These hand-held pies are great for a simple dinner or lunch, and they are easy to make ahead and reheat in the air fryer or oven. The pies consist of a yeasty, whole-wheat sourdough wrapped around slices of ham and Swiss cheese, with a little mustard and green onions for extra flavor. Simple, but the pies are quite good! I like to dust the tops of the pies with sesame seeds, which add extra flavor and crunch. Generally, I make the pies in the air fryer, but they also can be baked in a regular oven at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. The pies are hearty, so you don't need much to accompany them. Try them with a salad or alongside a bowl of soup, or serve them with potato salad and coleslaw for a picnic-style dinner. Enjoy!
Sourdough Ham and Cheese Hand Pies or Calzone -- Makes 4
1 cup of sourdough starter/discard
1/4 cup of canola oil
1/4 cup of milk
1 large egg
3/4 cup of white whole-wheat flour
Mix the ingredients listed above well in a large bowl and let them sit, loosely covered, for at least an hour. I usually let my mixture sit for 4-5 hours, and it's fine. When you're ready, add to the mixture:
1 cup of white whole-wheat flour
1 teaspoon of salt
Mix, then knead in the flour and salt, and then knead the dough for 3-5 minutes, adding an additional 1/4 or so of flour, if necessary, to prevent the dough from being too sticky to knead. On a floured surface, flatten out the dough (you can use your hands or a rolling pin--I use the heels of my hands) into a large square, roughly 16" x 16". Cut the square into four equal parts with a sharp knife. Top each square with the following:
1 teaspoon of mustard (spread it out on the dough)
1 tablespoon of chopped green onions
2 slices of thinly sliced ham (about 2 ounces)
1 - 2 slices of thinly sliced Swiss cheese (about 2 ounces)
Fold one side of each dough square in half, over the filling, to seal the filling inside the dough. You can moisten the edges of the dough where it comes together on the one side of the pie (the seam side) with a little water, if necessary to help the dough stick together. Then use your fingers and/or a fork to crimp the edges of the dough together. Spritz the top of the filled pies with a little non-stick cooking spray and dust the top of each pie with about 1/2 teaspoon of sesame seeds, if you'd like. Spritz the tops of the pies again with non-stick cooking spray to hold the seeds in place. Let the pies sit, loosely covered with plastic wrap, for about an hour at room temperature until they rise just a little--they only need to increase by about one quarter to one-third in volume. You also can refrigerate the pies and let them rise overnight in the refrigerator, if you prefer.
Air fry the pies at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until they are golden brown. Let the pies cool a little before serving them, as the filling will be quite hot.
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