Homemade Pizza

Oh man, I feel bad for the lack of posting lately. My life has been taken over by soccer games and sick babies. But life is looking up: Baby is feeling better and only one more week of soccer. I love watching the girls play soccer but the time commitment is intense! I owe a thanks to my mom for running me all over the place to play soccer. Thanks mom!
So, homemade pizza. I love to make this. It is one of those meals that brings back great memories of cooking with my mom. She would pan out the dough while I grated the cheese. Then we would help mom top the pizzas. I don't think I even knew about Little Caesars until I was in middle school. I thought homemade was the only way to do it. This recipe does take some planning ahead of time. I like to do it on the weekend when I have time to enjoy cooking. With school getting out soon, maybe we will have a pizza party.


Homemade Pizza Dough

1 c. warm water
1 Tbs. yeast
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
3 1/2 c. flour
Sprinkle yeast and sugar into warm water measured into a large mixing bowl. Stir until dissolved. Let set until yeast starts to raise, about 10 minutes. Add salt, oil, 2 c. flour, and mix thoroughly. Add additional 1 1/2 c. flour, Knead dough until smooth and elastic, about 8-10 minutes. Place in a greased bowl and let raise until double, about 45 minutes.
Punch down dough and divide into 2 balls. Place in a greased pizza pan or cookie sheet and press to fit. Half the dough will made a 12-inch pizza, or a small cookie sheet. On each pizza spread with half of pizza sauce.


Pizza Sauce

1 can tomato sauce
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. salt1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. pepper

Heat in a small saucepan until warm.

Top pizza's with mozzarella cheese and your favorite toppings. Place pizza in a 400 degree oven and bake until crust is browned and cheese is bubbly, about 15 minutes.

Topping Ideas:

pepperoni
Canadian bacon
mushrooms
olives
onions
green peppers
pineapple
tomatoes
chicken
You can really use anything you have lying around. Be creative!

Grandma's Cinnamon Rolls

I decided it was high time to do a post on Grandma's cinnamon rolls. This was probably her most well-known and well-loved recipe. One of the best things I remember about going to Grandma's house is that she would always make you feel special. One of the ways she did this was by serving you cinnamon rolls for breakfast. I mean, who gets to eat cinnamon rolls for breakfast at home? She would always frost them and put a little pat of butter on them and then heat them up just a little bit. Then she would serve them to you on a pretty plate with a napkin and always a place mat. This is probably my favorite recipe of Grandma's. So here you are: Grandma's Cinnamon Rolls.

Hey all you family out there: What about you? What is your favorite recipe of Grandma's?


Grandma's Cinnamon Rolls

A note from Grandma: "These take about 4 hours to make. Let them raise properly. I usually double this recipe"

2 c. scalded milk
1 c. shortening
1 c. sugar
2 Tbs. yeast
4 beaten eggs
1 1/2 tsp. salt
Flour- enough to make a spongy dough (this is somewhere around 8 cups)

Mix milk, shortening, and sugar in a saucepan. Heat to a simmer. Cool until warm. You can set the hot pan over ice cubes to speed up the cooling process. Don't get it too cold, just nice and warm, or the yeast won't rise. Add yeast. Let raise for 1/2 hour. Add eggs and salt. Mix well. Make a sponge by adding flour. It should be about the consistency of a thick pancake batter. Let raise for 1/2 hour then mix in enough flour to make the dough the consistency of roll dough. Turn dough into a greased bowl and let it raise until double.
Divide dough in half. Roll dough out into a rectangle that is about 1/2 inch thick. Spread with melted butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Roll up long end into a log. Slice into 1-inch pieces. An easy way to slice the rolls is to use a piece of dental floss.Place pieces on a greased or parchment-lined cookie sheet. Cover with a dish cloth and put in a warm place. Let rolls raise until double in size. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. Move to a cooling rack. Frost while still warm. Eat and enjoy!
Don't frost the rolls you aren't going to eat immediately. If you are going to freeze them, let them cool completely. Place flat in a bread bag to freeze.
A few notes: This dough has a very different texture to it than regular bread dough, so be prepared for that. The first time I made these it freaked me out.
I will often prepare the dough to the point where you put it in a greased bowl. I will then put the bowl in the fridge and let the dough raise slowly overnight. This makes the process a little less overwhelming. If you do this remember to let the dough get to room temperature before trying to work with it.
Grandma never specified how much butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon to use. So I would say, use good judgment. I have found not going overboard actually works to your favor.
A final note form Grandma: "Have fun!"

