I have always had a passion for cooking. One of my challenges to myself this year is to make things from scratch, using healthy, clean, FRESH ingredients for my family. This includes making everything gluten free, and striving for a wheat free household this year. I will seek out the freshest, Local Ingredients when possible. In the spirit of this challenge I have decided to blog along the way, posting my culinary adventures as they happen. I will strive to post all my favorite successes, and perhaps even some of my colossal failures!!!

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Monday, March 8, 2010

Homeade "Hot Pockets"

This is a new favorite!!!!
Kids LOVED it!!! Hubbie loved it!!!

You can use this base recipe to make Focaccia bread.
You can make one large Calzone.
You can make mini calzones, or "Hot Pockets" as I am calling them.
---I ended up loving this last option!!! Great to freeze and pull out and put in kids lunch boxes the next morning for a wonderful easy lunch that they will LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!!!

So here is the base recipe:
( I will list all the adaptions below)
 BASE RECIPE FOR:
Garlic Focaccia Bread
  • 1 1/4 cup lukewarm water
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 1/2 tsp coarse salt
  • 2 1/2 tsp yeast
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 3 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
  • (extra olive oil for drizzling over top before placing in oven)
Assemble ingredients through oregano in bowl, mix until mostly blended.
Next add flour, 3 cups and stir with wooden spoon till all incorporated. (you may have to switch to clean hands towards end)
Flour work surface lightly with some of remaining flour and turn out dough onto surface.
Begin to kneed dough till smooth and silky to touch, may be up to 10 min of kneeding. Incorporate remaining flour as needed in this process. ( you may or may not need to use the flour, depends on the day-humidity,etc...) 
Shape into a nice round shape by holding the dough in two hands and turning it a quarter turn in your hands and pulling the dough down and under at the same time. Continue this process till dough is a nice round shape for you. 
Apply liberal amount of Olive oil to dough on all sides and then
Let sit to rest on parchment paper lined baking sheet for 5-10 minutes.
Now roll out the dough out into rectangular shape (on parchment) and let sit again for atleast 30 min, more if possible (45min). Cover with plastic wrap during this process.
About 30 min before baking preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Remove plastic wrap and drizzle more olive oil over top. Sprinkle with coarse salt and bake for 15min, or until golden brown. ( you may also sprinkle with some chopped fresh rosmary that you gently press into dough before baking, this is very aroumatic and lovely)

ADAPTIONS: 

1. Calzones:
(new directions enter in after you roll the dough out on the parchment paper ) 
Rest it aprrox 15-20 min.
Now is where you add your fillings. You put some pizza sauce on one half (if you want sauce-sometime I reserve sauce just for dipping when I serve them) and then add your fillings, leaving a good 1 1/2 inch border,
anything you could want,
ricotta cheese,
any shredded cheeses,
sausage
pepperoni
any veggies
etc...etc...etc...
Next. you brush some water along the border that you left, then  fold over the calzone side that you left empty onto the filled side.Seal the Calzone with your fingers and then fold then edges underneath and seal again with your fingers. 
Now you rest it again for 30-45 min.
Drizzle the top with olive oil.
Next you want to slide this parchment paper onto your preheated pizza stone in your oven at 450 degrees for 15-20 min, watch for it to brown well. ( of course you can do this on a cookie sheet as well, it just won't crisp as much on the bottom)
  
2.The Mini, or Homeade HOT POCKET RECIPE
(again enter in after you roll out the dough onto parchment paper, and with these I often have doubled the recipe-very easily doubles and then you can make some for dinner, and then some to freeze for lunches!!!!!)
--if you have doubled, before  you rest the dough cut it in half with some thing sharp and rest it in two, then roll out two rectangles
At this point let the dough rest approx 15-20 min.

Now out of each rectangle you should be able to cut it ( with a pizza cutter, or sharp knife) longwise into 3 long strips. Now cut it width wise three across, and you will have 9 "pockets" ready to create.

Now we are ready to create a Pocket. The dough is now very pliable. So take a section and stretch it gently to make a nice size rectangle that will fold over nicely into your pocket,( you shouldn't have to manipulate it too much.)
-- place whatever you wish you fill your pocket with on one side of the rectagle, leaving a small border(1/2 inch, or even a little less. Now bring over top of rectangle and using a fork press down along all 3 sides of the pocket sealing it. This seals everything in and makes for a really nice look to your finished product!!
Now let each Pocket sit on the parchment and rise for 30-45 min.
Preheat over to 450 with baking stone in place.
Drizzle each with olive oil before placing on stone.
Place all Pockets on baking stone to bake for approx 15 min, or till brown. 
(if you bake on a greased baking sheet for 15 min, when done you make want to turn them over and place back in the oven for 3 more min to crisp bottoms of calzones.)
--filling ideas= ham and 1/2 cheese stick, turkey and cheese, pepperoni and cheese, brie and ham, shredded chicken and cheese, etc.... or any pizza type ing to make mini calzones