Calzone and Flatbread Boxes, Long and Made to Size

What are calzone and flatbread boxes, and who uses them?

Calzone and Flatbread Boxes are long, shallow boxes for bakes that will not sit in a square pizza box. A folded calzone, a flatbread for two or a strip of sharing pizza needs length, not width.

Pizzerias use them for calzone and sharing boards on the menu. Street food vans and market stalls use them for flatbreads eaten standing up. Pubs use them for sharing strips that go out to a table of four.

Dark kitchens like them because a long box tells the driver at a glance which order is which. They sit alongside the other slice and speciality pizza boxes in the range.

Which bakes fit a long, shallow box?

A long box suits anything baked longer than it is wide. That covers half-moon calzone, oval and rectangular flatbreads, and sharing strips cut into squares on a tray.

It also suits garlic flatbread, folded breakfast bakes and loaded strips topped after the oven. Fresh rocket or soft cheese stays on top because the lid sits above the bake rather than on it.

Round and square pizza still goes in a square box. A long box is for the bakes your square boxes cannot hold without folding or cutting.

What size box does a calzone or flatbread need?

There is no fixed size for a long bake, so every box is made to the length and width you send. Measure the bake after it leaves the oven, not the dough before it goes in.

Add about a quarter inch each way on the length and width. That gap lets the base slide in without catching the crust and stops the bake shifting in the bag.

Depth matters more for calzone than for flatbread. A puffed calzone needs a taller wall than a flat base, so tell us the height at the fold.

Which board suits a long box?

You can choose E-flute (about 1.5 mm) or B-flute (about 3 mm) corrugated board, in white or brown kraft. E-flute is thinner and gives a crisp print surface. It suits flatbreads and light sharing strips collected at the counter.

B-flute has a thicker wall, so it holds heat a little longer and flexes less along a long span. It suits calzone and delivery runs, where the box is carried flat in a bag.

Brown kraft gives a warm, rustic look on a market stall. White board shows colour print brighter and looks clean on a pub table. Our guide to E-flute vs B-flute pizza boxes sets out the difference in more detail.

Can you print on the lid, sides and inside?

A long lid gives you a wide, letterbox-shaped panel for your name, menu or phone number. Print can run on the lid, the sides and the inside of the lid.

• Plain: no print at all, as in the brown kraft photo
• One colour: a single ink, such as black or red on kraft
• Two colours: two inks for a logo and a phone number
• Full colour: photos, patterns and all-over designs
• Solid colour outside with plain kraft inside, as in the black box photo
• All-over pattern on white board, as in the newspaper-style sample

One-colour red on brown kraft prints a little deeper and warmer than on white. Matt or gloss varnish can be added to full colour work. You can lay out your artwork on Design Your Pizza Box before you ask for a price.

How does a long box handle steam?

A calzone traps steam inside the fold and keeps releasing it on the way to the door. Flatbreads release less, but a long lid still gathers moisture over its whole length.

Side vents can be cut into the long walls so steam leaves before it softens the crust. On a long box, vents near each end work better than a single one in the middle.

A board sheet under the bake lifts it off the base and takes up oil. Look at our pizza box liners cut to size if you want one matched to your box.

How do Calzone and Flatbread Boxes fold and lock?

Every calzone and flatbread box is cut from a single flat sheet of corrugated board. You fold the long box up by hand in moments, and it needs neither glue nor tape.

1. Lay the flat box print side down with the base panel nearest you.
2. Fold up the front and back walls along the long creases.
3. Fold in the corner flaps so they sit inside the end walls.
4. Fold the end walls up and over the flaps to lock the corners.
5. Bring the long lid over the bake and tuck its front flap down behind the front wall to lock it.

Fold a batch before service and stack them by the pass. A folded long box takes up more shelf than a square one, so fold only what the next hour needs.

How do long calzone boxes arrive, and where do they stack by the oven?

Boxes come flat in bundles, delivered free and tracked to UK mainland addresses in 2 to 3 working days. Production takes 4 to 6 working days after you approve the proof.

Long boxes need a long shelf. Store the bundles flat on a rack or under the counter so the ends do not bend or curl.

A driver can stack several long boxes in a bag the same way as square ones, as long as the bag is long enough. Check your bag length before you settle on a box length.

What mistakes should you avoid with long boxes?

Measuring raw dough is the most common mistake. Dough stretches and spreads in the oven, so the box ends up short.

Choosing a box too shallow for calzone comes next. The lid presses on the fold and leaves a dent in the crust.

Making the box far longer than the bake lets it slide from end to end in transit. Keep the gap small and even on every side.

Last, do not pick a length that will not fit your delivery bags or the shelf beside the oven.

Can one box size cover calzone and flatbread?

Many kitchens run one long box for both. It works if the calzone and the flatbread share a similar length and the depth suits the calzone.

If your flatbread is much longer than your calzone, two sizes is the better choice. A short calzone rolling about in a long box looks careless when the customer opens it.

Some orders add a slice or a side. Slice boxes, frozen cartons and side trays can carry the same print, so every box on the order matches.

How do you order Calzone and Flatbread Boxes?

Send the length, width and depth of your bake, the board you want and how you want it printed. A photo of the bake next to a tape measure helps too.

We email a price for your long boxes within one working day of your request. Calzone and flatbread boxes start from £0.25 each, with low minimums priced to suit each job.

We send a free design proof before anything is printed, and nothing is printed until you approve it. Start with the pizza box quote request form, or call +44 7578 382054.

Tell us within 10 days if any long boxes reach you misprinted or damaged, and we will reprint them or refund you.