Daring Bakers: Home-made Pizza Crust

I was excited to see that this month's challenge was home-made pizza crust. My husband enjoys making his own pizza crust and we've probably tried a dozen different recipes. I've been reading on the Daring Baker's forum that everyone really enjoyed this crust. I know I am in the minority saying that I didn't feel it was anything special. It was fun 'tossing' the dough (which was one of the requirements for the month, hence the picture posted), but I really don't foresee myself making this recipe again. The crust itself was really bland. It was nice and sturdy so it would hold a lot of toppings, but that's pretty much all it has going for it. I chose to top mine with the traditional red pizza sauce, cheese and mozzarella. Nothing fancy here. I've already found the next pizza dough recipe I want to try....hopefully we'll get around to it in the next few weeks.

BASIC PIZZA DOUGH - The Bread Baker’s Apprentice by Peter Reinhart.
Makes 6 pizza crusts (about 9-12 inches/23-30 cm in diameter).
Ingredients:4 ½ c. bread flour
1 ¾ tsp salt
1 tsp instant yeast
¼ c. Olive oil or vegetable oil (both optional, but it’s better with)
1 ¾ c. water, ice cold (40° F/4.5° C)
1 tbs sugar
cornmeal for dusting

1. Mix together the flour, salt and instant yeast in a big bowl (or in the bowl of your stand mixer).
2. Add the oil, sugar and cold water and mix well (with the help of a large wooden spoon or with the paddle attachment, on low speed) in order to form a sticky ball of dough. On a clean surface, knead for about 5-7 minutes, until the dough is smooth and the ingredients are homogeneously distributed. If it is too wet, add a little flour (not too much, though) and if it is too dry add 1 or 2 teaspoons extra water.
NOTE: If you are using an electric mixer, switch to the dough hook and mix on medium speed for the same amount of time. The dough should clear the sides of the bowl but stick to the bottom of the bowl. If the dough is too wet, sprinkle in a little more flour, so that it clears the sides. If, on the contrary, it clears the bottom of the bowl, dribble in a teaspoon or two of cold water.The finished dough should be springy, elastic, and sticky, not just tacky, and register 50°-55° F/10°-13° C.
3. Flour a work surface or counter. Line a jelly pan with baking paper/parchment. Lightly oil the paper.
4. With the help of a metal or plastic dough scraper, cut the dough into 6 equal pieces (or larger if you want to make larger pizzas).
NOTE: To avoid the dough from sticking to the scraper, dip the scraper into water between cuts.
5. Sprinkle some flour over the dough. Make sure your hands are dry and then flour them. Gently round each piece into a ball.
NOTE: If the dough sticks to your hands, then dip your hands into the flour again.
6. Transfer the dough balls to the lined jelly pan and mist them generously with spray oil. Slip the pan into plastic bag or enclose in plastic food wrap.
7. Put the pan into the refrigerator and let the dough rest overnight or for up to thee days.
NOTE: You can store the dough balls in a zippered freezer bag if you want to save some of the dough for any future baking. In that case, pour some oil(a few tablespoons only) in a medium bowl and dip each dough ball into the oil, so that it is completely covered in oil. Then put each ball into a separate bag. Store the bags in the freezer for no longer than 3 months. The day before you plan to make pizza, remember to transfer the dough balls from the freezer to the refrigerator.
8. On the day you plan to eat pizza, exactly 2 hours before you make it, remove the desired number of dough balls from the refrigerator. Dust the counter with flour and spray lightly with oil. Place the dough balls on a floured surface and sprinkle them with flour. Dust your hands with flour and delicately press the dough into disks about 1/2 inch thick and 5 inches in diameter. Sprinkle with flour and mist with oil. Loosely cover the dough rounds with plastic wrap and then allow to rest for 2 hours.
9. At least 45 minutes before making the pizza, place a baking stone on the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven as hot as possible 500° F.
NOTE: If you do not have a baking stone, then use the back of a jelly pan. Do not preheat the pan.
10. Generously sprinkle the back of a jelly pan with semolina/durum flour or cornmeal. Flour your hands (palms, backs and knuckles). Take 1 piece of dough by lifting it with a pastry scraper. Lay the dough across your fists in a very delicate way and carefully stretch it by bouncing it in a circular motion on your hands, and by giving it a little stretch with each bounce. Once the dough has expanded outward, move to a full toss.
11. When the dough has the shape you want, place it on the back of the jelly pan, making sure there is enough semolina/durum flour or cornmeal to allow it to slide and not stick to the pan.
12. Lightly top it with sweet or savory toppings of your choice.
13. Slide the garnished pizza onto the stone in the oven or bake directly on the jelly pan. Close the door and bake for about 5-8 minutes.
14. Take the pizza out of the oven and transfer it to a cutting board or your plate. In order to allow the cheese to set a little, wait 3-5 minutes before slicing or serving.

