Herbed Pizza Dough (Bread Maker)

The addition of Italian seasoning boosts the flavor of a simple pizza crust or bread stick. 

2 tablespoons sugar

1 cup and 2 tablespoons water, heated to between 100-110 degrees

2 teaspoons dried granulated yeast

2 tablespoons oil

3 cups bread flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

MEASURE all ingredients except cornmeal into bread pan in order listed; Select dough setting.

When the dough cycle is complete, place the ball in a well greased bowl.

Cover and leave to rise in a warm place for 30 minutes

Preheat oven to 400

Knead the risen dough lightly. Roll the dough into the desired shape

Place on well greased baking sheet, or pizza pan (12x 15 rectangle) dusted with cornmeal.

Partially bake the crust for about 8 minutes. remove crust and increase oven setting to 425 F.

Top crust with your favorite fixings.

BAKE 20-30 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and delicious.

Jo Goldenberg's Parisian Bagels

If you haven't made one of this week's bagel sandwich recipes but are planning on trying one, you may want to try making your own bagels from scratch. It's not that hard, and if you don't live near a real bagel bakery, these may be the best bagel's you've ever had!

Check out the recipe at http://www.melindalee.com/recipearchive.html?action=124&item_id=423

Triple-Tomato Pizza

I don't like a lot of meats on my pizza. In fact, my favorite pizza has very little other than tomato-based products.

Ingredients

• 1 recipe pizza dough from Tuesday
  
• 1 tablespoon plain olive oil
  
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  
• 1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes
  
• 1 tablespoon garlic, minced/pressed fine
• 1 can (14 ounces) tomato sauce
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• a hunk of Parmesan cheese rind (off of a real hunk of parmigiano reggiano, if you can get it)
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped (if packed in oil, drain and rinse off the oil)
  
• 5 Roma tomatoes, sliced
• 2 tablespoons basil, finely chopped
  
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (from the aforementioned hunk!)

Directions

Prepare the dough through the rise step, but do not shape it. Heat the plain olive oil over medium heat and sweat the onions with the salt and red chili flakes. When the onions are soft and translucent, add the garlic and cook for 30-45 seconds, until fragrant. Add the tomato sauce and oregano and reduce heat to medium-low. Add the cheese rind and cook for 5-10 minutes at a low simmer, reducing heat if it starts to boil.

Shape the dough according to Tuesday's recipe and place on the pizza peel as instructed. Remove the cheese rind from the sauce and discard. Brush the dough with the extra-virgin oil and spoon on 2-3 tablespoons of sauce. Spread the sauce to evenly cover the crust. Sprinkle on the sun-dried tomatoes. Evenly spread the mozzarella and cover with Roma tomatoes. Bake as instructed on Tuesday. When the pizza is done, pull from the oven and sprinkle on the basil and Parmesan cheese.

Pizza Crust

Most people think that homemade pizza won't be as good as one from a real pizzeria. Really, there are very few things that you need to make excellent pizza at home: a pizza peel (you gotta get the pizza in and out of the oven), a pizza stone (or some ceramic tiles from a hardware store), and a good dough recipe. Now while you need to spend money on the first two, I've got you covered on the last one!

Ingredients

• 4.5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup warm (not hot) water
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt (or 1/2 teaspoon fine salt)
• 1 package instant yeast
• cornmeal for the pizza peel and stone
  

Directions

Put about half the flour into the work bowl of a stand mixer. Add the water, salt, and yeast and stir to combine. When it is all combined, put a greased dough hook on the mixer and put on medium speed. Slowly add flour, increasing power as needed to keep the hook moving, until the dough climbs up the hook and is not very sticky (you may need only 4 out of the total 4.5 cups this recipe calls for - don't just add it all as you don't want the dough too dry). Knead for 5-10 minutes, or until you can pull a little piece of dough off and stretch it into a thin membrane (known as a "baker's window" because you can almost see through it). Put the dough into a bowl more than twice its size, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place for an hour. If you do not want to start cooking after an hour of rise, place in the refrigerator until you want to start cooking.

Put your pizza stone on the bottom rack of a cold oven and remove any other racks. Set the oven to 450 and turn on.

