic bead dough..... and so is calzone dough.  My Italian cooking maven gave me the recipe I've used for the past 20 years...

I've never made a Stromboli, so I won't make assumptions.  but foccaccia dough is also the same.  It just rises differently.


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## suziquzie (May 2, 2008)

pacanis said:


> I heard if you use stock it's a stromboli, broth it's a calizone.


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## GB (May 2, 2008)

ChefJune said:


> Take it from someone who taught Pizza and Calzone classes every two months for 10 years....  the doughs are the same.


I am sure there are more than one way to make a calzone. Like I said, I have seen multiple recipes where the dough was most definitely different from pizza dough.


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## VeraBlue (May 3, 2008)

A calzone is half moon shaped, filled with ricotta cheese and other fillings, and either baked or fried.

A stromboli is a large rectangle of dough, filled with mozzarella cheese and other fillings, but no ricotta ever, and is rolled up, crepe style.  It's then baked and sliced.


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## VeraBlue (May 3, 2008)

ChefJune said:


> Take it from someone who taught Pizza and Calzone classes every two months for 10 years....  the doughs are the same.  I mean, if you want to get fancy, I suppose you could make different doughs for each, but basically, pizza dough is a  basic bead dough..... and so is calzone dough.  My Italian cooking maven gave me the recipe I've used for the past 20 years...
> 
> I've never made a Stromboli, so I won't make assumptions.  but foccaccia dough is also the same.  It just rises differently.




It's generally the same type of dough, in our family.  We've been known to add black pepper and parsley to stromboli dough.


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## Andy M. (May 3, 2008)

VeraBlue said:


> A calzone is half moon shaped, filled with ricotta cheese and other fillings, and either baked or fried.
> 
> A stromboli is a large rectangle of dough, filled with mozzarella cheese and other fillings, but no ricotta ever, and is rolled up, crepe style. It's then baked and sliced.


 

Is ricotta a must for calzones?

By your method, does the stromboli end up with the filling in a jelly roll type of pattern if you slice it across the middle?  Or is all the filling together in the center with the dough wrapped around it?


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## VeraBlue (May 4, 2008)

Andy M. said:


> Is ricotta a must for calzones?
> 
> By your method, does the stromboli end up with the filling in a jelly roll type of pattern if you slice it across the middle?  Or is all the filling together in the center with the dough wrapped around it?



No, ricotta is not a must for calzones.  At Christmas, especially on christmas eve, calzones are made with fish, no cheese.  But, if you order one from a pizzeria, you'll always get ricotta in it.   The stromboli could be either way, depending on how large your dough rectangle is.   There is usually at least one swirl, and sometimes two.


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## Andy M. (May 4, 2008)

Thanks for your perspective.

I have never had a calzone with ricotta in it.  Also, some of calzones pizzarias sell around here are rectangular.


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## blissful (May 4, 2008)

In our neck of the woods we don't have either the strudel type = stromboli, or the pocket type = calzoni. 
We have the panzarotta, a half moon shaped pizza dough pocket, filled to order, then deep fried. There isn't anything quite like it. We have an ethnicly rich area with a shortage of italians! 
This is the only place to get them. They are beyond words, yummmmmmmy.
Jimmy's Grotto Pizza Restaurant - Home of the Ponza Rotta
~Bliss


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## GB (May 4, 2008)

How is that different from a calzone blissful?


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## Andy M. (May 4, 2008)

I think it's just a different name for a calzone.


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## blissful (May 4, 2008)

GB said:


> How is that different from a calzone blissful?


Like I said, we are ethnically rich, italian poor. I never, in all the time I grew up here had a calzone, never even heard of them until 10 years ago when a mall put in an italian franchise. Then I saw what a calzone was, but it's nothing like a ponzarotta. It's like the difference between a baked potato and a french fry.
~Blissful


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## GB (May 4, 2008)

I am still confused though blissful. That does not explain how the two are different.

A calzone is a half moon shaped pizza dough pocket, filled to order, then deep fried or baked.

A ponzarotta is a half moon shaped pizza dough pocket, filled to order, then deep fried.

I am missing what is different between the two.


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## pacanis (May 4, 2008)

Like they said, GB, it's like the difference between snails and escargot.....


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## suziquzie (May 4, 2008)

LOL I sat down to eat the last of the leftover strombzoni and was really suprised to see this still going! 
Still tasty.....


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## Adillo303 (May 4, 2008)

Possibly, the difference is that blissful said "filled to order". Maybe that means that they are filled with pizza toppings instead of more traditional calzone fillings. Maybe?

I understand regional food differences. Some places outside NYC make things they call bagels.

