My First Homemade Pizza

For dinner tonight I made my very first homemade pizza from scratch. I have been wanting to do this for a while, but I've been a little intimidated by the large variety of pizza crust recipes out there. I wasn't sure where to start until I found this very simple crust recipe from The Fresh Loaf. I'm not sure who posted this one, but it is apparently from Peter Reinhart's American Pie. I'm not familiar with any of his books, but I have seen a lot of good stuff posted from them on The Fresh Loaf. To see the post I took this recipe from, click here. I am posting the recipe here as I adapted it using the tips suggested in the post on The Fresh Loaf. First, I halfed the recipe. I also used some bread flour as suggested in the tips.

The Dough:
Makes 2 10-inch pizzas

1 1/2 - 2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup bread flour

1/2 Tablespoon sugar or honey

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon instant yeast

1 Tablespoon olive oil

3/4 cup room-temperature water

• Combine all ingredients in a medium sized mixing bowl and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon(or mix with an electric mixer). After all ingredients are combined, allow the dough to rest for 5 minutes. Stir again for 3-5 minutes, adding more water or flour as necessary. The dough should be wetter and stickier than your typical bread dough, but dry enough that it pulls away from the side of the bowl as you stir/mix it. It should not be dry enough to knead by hand.

• Divide the dough into two pieces, and place each in an oiled freezer bag (I just spray a little olive oil into the bag before putting the dough in). You really only need to mix up this dough an hour before you want to bake your pizza, but a long slow rise at room temperature or cooler allows for better flavor development in the dough. You can freeze the dough, allow it to thaw in the refrigerator for 8-24 hours before you want to use it, and take it out of the fridge and let it warm to room temperature 1-2 hours before you want to bake it. You can also place it in the refrigerator if you want to bake it later the same day, and take it out 1-2 hours before baking. I froze half of the dough this time and let the other half sit in the oiled bag at room temperature for about an hour before shaping, topping, and baking it.

• When you are ready to bake your pizza, preheat your oven to 450-500 degrees (I used 475). Place a pizza stone in the oven if you have one, or you can use the back of a cookie sheet or whatever you have. I happened to have a round aluminum pizza pan with little holes in it. You can shape your pizza dough by hand stretching it or using a rolling pin to get your desired thickness. I used a combination of the two to get a thin crust. You also want to prepare and top your crust on a piece of parchment paper or aluminum foil (don't forget to spray the foil with cooking spray first). This makes it much easier to transfer the pizza into the oven - you just put it in there paper/foil and all.

• For the sauce, I used the leftover marinara sauce I made for my Baked Ziti Casserole. You can use whatever sauce recipe you prefer. I will probably try the one recommended at The Fresh Loaf next time. After the sauce, I added a few chopped mushrooms and about 1 cup shredded part skim mozzarella cheese. I baked the pizza at 475 for about 11 minutes. Cut into 4 pieces, it was about 200 calories a slice the way I made it.

Overall, I'm very pleased with my first attempt at pizza. I would have like the crust a little crispier. I think it could have stood a few more minutes in the oven, or a higher temp. I'm looking forward to playing around with this recipe and perfecting it to my taste!

Gingerbread

Okay, so I know everyone is baking something with pumpkin in it, and I am planning to do that later this week, however I have been wanting to try this gingerbread recipe for a while. I found this one at The Fresh Loaf. This is a wonderful site for bakers and I have found many good recipes posted there. To go directly to the gingerbread one, use this link. Thanks to Floydm for posting this.

Gingerbread

Makes 1 large or 3 small loaves

1 3/4 cups all-purpose unbleached flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon ground ginger

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon salt (can be omitted if using salted butter)

1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter

1 egg

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 cup molasses

1/2 cup warm water

3 tablespoons crystalized ginger, 1/2 cup raisins or other dried fruit (optional)

• Preheat oven to 350. Combine the butter, egg, brown sugar, and molasses in a bowl and stir until combined. Mix in the dry ingredients, then add hot water and stir until just combined. Pour batter into greased baking pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, between 30 and 50 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for at least 10 minutes before removing from the pan.
• I made 3 small loaves and it took right at 30 minutes in my oven. I did not add any crystalized ginger or raisins because I didn't have any, but I'm sure it would be delicious. Also, I only had a 1/2 cup of molasses, so I combined about two tablespoons of blackstrap molasses with enough dark corn syrup to make up the remaining 1/2 cup I needed for this recipe. I admit I was a little underwhelmed with the flavor of the gingerbread right out of the oven - it was good but not what I had expected. Today however, it has really developed into that delicious spicy gingerbread taste I was looking for. It just gets better if you wait a little while! If you cut each small loaf into 6 slices, it will be 160 calories per slice.

Knitting Project - Mohair Poncho

I recently taught myself to knit using the book shown in this picture. I learned to crochet a long time ago, although not very well, and I have been using the Knifty Knitter Looms for a while now, but I felt like that was cheating a little bit and I wanted to learn to knit the "real" way. I thought I would have to take a class or beg someone to show me until I found this book at my local library. I have never been good at teaching myself to do things from books, but this book (Never Too Old to Knit: Beautiful Basics for Baby Boomers) has very clear, easy to follow instructions and pictures. It includes easy beginner projects from simple scarves and hats to sweaters, cardigans and socks. Of course I am far from being a baby boomer, but I certainly won't overlook a good book just because it was directed at a different audience. A couple of important points - this book is not for people who already know how to knit. Also it seems to be written by someone who is younger than baby boomer age and while doing research for this post, I read some reviews from people who thought the book was written in a way that was condescending to those of a certain age. I did not sense any of this, but it would be hard to insult me considering I knew next to nothing about the subject when I started. Another thing to consider is the book is sponsored by Lion Brand Yarn so all of the projects use their yarn. I have no problem with this since I actually like their yarn. You could certainly use whatever yarn you prefer as long as it is of the same weight/type called for. I think it is a good book! I checked it out of the library so many times I eventually bought my own at my local Hancock Fabrics. Anyone who is interested in the Knifty Knitter Looms, I still use them and like them and they are easily found at your local Michael's or Wal-mart for the same price as Amazon and you don't have to pay shipping! I will be sure to show you all the finished project when I get it done.

