Pizza

TWD: Pizza Rustica

April 3, 2012 · by imathomebaking · 21 Comments

Welcome to another delicious edition of Tuesdays With Dorie: Baking With Julia!

This Week Our Hosts Are: Capitol Region Dining & The Place They Call Home, where you can also find the recipe.

Well, I almost thought I’d never get this post up today! I’ve been sick, so sick that I forgot the recipe was due this week. For some reason I thought I had till next week! I would have already made this on Sunday, as I never wait till THE day to make it. I had a few things going against me, being sick & the fact that the Commissary is closed on Monday’s…So I had to wait till early this evening to get to the store.

I was worried about not being able to find some of the cheese ingredients and I could not be upset if I could not as I live in Japan and can only work with what I have. So it was a mad dash to the store, happily I was able to find everything I needed for the filling. I was pleased that I would not have to sit this one out.

I was smart and made the crust dough this morning and my sweet hubby helped me gather all the filling ingredients and off to the oven it went! I want to say that I was thrilled with this crust. How simple it was to throw all ingredients into the food processor and hit a button! It was perfect.

I was worried about rolling it out after the dough had been very chilled in the fridge all day but all I had to do was work it a little and warm that butter right back up by kneading it a few times. Rolling it out was easier than I imagined as well. I think I can honestly say I’ve never made a lattice top on anything before, if I have I certainly do not remember it. It came out beautiful!

The ingredients were as simple as using a rubber spatula to “mix” together everything and plop it into the pie plate. The recipe did not state to do an egg wash on the crust, but I always try to with pie crusts. I tested a small piece of the dough and it was super sweet. From reading some posts earlier in the day some people took issue with how sweet it was and did not think it complimented the filling. I could not wait to find out for myself.

I ended up baking mine for about 2o minutes longer than the suggested time. I did this only because I know my oven and things seemed to be baking extra slow on 350 degrees but it came out perfect. I have to admit I forgot to butter my pie plate before laying the bottom crust down but in reality it made no difference, the pie cut really easily and came out no problem.

It smelled amazing and I did take a taste of it. I am a picky eater and so not really my thing but I needed to taste it just to see. While I would not sit there and eat a big piece, it was actually delicious! The crust was just perfect with the filling in my opinion. My husband loved it and had several slices, stating he loved the taste of the crust with the fillings, not to sweet for him.

I do plan on making this again and when I do I will make a few small changes such as using mushrooms and spinach. Thanks for visiting 🙂

Bread Machine Pizza Dough

March 9, 2012 · by imathomebaking · 1 Comment

It is Friday afternoon here in Japan! At our house, Fridays are pizza night! I search and search for the perfect pizza dough. Right now I have two favorites. This bread machine one and the Olive Oil Pizza Dough. My husband really loves this one and so I’ve been using it for weeks now, every Friday. It is simple, you let the bread machine do all the work.

It has a wonderful taste and it makes quite a bit of dough, so much so that we end up having to toss some if it, as we only make 1 square pizza for the two of us. You can make this deep dish, regular and with a little work you can also make it thin with a crisp! How we like it changes it seems every week.

You can easily make it and toss it into the fridge, in a freezer bag for up to 24 hours which makes this an even more convenient pizza dough recipe. Just let it rest for 20 minutes once you remove it from the fridge before making into your pizza.

How are things in your neck of the woods? Is it screaming Spring around where you live? I am sad to say I am starting to see Spring arrive here in Japan. I want to hold onto wonderful cold winter just a little longer! I see green grass, heck after having feet of snow for months it is interesting to see the grass, never mind it is actually green!

I’ve got my balcony door open today, letting chilled, but fresh air into my home. I enjoy that. Are you ready for Spring??

Bread Machine Pizza Dough

Author: Adapted From: Beth Hensperger

Recipe type: Dough

Ingredients

1½ cups Water
¼ cup Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
3½ cups Flour
1 tablespoon Sugar
1½ teaspoons Salt
2 teaspoons SAF Yeast
Or
2½ teaspoons Bread Machine Yeast

Instructions

Put all ingredients into bread machine pan as follows: Liquids, Dry, Yeast.
Select Dough cycle on your bread machine.
When the dough cycle is finished, remove dough from pan.
Use immediately or place in a freezer safe bag for up to 24 hours in your fridge.
Roll out dough and bake according to your recipe.

Notes

You can freeze the dough for up to 3 months. Keep in the fridge in freezer safe bag for up to 24 hours. If kept in fridge, let dough sit out and rest for 20 minutes before rolling.