White Bread

Baking bread has always kind of scared me. Yeasty anything has kind of scared me. I got this great little recipe from my friend Trudy. I have been making it quite a bit lately. It is easy and so yummy. It took quite a bit of the scariness out of bread-making.

Yummy White Bread

2 c. hot water
1/2 c. sugar or water
2/3 c. milk
1/4 c. butter- melted
3 tsp. salt
2 Tbs. dry yeast
7-8 c. flour

Combine hot water, sugar/honey, butter, milk, and salt in a large bowl. I use my Kitchen Aid for this recipe. Sprinkle in yeast, stir until wet and then let rise, about 20 mintues. It will look like a puffy sponge when is raises.


Put in 4 cups of flour and mix thoroughly- it will be wet. Add the rest of the flour one cup at a time until the dough reaches a nice elastic consistency. Knead or machine mix(with a dough hook) for about 10 minutes. Place in a large greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let raise until double, about 45 min. I have had a terrible time getting things to raise, but I finally figured out a great trick. Turn on your oven light when you start preparing the dough. It makes the oven a perfect temperature for raising dough.


After dough has doubled in size, punch it down (I think this is so fun), knead lightly and let raise again until double. (45 minutes). Punch down then dump onto a floured surface and knead. Divide into 4 equal portions and form into loaves. Place in greased loaf pans. Place back in oven and cover with a towel. Let raise until double in size (45 minutes). When dough has doubled, take bread out of the oven (very important!) and heat oven to 350 degrees. When oven in preheated bake bread for 20-30 minutes until brown. When bread is done, remove from pan and let cool on a rack. Be sure to eat some of it hot with butter. So, so yummy!

Broccoli Cauliflower Soup and Breadsticks

First of all, I apologize to any of you who actually read this blog. I guess I have been busy lately. Claire has kind of turned into a um, high maintenance child. Syd's homework load has been unbelievable this year. I love her teacher, but we have an hour to 1 1/2 hours of homework on a good night. Plus Brynn has ballet, Syd has Tae Kwon Do, I have a new calling which keeps me hopping (Stake YW Sports Director) and Shawn is the 2nd counselor/Scoutmaster for the Young Men. So we are busy.
So I decided I will aim for one post a week. We will see how that works. I've stockpiled a few so we should be good for a while. Here is a double header for today.



Broccoli Cauliflower Soup

This is a recipe I got from my mother-in-law, Julie, when Shawn and I first got married. I don't use a recipe to make it so it has morphed into something a little different, but it is still easy and yummy! Shawn's family calls it Relief Society Soup. I think Julie got the recipe at RS or used to take it to RS lots or something. This recipe is very much a to-your-taste recipe. Just combine things until it reaches the right consistency and flavor for you.

• 1 head broccoli
• 1 head cauliflower
• 2 cups milk
• 1/2 cube- 1 cube butter
  
• instant potatoes- I like the potato pearls you get from the church cannery but potato flakes also work
• 2 cups grated cheddar cheese
• 1 Tbs. Lawry's seasoning

Wash and cut broccoli and cauliflower into bite-size pieces. Place in a large stock pot and just cover with water. Place on stove and bring to a boil. Boil until veggies are fork-tender. Without draining veggies, pour in milk and add butter and Lawry's seasoning. I use less butter, but if you want more of that flavor add the whole cube. When butter is melted, add instant potatoes. I usually add 3-4 cups of potatoes. Add one cup at a time and mix well between cups. Stop adding when soup reaches the consistency you like. Remember soup will continue to thicken a little bit. When potatoes have been absorbed well add cheese. Serve soup hot. This soup reheats well, or can be made earlier in the day and kept in a crock pot on low.



Breadsticks

These are some great breadsticks that my mom used to make. They are best if eaten the day they are made.

• 1 1/2 c. warm water
• 2 Tbs. sugar
• 1 Tbs. yeast
• 1 tsp. salt
• 4 c. flour
• 2 Tbs. melted butter
• Garlic salt
• Parmesan cheese
  

Combine warm water and sugar and let dissolve. Then add yeast and let it rise for 10 minutes. Pour yeast water in a large bowl or Kitchen Aid. Add salt and flour. Mix well. Let dough raise 10 minutes. Roll out dough on a floured surface until it's 1/2-3/4 inch thick. Use a pizza cutter to cut into bread sticks. Place on 2 greased cookie sheets. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with garlic salt and/or Parmesan cheese. Let breadsticks raise 20 minute or until double in size. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Serve hot with yummy Broccoli Cauliflower soup.

