Spelt Dough Calzones

When even my carb and ice cream loving husband raves about the flavor of “junk” food made with healthier ingredients, like a gluten free mac and cheese or the nutty flavor of the crust on these spelt dough calzones, you KNOW it’s good. At dinner I sometimes anxiously await his review, trying not to show it, and if I get that golden, “These are really good,” I do a little dance inside (or maybe for real). But really, what are the health advantages of using spelt flour over whole wheat or all purpose flour? Sure, it sounds healthier, but c’mon, it’s not even gluten free.

Here’s my brief analysis:

As noted, spelt and spelt flour are not gluten free, so they’re out if you have celiac or an allergy. However, to state things simply, the makeup of spelt, as opposed to traditional wheat, might be easier for you to digest if you’re gluten sensitive, and who isn’t these days? Aside from the gluten aspect, spelt provides plenty of protein, fiber, and several big vitamins. Not that specific, I know, but I’m not a nutritionist so I don’t want to go making outrageous nutrition claims. At the end of the day, yes, spelt is still a grain, but one that is not as commercially produced as wheat flour (especially if you opt for organic) and tastes the way I think whole grain flour should taste. Like something, with its own complex, nutty, light profile, not just a stretchy, bland vehicle for sauce and cheese.

On to more important things, though, like…making these calzones! If you make the dough a day or two in advance (or more, and freeze it), you’ll make quick, weeknight work of these stuffed pockets of cheesy vegetable goodness, or whatever filling you decide to use. You could go meat free, or you could throw in sausage or pepperoni, or you could even go dairy free and just use a little egg to bind your filling. The ingredients from my Mediterranean sweet potato pizza (the one that uses this same dough) would be awesome. The possibilities are practically endless, and the point of sharing this recipe is really for the dough.

A couple notes to that end. I’m not a dough expert, but I’ve done a decent share of kneading, and I’ve noticed two big differences when working with spelt flour, as opposed to whole wheat or all-purpose. First, spelt dough doesn’t require, and shouldn’t receive, as much kneading as more traditional wheat flour doughs. As long as you stick to a few minutes of kneading and not much more, you’ll be fine: you won’t overwork the dough, getting a tough crust or a dough that fails to rise. Second, I always, every single time, go through a little panic phase when waiting for my spelt dough to rise, because I find it does take a little longer to even start rising than your conventional wheat flour dough. Then, suddenly, after like an hour, it will just balloon. So have patience and don’t panic, especially if you’re depending on this dough to rise because you have people coming for dinner. Which you definitely should, given the deliciousness of these calzones.

If you like the looks of this recipe, check out my recipe for Mediterranean sweet potato pizza! It uses the same crust…an excellent reason to make a double batch of dough (which I do all the time–the quantities double quite well).

Ingredient note: I buy my spelt flour in bulk on Amazon (because I make this dough almost weekly!) and instant dry yeast is also available at a reasonable price, comparable to most grocery stores.

Note: This page contains affiliate links. It does NOT contain sponsored content. Affiliate links (to products I recommend, on Amazon) offset my ingredient and website maintenance costs, so I can keep bringing you comfort food recipes like this one. Thanks!