TWD: Chocolate-Chocolate Cupcakes

This week's recipe was chosen by Clara. She requested that the cupcakes be decorated for Halloween as we are quickly approaching the 31st of October. I made these earlier in the month to share with my Bunko group, which was a Halloween theme and we all had to dress up! My overall impression was that these cupcakes were good, but I am a sucker for box cake mixes...I KNOW, how dare I?! I just prefer my cake moist, and these cupcakes were on the dry side. The frosting was very easy to put together and work with. I have used ganaches in the past that were too runny and ran down the side of my cake...didn't happen with this recipe. I chose to fill my cupcakes with marshmallow creme, which was a nice addition. Peanut butter would have been good too, or even better, nutella (but I've restricted myself from purchasing any more nutella as I have a "slight" addiction!...read....I can eat a whole jar in less than a week with just a spoon!). Happy Haunting week!

Barefoot Bloggers: Vegetable Pot Pie

I am not a pot pie fan, so I was a bit leery about trying this recipe thinking I was going to be wasting ingredients and would resort to throwing it away. Much to my surprise, this is AMAZING! I've already made it twice and both times have been a hit with the recipients. The crust is so easy to put together and rolls out nicely. It reminds me of my mom's pie crust with a slight variation. The sauce is creamy and loaded with flavor and best yet, this pot pie contains what I consider "adult" vegetables. I loved the combination of butternut squash with asparagus tips and potatoes. I've already marked this recipe to make again...it may become a new winter favorite!

Vegetable Pot Pie - Barefoot Contessa Parties
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks)
2 cups sliced yellow onions (2 onions)
1 fennel bulb, top and core removed, thinly sliced crosswise (substituted celery)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups good chicken stock
1 tablespoon Pernod (I left out)
Pinch saffron threads
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 1/2 cups large-diced potatoes (1/2 pound)
1 1/2 cups asparagus tips
1 1/2 cups peeled, 3/4-inch-diced carrots (4 carrots)
1 1/2 cups peeled, 3/4-inch-diced butternut squash
1 1/2 cups frozen small whole onions (1/2 pound)
1/2 cup minced flat-leaf parsley (I omitted)
For the pastry:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/4 pound cold unsalted butter, diced
1/2 to 2/3 cup ice water
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash
Flaked sea salt and cracked black pepper

Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions and celery and saute until translucent, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the flour, reduce the heat to low, and cook for 3 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Slowly add the stock, Pernod, saffron, salt, and pepper, and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the heavy cream and season to taste. The sauce should be highly seasoned.

Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water for 10 minutes. Lift out with a sieve. Add the asparagus, carrots, and squash to the pot and cook in the boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain well. Add the potatoes, mixed vegetables, onions, and parsley to the sauce and mix well.

For the pastry, mix the flour, salt, and baking powder in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Add the shortening and butter and mix quickly with your fingers until each piece is coated with flour. Pulse 10 times, or until the fat is the size of peas. With the motor running, add the ice water; process only enough to moisten the dough and have it just come together. Dump the dough out onto a floured board and knead quickly into a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic and allow it to rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Divide the filling equally among 4 ovenproof bowls. Divide the dough into quarters and roll each piece into an 8-inch circle. Brush the outside edges of each bowl with the egg wash, then place the dough on top. Trim the circle to 1/2-inch larger than the top of the bowl. Crimp the dough to fold over the sides, pressing it to make it stick. Brush the dough with egg wash and make 3 slits in the top. Sprinkle with sea salt and cracked pepper. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour, or until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling hot.

A few notes: in red you will see the changes I made to the ingredients. I also halved the recipe and still came up with about 5-6 servings. Rather than dividing the filling among four bowls, I used a small casserole dish and poured all the filling in, then topped with the crust. Thanks Deb for choosing such a great recipe!

TWD: Pumpkin Muffins

I apologize to my 'faithful' readers that I've not been good about posting lately! I've been busy with other things and haven't cooked anything worthy of posting. This week's TWD, Pumpkin Muffins, I posted about a couple of weeks ago, but here's a picture reminder. I'll hopefully be back posting on a more regular basis at the end of the week! I do have a GREAT recipe to post next week for pot pie, so check back!

Barefoot Bloggers: Butternut Squash Risotto

I'm back after taking a whole month off from Barefoot Bloggers! Actually, I was pretty busy last month with other things and the recipes didn't appeal to me all that much, but it's nice to be cooking along with the group this month. This week's recipe was chosen by Rachel and what a lovely fall dish it is! I had never made risotto before and I have to say the hardest part about the whole recipe was actually finding the Arborio rice! I'm glad we liked it because it was a little pricey. This was a wonderful mixture of sweet, savory, salty, peppery, and creamy! We had some leftovers from last night's dinner so I am anxious to see how well it heats up for lunch today. My husband even enjoyed this dish which was huge as I didn't know how well he would care for the roasted butternut squash mixed in to the rice. I'm thinking this would be a nice side dish for Thanksgiving (if you can give up some of your traditional fixings....which I'm not sure I can!).