Ladies Fingers or Man's Toes

I made these for the first time a couple of years ago and they were fantastic! They kind of creep me out, especially the crunchy fingernails, but are super-fun. This was my first experience with boiling dough and it was not hard at all. This step is what makes them nice and chewy, like pretzels. I hope you give them a try. They are spooktacular. :) Happy Halloween!

Ingredients
taken from Martha Stewart website.

Makes 4 dozen.

• Red or green food coloring (optional, for fingers)
• 24 blanched almonds, halved lengthwise
• 2 cups warm water (110 degrees), plus 3 quarts, plus 1 tablespoon
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 package active dry yeast (1/4 ounce)
• Vegetable oil
• 5 to 6 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
• 1 tablespoon coarse salt
• 2 tablespoons baking soda
• 1 large egg
• Sea salt
• Fried rosemary (optional, for toes)

Directions

1. Place a small amount of food coloring, if using, in a shallow bowl, and, using a paintbrush, color the rounded side of each split almond; set aside to dry.
2. Pour 2 cups water into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough-hook attachment. Add sugar; stir to dissolve. Sprinkle with yeast, and let stand until yeast begins to bubble, about 5 minutes. Beat in 1 cup flour into yeast on low speed until combined. Beat in coarse salt; add 3 1/2 cups flour, and beat until combined. Continue beating until dough pulls away from bowl, 1 to 2 minutes. Add 1/2 cup flour. Beat 1 minute more. If dough is sticky, add up to 1 cup more flour. Transfer to a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth, 1 minute.
3. Coat a large bowl with cooking spray. Transfer dough to bowl, turning dough to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap; let rest in a warm spot to rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
4. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Bring 3 quarts water to a boil in a 6-quart straight-sided saucepan over high heat; reduce to a simmer. Add baking soda. Lightly coat two baking sheets with cooking spray. Divide dough into quarters. Work with one quarter at a time, and cover remaining dough with plastic wrap. Divide first quarter into 12 pieces. On a lightly floured work surface, roll each piece back and forth with your palm forming a long finger shape, about 3 to 4 inches. Pinch dough in two places to form knuckles. Or, to make toes, roll each piece so that it is slightly shorter and fatter, about 2 inches. Pinch in 1 place to form the knuckle. When 12 fingers or toes are formed, transfer to simmering water. Poach for 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon, transfer fingers to the prepared baking sheets. Repeat with remaining dough, blanching each set of 12 fingers or toes before making more.
5. Beat egg with 1 tablespoon water. Brush pretzel fingers and toes with the egg wash. Using a sharp knife, lightly score each knuckle about three times. Sprinkle with sea salt and rosemary, if using. Position almond nails, pushing them into dough to attach. Bake until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool on wire rack. Fingers and toes are best eaten the same day; or store, covered, up to 2 days at room temperature.

Croissants

Whenever I hear the word croissant pronounced in it's true French fashion (kwɑːˈsɑːn) I always think of that song in The Little Mermaid: Les Poisson. Now I know that le poisson is French for "the fish" but it is the way that it is said, kind of like croissant, with that rolling R sound. The thing I always think of is the way the French chef laughs, "Hehehe, hawhawhaw". So whenever you see the word "Croissant" in this post you can think of me laughing "Hehehe, hawhawhaw"!

My dad lived in France for two years while on his mission. He talks about two things from that time: Sneaking into the Cannes Film Festival (that is a whole other story), and the French patisseries. He goes on and on about the flaky, buttery croissants. So I thought I would try my hand at making these little yummies.

Bread products in general are not my strong point. To be honest, anything with yeast scares me a little. So this was a good bread for me to take on. I had to face my yeasty fear straight on. It was not as hard as I thought, just very time consuming. So if you decide to try this out, I suggest doing it over two days, or taking one entire day. There is lots of waiting involved. The whole process was really quite fun and the croissants turned out flaky and buttery, crisp on the outside, airy and soft in the middle. Dad said they tasted like he remembers, so I will call this experiment a success!

Croissants
recipe adapted from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook and The Professional Pastry Chef

2 cups cold milk
2 Tablespoons honey
4 1/2 cups bread flour
1 cup unbleached pastry flour
*NOTE: I used all purpose flour in place of both flours
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 Tablespoons dry yeast
1 Tablespoon + 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/4 Pounds (5 sticks) butter, cold
Lemon juice
milk for washing prepared croissants

In a small saucepan, heat milk to 110 degrees. Remove from heat, then stir in yeast to dissolve. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Then add honey and stir to dissolve. Set aside.