This from their website:

*1976:*

*Rosie always had something good cooking, and often stopped by with something for the workers at the Grotto to try. One of those items was a pastie which consisted of tomato sauce and Ricotta cheese in a light crust. As good as they were, we had to start selling them. So, before the year was out, the first Ponza Rottas were served at Jimmy's Grotto. It wasn't much of a success at first, during the first couple months we only sold a couple a day. But it didn't take long for word of mouth to travel and within a year they became one of our best selling items. *


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## RPMcMurphy (May 4, 2008)

having eat many a strombolis at "stuff yer face" (yep, same place) a stromboli is a rolled up "anything you want it in" pizza-type-sub. 

where a calzone is a pocket of usually ricotta and something or other.


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## GB (May 4, 2008)

Adillo303 said:


> Possibly, the difference is that blissful said "filled to order". Maybe that means that they are filled with pizza toppings instead of more traditional calzone fillings. Maybe?


The calzones I know can be filled with anything. Any pizza toppings the shop has can be made into a calzone.


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## RPMcMurphy (May 4, 2008)

the place I go to has 1 billion stromboli combinations....haha

Stuff Yer Face, New Brunswick NJ est.1977

Stuff Yer Face, New Brunswick NJ est.1977


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## RPMcMurphy (May 4, 2008)

a stromboli and calzone are different like penne and spaghetti is different.


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## Andy M. (May 4, 2008)

RPMcMurphy said:


> a stromboli and calzone are different like penne and spaghetti is different.


 

I don't understand that statement at all. Does one of the two have a hole in the middle?


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## RPMcMurphy (May 4, 2008)

Andy M. said:


> I don't understand that statement at all. Does one of the two have a hole in the middle?




Both are pastas, just made a little different. 

calzones and strombolies are in the same family, different species.


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## Andy M. (May 4, 2008)

The question was not if they were different but how they are different.  The differences appear to be blurred by geographic differences and marketing considerations, among othre things.


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## suziquzie (May 5, 2008)

Adillo303 said:


> I understand regional food differences. Some places outside NYC make things they call bagels.


 
I'm WAAAAAYYYY off topic here but I feel I must speak!
As both a native New Yorker and a presently midwestern counterfeit bagel baker, I'm really stuck in the middle!!!! 

The newspaper in Minneapolis did an article on how the local bagel shops here measure up to "the real deal". They had actual New York bagel bakers flown in and everything! While I'm not saying they are the same, our store won the contest, the bakers actually said they would take them home and sell them in thier shops... quite a compliment!


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## Andy M. (May 5, 2008)

Quite a compliment, SQ.  Authentic (almost) bagels in MN!  I think that deserves a Food Network show.


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## pacanis (May 5, 2008)

Andy M. said:


> Quite a compliment, SQ. Authentic (almost) bagels in MN! I think that deserves a Food Network show.


 
Yeah, you could have AB riding his bike from NY to MN, sampling bagels along the way. Living on nothing but bagels.
Where I live bagels are gotten in the frozen food section   One aisle over from the calzones.


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## Andy M. (May 5, 2008)

pacanis said:


> ...One aisle over from the calzones.


 

...or perhaps they are strombolis???????


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## pacanis (May 5, 2008)

You know, I must say, I have never seen frozen strombolis where I shop. All kinds of calzones, pizza pockets (there's a new twist), but no frozen strombolis.
Hmmmm....


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## Andy M. (May 5, 2008)

Pizza pockets!?  What are they like?


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## pacanis (May 5, 2008)

Andy M. said:


> Pizza pockets!? What are they like?


 
They can best be described as an individual serving, rectangular calzone. Seriously. 
You've probably seen them advertised on TV. At least one of those frozen food/microwave companies make them.


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## suziquzie (May 5, 2008)

I used to live on the Lean Pockets when I had a real job..... 
ick. I can't eat those anymore.


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## Andy M. (May 5, 2008)

pacanis said:


> They can best be described as an individual serving, rectangular calzone. Seriously.
> You've probably seen them advertised on TV. At least one of those frozen food/microwave companies make them.


 

Do you mean Hot Pockets brand stuff?


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## pacanis (May 5, 2008)

Yeah, that's them..... Hot Pockets.


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## VeraBlue (May 5, 2008)

Andy M. said:


> I don't understand that statement at all. Does one of the two have a hole in the middle?


 
while both penne and spaghetti are pasta, they are different shaped.  Calzone and stromboli are both stuffed doughs, yet shaped and filled differently.


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## Adillo303 (May 5, 2008)

Sorry SuziQuzie - I was more tongue in cheek than anything else. I dod not mena to offend.


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## suziquzie (May 5, 2008)

Adillo303 said:


> Sorry SuziQuzie - I was more tongue in cheek than anything else. I dod not mena to offend.


 
You gotta say a whole lot more than that to offend this chick!


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## Adillo303 (May 5, 2008)

suziquzie said:


> You gotta say a whole lot more than that to offend this chick!


 
I see. I don't plan to try.

I did not know you were originally NYC. I was transplanted here, but after watching the towers fall, I am a very proud New Yorker. Don't think I'll always live here, but, I love the city and what it is about.