Chai Shortbread Cookies

These little cookies are spiced with cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and black pepper to remind you of chai tea. I'm not a fan of plain shortbread or sugar cookies - I need something to make it interesting and these fit the bill perfectly. I found the original recipe in Cooking Light Magazine (December 2007). I decided they needed more spices and so I doubled the amounts called for in the recipe. I have been very happy with the results. One caution - make sure your pepper is finely ground and don't use more than 1/8 tsp ground pepper. It really sticks out if you get too much or the pieces are too large. If you aren't sure how much spice you like, you can half the amounts shown here and work up from there to your taste.

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup powdered sugar
10 tablespoons butter, softened
1 tbs ice water

• Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups and level with a knife. Whisk together flour and next five ingredients (through pepper). Place sugar and butter in a medium bowl and beat with mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add flour mixture to butter mixture, beating at low speed just until combined (mixture will appear crumbly). Sprinkle dough with 1 tbs ice water, toss with a fork. Divide dough in half. Shape each half into a log about 6 inches long. Wrap each log in plastic wrap and chill about 1 hour, or until very firm.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Unwrap dough logs. Cut each log into 18 slices using a serrated knife. Place slices 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake at 375 for 10 minutes. Cool on pans for 5 minutes before moving to cooling racks, allow to cool completely. Makes 36 cookies. Each cookie is 55 calories (3.2 g fat).

Lowfat Brownies

This is a recipe from America's Test Kitchen. I have made it twice now and it produces delicious, moist, fudgy brownies every time. Makes 16 servings.

¾ cup all purpose flour
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
1/3 cup dutch process cocoa
2 oz bittersweet chocolate
2 tbs butter
2 tbs lowfat (or fat free) sour cream
1 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 whole egg plus 1 egg white
1 tbs chocolate syrup

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Melt bittersweet chocolate and butter together using a double boiler or microwave (takes about 1 minute in my microwave). Prepare 8 inch cake pan by lining with foil, spray foil with cooking spray (or spray pan and then flour pan).
• Mix first 4 ingredients together. Lightly whisk eggs with sour cream, vanilla, chocolate syrup and melted chocolate/butter mixture. Stir in sugar, then add to dry ingredients. Stir until smooth. Pour into prepared cake pan. Batter will be thick and you will need to spread it out evenly in the pan with a spatula or spoon.
• Bake @ 350 for 20-22 min – you want a few moist crumbs on a toothpick inserted in the center. Let cool in the pan (about 1 hour). This will help keep the brownies moist. However, if you just can't help yourself and you have to eat them warm, go ahead. Just cover the remaining ones with plastic wrap or in small container as soon as they are reasonably cool. The brownies will be about 110 calories each if you cut 16 of them. This is only about half (or less) the calories in a regular brownie recipe.
  
  

Baked Ziti Casserole

This is a recipe for baked ziti that I have adapted from one I found in Cooking Light Magazine. It was delicious! Recipe makes 4 1-cup servings.

6 oz. uncooked ziti (short tube shaped pasta)
2 cups basic marinara sauce
1 cup shredded part-skim mozarella cheese
1/4 cup shredded Asagio cheese
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp hot pepper sauce (such as Tabasco)
1 1/3 cups Morningstar Farms griller crumbles (or 6 oz. ground turkey breast for you carnivores)

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat, drain. I make my own basic marinara sauce by mixing together 1 15 oz. can tomato sauce and 1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes, adding whatever seasonings I like (such as basil, oregano, minced garlic, crushed red pepper) and simmering in a saucepan over medium/low heat for about 30 minutes. This results in a sauce with fewer calories than any canned marinara I have been able to find (about 35 calories per 1/2 cup).
• Combine pasta, marinara sauce, 1/2 cup mozarella, 2 tbs Asagio, salt, pepper sauce and griller crumbles (or turkey) in a large bowl. Spoon into an 8 inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray, sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella and 2 tbs Asagio. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until cheese is lightly browned. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.
• This is a very forgiving recipe and easy to adapt for your needs. For example, if you don't like meat substitutes you could used chopped mushrooms. Portabellos would add a nice meaty texture and reduce the calories even more. I forgot to buy Asagio cheese, so I used the same amount of mozzarella to replace it. Its also not necessary to thaw the griller crumbles, or brown the turkey before mixing it with the other ingredients. Both will cook thoroughly as it bakes. You can also easily double it to feed a larger crowd, just bake in a 13 x 9 inch baking dish for 35 minutes. As I prepared the recipe (with griller crumbles and my own sauce) it is about 345 calories per 1 cup serving.

Keeping up with things

We've been back from vacation about a week now...somehow it seems longer. Anyway, I am still catching up with all the things to be done around here. The groceries have finally been restocked, laundry washed and I unpacked the suitcases within 48 hours of returning home (yeah me!). Procrastination is always lurking...So here is what I would like to get done tonight.

1) fold and put away all that laundry
2) sweep the floors and mop the kitchen
3) make brownies for my husband
4) make chai shortbread cookies for me :)
5) make a new baked ziti recipe for dinner
6) mix up a bread dough starter for tomorrow
7) make hardboiled eggs for sandwiches

Recovering from vacation can be exhausting!