Make the dough package: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine 4 1/4 bread flour, pastry flour, sugar, and salt. Add milk mixture and mix on low speed until dough just comes together, about 1-3 minutes.

Turn out dough on a lightly floured surface. Gently knead to form a smooth ball, about 1 minute. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour or overnight.

Make the butter package: Lay butter sticks side by side on a clean work space. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup bread flour, and several drops of lemon juice. Work flour and lemon juice into butter by kneading it against the work space with your hands. Do not use a mixer. My butter was chilled but slightly softened, about the consistency of the dough. Shape butter into an 8-inch square (I got my ruler out and measure). Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight.
Remove dough package from the refrigerator; place on a lightly floured surface. Roll out to be a 16x10 inch rectangle- again I measured, about 1/2 inch thick, with the short side facing you. Remove butter package from the fridge; place on the bottom half of the dough. Fold the dough over butter packet, and pinch around the edges to seal butter in. By the way I am sorry you all have to look at my ugly counter top all of the time. Some day we will do something about that. . .




Roll out the dough to a 20x10 inch rectangle about 1/2 inch thick, keeping corners as square as possible. Remove any excess flour with a dry pastry brush.
Starting at a short end, fold the rectangle into thirds: fold 1/3 of the dough over the middle section, then fold the remaining third over both sections, brushing away excess flour as you go.

This completes the first of three turns. Wrap in plastic wrap and let dough rest for 1 hour.

After and hour, take dough out of fridge and unwrap. Position the dough so that the long side runs horizontally, roll the dough to the same size rectangle as before, fold, and make the second single turn. Chill the dough for 1 hour.

Repeat the steps above, making the last of the three turns. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap. Chill 6-8 hours, or overnight. I let the dough chill overnight then got up very early (think big yawns during church) to form and raise.

Turn out chilled dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Roll out dough to a 30x16 inch rectangle. If the dough is elastic, cover with plastic wrap and let rest in fridge for 10 minutes. Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough in half lengthwise into two 30x8 inch rectangles. On top of each rectangle, mark every 4 inches. On the bottom of each rectangle mark in between the the upper marks (two inches) to form triangles. Cut dough into triangles. You can use a ruler to guide you.

Cut a 1-inch slit in the center of the base of each triangle. Now take a moment to feel bad for me. At this point it is 4AM and I am whimpering for my bed and half asleep.

To shape croissants, slightly stretch the two lower points of each triangle to enlarge the slit. Fold the inner corner formed by the slit toward the outside of the triangle. Roll the base of the triangle up and away from you, stretching the dough slightly outward as you roll; the tip should be tucked under the croissant. Pull the ends towards you to form a crescent.
Transfer each crescent to a baking sheet lined with parchment or a Silpat. Do not overcrowd on the pan. If crowded they will get overdone in the ends before they are fully baked in the middle.

Let croissant rise until they are slight less than double in size. Brush the croissants with milk,

Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes. I baked both pans at once, moving the lower pan to the upper rack and visa versa halfway through baking time. Transfer to wire racks to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature. Croissants are best if eaten within 6 hours of baking.

Croissants definitely take some time, but are so worth it if you are after a taste of the real thing. Hope you enjoy!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

This recipe came from Great Harvest. I love this bread during the holidays. This bread is very good- nice and moist.

2 1/2 c. white
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 c. whole wheat flour
1 c. oil
3 c. sugar
2/3 c. water
2 tsp. baking soda
4 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. salt
16 oz. canned pumpkin
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 c. chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans or three 8x4 inch loaf pans. Mix dry ingredients. In a separate bowl mix wet ingredients and add to dry mixture. Combine well. Pour into loaf pans and bake for 60-70 minutes.

Banana Bread

This might possibly be the best banana bread recipe out there! Not dry, but not overly mushy either. Once, Grandma got a really good deal on bananas and came home with around 20 pounds of ripe bananas. She set to work making banana bread, and when she was done she had enough to give a mini loaf to every one of her great-grandchildren!

Banana Bread
1 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 c. melted shortening
3 ripe bananas-mashed
2 c. flour- fluff with a fork before measuring
pinch of salt
2 eggs- well beaten
1/2 c. chopped nuts-Syd is allergic to nuts so we use big milk-chocolate chips

Mix ingredients together in order given. Do no over-beat. Put waxed paper in the bottom of loaf pan and lightly grease. You will never have trouble getting it out. Bake 1 hour in medium loaf tin at 350.