1 (8-ounce) ball pizza dough, homemade or store-bought, brought to room temperature
2 to 3 cups shredded cooked chicken (I use rotisserie chicken from the store)
1/4 cup barbecue sauce, more to taste (I like Sweet Baby Ray’s)
1/4 cup pizza sauce, homemade or store-bought
1/2 medium red onion, very thinly sliced
3 to 4 ounces smoked gouda cheese, grated
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
Red pepper flakes
Kosher salt
All-purpose or bread flour, for rolling
Cornmeal or semolina, for dusting
Olive oil, for brushing
Preheat oven to 500°F. If you have one, place a pizza stone on the center rack.
Lightly flour a work surface (or large sheet of parchment paper) and a rolling pin. Gently flatten the dough ball with the tips of your fingers, then begin rolling out the dough with the rolling pin into a large circle. Make sure to keep lifting up the dough and dusting the surface with flour as needed, to keep it from sticking to the work surface. If the dough is springy and won’t hold its shape, let it rest for a few minutes. If you're not rolling the dough out on parchment, transfer it to a pizza peel dusted very generously with cornmeal.
Combine the shredded chicken and barbecue sauce in a mixing bowl. Taste and adjust amount of sauce as desired. Spread the tomato sauce on half of the pizza round, leaving a 1/2-inch border around the side. Pile barbecue chicken over the sauce, followed by a generous handful of red onions, shredded gouda, and Parmesan. Season with red pepper flakes and kosher salt.
Fold the dough over the toppings and press the edges to seal. Roll the edge up and over itself one more time and crimp with your fingers or a fork to further seal. Brush the calzone with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
Slide the calzone onto the pizza stone (if using parchment you can slide the parchment directly onto the stone), or bake on a baking sheet. Bake until the calzone is hot and golden-brown, anywhere from 8 to 20 minutes, depending on the size of the calzone, etc. Start checking early.
Allow the calzone to cool for 10 to 15 minutes for cutting in half and serving. Serve with additional tomato sauce and Parmesan on the side.
Recipe Notes
- Individual Calzones: To make smaller, individual calzones, divide the dough in half, then roll and stuff each half separately. Baking time might be slightly less, so begin checking the calzones after about 8 minutes of baking.