Pizza Monkey Bread

January 14, 2012 · by imathomebaking · 2 Comments

Can you imagine the snow is still falling here in Northern Japan! Thats over 24 straight hours of snowfall for those keeping track. It is amazingly beautiful. It makes me happy. A happy baker makes a happy home! We trekked outside into the monstrous inches of snow to drive to the North side of base. I am also in love with photography and snow is such a beautiful thing to work with. I got some amazing pictures too. It made for another great day for me.

The snow is projected to keep falling the rest of the weekend, so between snowy walks and maybe sledding, there will be baking. Which leads me to the yummy dinner I promised you last night. So here it is in all of it’s glory. Glorious it was my friends! This was my first time making a Pizza Monkey Bread and we loved it and enjoyed every yummy bite. However, this is way to much goodness for just the two of us. I am thinking parties and friendly get togethers. Or a nice treat for a new neighbor or a family that has just welcomed a new baby into the family. Many reasons to make this of course.

Feel free to use whatever pizza dough is your favorite, homemade or from the grocery store. If you are interested in the one I used, which I posted yesterday, you can find that HERE. Any marinara sauce will do too, I used Newman’s Own incase you were curious. If you have any questions about any of the recipes I make, please feel free to contact me or comment on that recipe and I will get back to you as soon as I can.

Now, onto the recipe or at least the directions as to how to assemble this delicious treat.

5.0 from 1 reviews

Pizza Monkey Bread

Recipe type: Appetiser/Dinner

Cook time: 35 mins

Total time: 35 mins

Ingredients

2 Pounds Pizza Dough, Recipe Of Your Choice Or Store Bought
6 Tablespoons Garlic Butter
1 Cup Marinara Sauce
10 String Or Stick Mozzarella Cheese
Pepperoni If Desired

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Using a bundt pan grease it with some of the garlic butter.
Cut each cheese string or stick into 5 pieces.
Make a little ball of dough, slightly flatten. If using pepperoni place on dough, then place cheese. Make dough into a ball and make sure to seal the edges.
Place in bundt pan. Continue till you run out of dough.
Cover bunt pan and let rest for 30 minutes.
Bake in preheated oven for 35-45 minutes. You want the top to be dark & delicious.
Remove from oven and let rest 10 minutes before serving.
Heat up your marinara sauce.
Enjoy!

Olive Oil Pizza Dough

January 13, 2012 · by imathomebaking · 1 Comment

I hope everyone’s day has been as wonderful as mine has been! It was another snowy day here in Japan. Notice that I will mention snow a lot. The average snowfall here is 200 inches a season. That beats anywhere in New England where I grew up and also Maine. It is funny for my family to be jealous of me getting all the snow this year! I am loving it though. I imagine we got close to 8 inches, if not more. It is supposed to keep falling all weekend and so I welcome it!

I had planned on making another sweet treat of sorts today but then decided to do something completely different. I do that often. I start with some idea to bake something & then end up with something else. Today was one of those days. I made a dinner of sorts that requires pizza dough. I will be posting that dinner tomorrow, so check back for that! I’ve tried my fair share of pizza doughs, some were okay, others were time consuming and then you have the castaways. I’ve had yet to find the “one”, the one to go to without even having to put another thought into it.

I now have that pizza dough and I am thrilled! Delicious, yumminess. This dough can be used for all sorts of treats including Dough Boys! Have you made those before? I will be making them soon. This recipe makes a monster amount of dough which is awesome and even better it will stay fresh for you to use in the fridge for 12 days. Yes, read that again…12 DAYS! Try this dough, you will be glad you did.

Olive Oil Pizza Dough

Author: Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day.

Recipe type: ANY

Prep time: 2 hours 10 mins

Total time: 2 hours 10 mins

Ingredients

2¾ cups lukewarm Water
1½ tablespoons granulated Yeast, or 2 packets
1½ tablespoons Salt
1 tablespoon Sugar
¼ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
6½ cups All Purpose Flour

Instructions

In the bowl of you stand mixer, fitted with the dough hook or if you prefer a regular 5 quart bowl; with a wooden spoon mix the yeast, salt, sugar, and olive oil with the water.
Mix in the flour without kneading. If using your stand mixer this is the most simple and easy way, if not you will need to use your hands to incorporate the flour.
Transfer dough to a large 5 quart bowl or lidded food container. Cover; not airtight, and allow the dough to rest at room temperature for approximately 2 hours.
You can use the dough immedietly after the 2 hour rise or refridgerate in a lidded non-airtight container and use over the next 12 days.

Notes

This dough is pretty sticky. Make sure you choose a proper container from the beginning as I thought I did but quickly found out I needed a bigger one. I would recommend just using a little loosely fit plastic wrap on a very large bowl. 5 quart bowl is highly recommended. Using the dough chilled helps it be less sticky and a little easier to handle.