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## KitchenScrapbook (May 5, 2008)

Several weeks ago, I looked up the diff between stromboli and calzones (Googled it). What I found is that they're both meat and cheese enclosed in dough, but a calzone is serving size and stromboli gets sliced and feeds multiple people. 

I did not know that stromboli is supposed to be rolled like a jelly roll. I've never done that, so is it still called stromboli?


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## Andy M. (May 5, 2008)

KitchenScrapbook said:


> Several weeks ago, I looked up the diff between stromboli and calzones (Googled it). What I found is that they're both meat and cheese enclosed in dough, but a calzone is serving size and stromboli gets sliced and feeds multiple people.
> 
> I did not know that stromboli is supposed to be rolled like a jelly roll. I've never done that, so is it still called stromboli?


 

That's just one of the definitions.  Depending on which one you read, the rules are different.  Bottom line, when you walk into a restaurant to order something, go by the name on the menu.


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## pacanis (May 5, 2008)

Andy M. said:


> That's just one of the definitions. Depending on which one you read, the rules are different. Bottom line, when you walk into a restaurant to order something, go by the name on the menu.


 
#5?  With cheese?


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## Andy M. (May 5, 2008)

pacanis said:


> #5? With cheese?


 

Exactly!................


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## buckytom (May 6, 2008)

serving size is not one of the criteria in my neck of the woods. 

there are usually 2 sizes of calzones available in most pizza joints: a personal sized single serving, and a bigg'un that is sliced and can serve 3 or 4 people (or 1 gavone ). 
the single serving sized calzones are usually deep fried, while the larger ones are baked, probably because you'd need a gigantic deep fryer to fit them.

strombolis are usually made fairly large and sold as a whole to serve several people, or sliced into 3 or 4 sections and sold as individual portions.


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## 1Steve (Dec 13, 2008)

Andy M. said:


> Thanks for your perspective.
> 
> I have never had a calzone with ricotta in it. Also, some of calzones pizzarias sell around here are rectangular.


 In NY they always have ricotta in them. Never any tomato suce unless it's on the outside.


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## 1Steve (Dec 13, 2008)

VeraBlue said:


> No, ricotta is not a must for calzones. At Christmas, especially on christmas eve, calzones are made with fish, no cheese. But, if you order one from a pizzeria, you'll always get ricotta in it. The stromboli could be either way, depending on how large your dough rectangle is. There is usually at least one swirl, and sometimes two.


 
Interesting. Here in NY I've never seen a calzone without ricotta in it. Usually it's ricotta and some sort of ham or priscutto meat. On the other hand my grandmother used to make zeppole at Christmas that were not the sweet powdered sugar type. They were yeast balls much softer than pizza dough, that she filled with baccala or anchovies (sometimes dry sausage or mozerella) and deep fried.

BTW I know this topic is old, but I just ran across it while trying to help someone at another recipe site I frequent. She is looking for a dessert stromboli. She says there is a chain called Pizza Inn which we don't have here in NY. They make a stromboli filled with brown sugar, cinnamon and pecans.


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## ChefJune (Dec 13, 2008)

GB said:


> I agree with suziquzie.
> 
> I have seen recipes in cookbooks and magazines though that say a calzone dough is not the same as pizza dough. The Stromboli's that I have had seem to have a much different dough than pizzas too. I am not really sure how though.



I have been making all three and teaching them for (22) years, and the dough is the same.  Some people just LOVE to make life more complicated. 

I make three different doughs..... the good ole' basic Pizza and Calzone dough, the whole wheat deep dish dough, and the stuffed pizza dough, which is much more light and airy.


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## ChefJune (Dec 13, 2008)

1Steve said:


> In NY they always have ricotta in them. Never any tomato suce unless it's on the outside.



not always for either of those......  absolute terms don't do to well when it comes to pizza.  it's about the place, and the preference of the eater.....


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## GB (Dec 13, 2008)

ChefJune said:


> I have been making all three and teaching them for (22) years, and the dough is the same.  Some people just LOVE to make life more complicated.


1st, just because you have made it a certain way and taught it a certain way for 22 years does not mean that you are necessarily right.

2nd, why is saying that calzone and strombolli dough are different doughs making life more complicated??? I do not see anything complicated about it. 

How boring would it be if all doughs were the same?

I have first hand experience  that says that the calzones and strombollies I have had have been completely different so I do not know how you can tell me that what I have had is the same dough when you were not there. Yours may be, but that does not mean that is how it is done everywhere else.


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## Andy M. (Dec 13, 2008)

ChefJune said:


> I have been making all three and teaching them for (22) years, and the dough is the same. Some people just LOVE to make life more complicated. ...


 


ChefJune said:


> ...absolute terms don't do to well when it comes to pizza. it's about the place, and the preference of the eater.....


 

Which is it?  I see a contradiction in these statements.


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