Butternut Squash Risotto (from Ina Garten)
1 butternut squash (2 pounds)
2 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
2 ounces pancetta, diced
1/2 cup minced shallots (2 large)
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice (10 ounces)
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 teaspoon saffron threads
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Peel the butternut squash, remove the seeds, and cut it into 3/4-inch cubes. You should have about 6 cups. Place the squash on a sheet pan and toss it with the olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes, tossing once, until very tender. Set aside.

Meanwhile, heat the chicken stock in a small covered saucepan. Leave it on low heat to simmer.


In a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter and saute the pancetta and shallots on medium-low heat for 10 minutes, until the shallots are translucent but not browned. Add the rice and stir to coat the grains with butter. Add the wine and cook for 2 minutes. Add 2 full ladles of stock to the rice plus the saffron, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Stir, and simmer until the stock is absorbed, 5 to 10 minutes. Continue to add the stock, 2 ladles at a time, stirring every few minutes. Each time, cook until the mixture seems a little dry, then add more stock. Continue until the rice is cooked through, but still al dente, about 30 minutes total. Off the heat, add the roasted squash cubes and Parmesan. Mix well and serve. Serves 4-6.

TWD: Reverse order

I am usually a "rule-follower" and I'm sure I am breaking the TWD rules by doing my October baking (and posting) in somewhat of a reverse order. However, all of the recipes chosen for this month are ones that I am able to use for functions in which I've been asked to bring something....just not in the order we have been asked to bake them. So while everyone else made Caramel Peanut-Topped Brownie cake (see mine in two weeks!) for today's post, I made Pumpkin Muffins (which everyone else will be posting about in two weeks). I am a sucker for fall foods and pumpkin is a favorite which means I of course, loved these muffins. I shared them with my Monday morning Bible study group where they received rave reviews. I chose to leave out the raisins which were to be mixed in the batter before baking, as I'm not a fan of raisins in baked goods. I'm trying to come up with an excuse to make these again this fall!

Up next week....Chocolate-Chocolate Cupcakes (while everyone else does Lenox Almond Biscotti)

Soup and Cornbread

Here are two "must-try" recipes which are great for cool weather! The hubby and I enjoyed them both for dinner last week and I am "archiving" them in my files to make again.

Chicken and white bean soup
3 cups chopped white chicken meat
1 Tbls canola oil
3 carrots, sliced
2 celery stalks, sliced

1 onion, chopped
2 cups water
6 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 (15 oz) can Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cook chicken until done with your prefered method. (I baked mine and sprinkled some Lemon Pepper seasoning on before baking, which added a little depth of flavor to the soup.) In a stockpot over medium heat, add oil. Saute the carrots, celery, and onion for 8-10 minutes or until vegetables soften. Add water and chicken broth and bring to a boil, stirring to combine. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Add beans and chicken meat, cook for 5 mintues. If too thick, add broth or water. Season with salt and pepper if desired. Serves 6.
I was impressed with how flavorful the soup was considering it didn't call for a lot of ingredients or seasonings.

Sweet Cornbread (found on my friend Susy's friend Jeni's blog....catch that?!)
1 yellow cake mix
1 box jiffy cornbread

Make both boxes of mix according to their directions and combine. Bake in a 9 x 13 greased pan at 375 degrees for about 40 minutes. (I chose to bake mine as muffins and baked for about 15-18 minutes.) This made about 15 muffins, so I froze what I had leftover.
This might be the way I make cornbread from now on, they were so good!

PS. Happy Birthday, Leslie!

Fish and Chips

Do you ever make a meal and it automatically makes you think of a meal you had at a restaurant or takes you to a favorite memory? I had that experience tonight. My husband just received the current edition of Bon Appetit magazine and there was a meal for Fish and Chips. As we were sitting down for dinner, I began thinking about a restaurant in Montana in which the only thing I ever ordered there was Fish and Chips....oh, how I miss Bert and Ernies! My husband and I both enjoyed this version of Fish and Chips (just make sure you use plenty of oil in your pan when cooking the fish...mine stuck a little).



Golden Pan-Fried Fish
2 lbs halibut fillets
1 1/2 cups panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
1 Tbls finely chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp finely grated lemon peel
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
3 large egg whites
1/2 cup dark ale beer
3 Tbls extra-virgin olive oil


Cut fish into rectangular sticks. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Combine next five ingredients in large bowl. Whisk egg and ale in medium bowl. Add fish to ale mixture and turn to coat; shake off excess, then turn fish in panko mixture to coat all sides. Place on plate. Heat 3 Tbls oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add half of fish sticks. Cook until golden and just opaque in center, about 2 minutes per side. Repeat with remaining fish. Transfer fish to paper towels; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Serve immediately with tartar sauce. Serves 4.


Tartar Sauce
1 cup mayonnaise
6 Tbls sweet pickle relish
2 Tbls fresh lemon juice


Mix all ingredients in small bowl. Cover; chill.


5-minute Slaw
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 Tbls sugar
2 tsp coarse kosher salt
1/4 tsp celery seeds
3 green onions, thinly sliced
2 (8oz) pkgs coleslaw mix


Whisk first 4 ingredients in large bowl. Mix in green onions. Add coleslaw mix; toss.