The Best Way To Heat Up Calzone Leftovers

Leftovers, in general, are some of our best laid plans. Who among us hasn't made extra enchiladas, dumplings, or lasagna to reheat later? Or convinced ourselves that the remnants of a carefully selected restaurant meal would be even better in a doggy bag? Often enough, when the time comes to reheat those items and get them closer to their intended state, it seems almost as complicated as making something new — or at least so involved that you want to just pour a bowl of cereal and let those perfectly good extras linger another day. And if, say, consommé is among the best things you can reheat, and something like fish is among the worst, calzones are situated way nearer to that former camp.

Calzones are a terrific example of how the best way to reheat something is as close to its original preparation as possible. That's going to be your oven in this case. Tempting as that microwave may seem, it isn't actually going to be the best heat source for most of your leftovers. Bread, in most of its forms, is particularly vulnerable to its electromagnetic radiation, as the microwave's steaming effect confuses the gluten, and makes what should be light and soft dense and chewy. Those extra few minutes the oven requires will leave you with the crispy calzone you desire, instead.

There's a good chance that the calzone you first enjoyed was baked in a proper pizza oven that's heated to a very high temperature all day long. The folks crafting it were likely experts, calzone professionals who can tell when a batch is ready on little more than its golden color or its dough's light rise. All you've got to do is get it back up to a proper internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

You won't need the furnace-like fire of the wood burning stove that cooked your calzone from raw, but you should preheat your oven to about 375 degrees Fahrenheit. As it readies, line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper. This makes cleanup a little easier, but it is not otherwise required. Then, bake for about ten minutes before checking its temperature with a food thermometer for the most thorough results. You can follow a similar method for the calzone's near doppelgänger, the stromboli.