Lightly flour a clean countertop or large cutting board. With floured hands, place the dough ball on the work surface and start stretching to match the size of your pizza stone (if you want thin and crispy crust, only use half the dough per pizza). When the dough is stretched out almost as much as you need, pull the edges out a little bit and pinch together a lip of dough for the crust on all sides. Lay the dough flat on the work surface and make it bumpy by "knocking" it with your knuckles or fingertips. Put a thin layer of cornmeal on the pizza peel and carefully move the crust to the peel. Add sauce (sparingly), cheese and a topping or two. Sprinkle a thin layer of cornmeal onto the hot pizza stone and carefully slide the pizza off the peel onto the stone. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the crust is crispy.

SPECIAL PREVIEW: If you wait for Thursday, there will be a post for the best set of sauce and toppings for this pizza you can do!

Hot Dog Buns

The other day we had some sausages for grilling but no buns. Oh, the horror! Never one to shy away from a challenge, I decided to make my own buns instead of buying from the store. Now my only problem is that I never want to eat a store-bought hot dog bun again!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 egg
  
• 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
  
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  
• 1 package (.25 ounce) instant or rapid-rise yeast

Directions

Heat the milk, water, and butter in the microwave or a small saucepan until warm (around 110-120 degrees). In a stand mixer, mix together salt, 1 1/2 cups flour, and yeast. Mix in milk mixture and egg until thoroughly combined. Put dough hook on mixer and turn on medium speed. Slowly add the remaining flour except for 1/2 cup. When the dough has been kneaded together, feel the dough - it should be moist but not too sticky. If very sticky, add remaining 1/2 cup flour. Knead dough on medium-high speed for 5-10 minutes, or until you can pull a piece of dough out and stretch it into a tight membrane like a drumhead - you should be able to pull it very thin, so you can see lights and shadows through it. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces. Roll out each piece with your hands on a lightly floured surface until you make a log about 8-10 inches long. Place each log on a lubricated sheet pan tightly packed in a 2x6 formation:

||||||
||||||

Cover with a lightly moistened towel or a piece of plastic wrap sprayed with no-stick spray. Let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes to an hour. Remove towel/plastic and bake at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool for a few minutes before separating and splitting for the hot dogs.

Jalapeno Cheddar Corn Muffins

I love recipes that start with something simple and mediocre and turn it into something that is still fairly simple but tastes a lot better. Take corn muffin mix: this mix (I use the Jiffy brand) makes completely average muffins, with ones made from scratch being a lot better. However, add jalapenos and cheese and they get a whole lot tastier. I love these muffins, so I always double the recipe as a single box of mix doesn't make very much.

Ingredients (for 9 muffins)

• 1 package Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix
• 1/2 jalapeno, finely diced (remove the ribs and seeds for mild flavor, or use 1 entire diced chile for extra heat)
• 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/3 cup milk (whole milk is best)
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Liberally spray a muffin pan with no-stick spray.

Mix muffin mix, jalapeno, and cheese in a mixing bowl. In a separate bowl or measuring cup, beat together egg, milk, and hot sauce until well integrated.

Pour milk mixture onto the muffin mix mixture and stir until all the mixture is moistened.

Using a large disher, evenly distribute the batter into 9 of the muffin pan spots (they should be about 2/3 full).

Bake 18-20 minutes or until a wooden skewer poked into a muffin comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes. They are best served warm with butter but will keep for 2 days in a sealed plastic bag (cool completely before bagging). They are great served with a western omlette or huevos rancheros.

Welsh Rabbit (Rarebit)

According to Wikipedia:

The first recorded use of the term Welsh rabbit was in 1725, but the origin of the term is unknown. It may be an ironic name coined in the days when the Welsh were notoriously poor: only better-off people could afford butcher's meat, and while in England rabbit was the poor man's meat, in Wales the poor man's meat was cheese.

So there you go!

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 1/2 cup beer
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 6 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese
• 2 shakes hot sauce
• 4 pieces of toast (sourdough or rye)

Directions

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes (do not let the flour brown). Stir in the mustard, Worcestershire, salt, and pepper until smooth. Stir in beer. Add cream, whisking until smooth. Reduce heat to low and slowly stir in cheese, a handful at a time, letting each addition completely melt before adding the next handful. Keep stirring until the sauce is smooth. Add hot sauce and serve over toast.

Gyro Sandwiches

There are 4 steps to this recipe:

1. Thicken the yogurt for the Tzatziki sauce (see the toppings section)
   
2. Make the pitas (optionally, buy pitas from the store, but they won't taste as good)
3. Prep the toppings & sauce
   
4. Do the meat

Pitas
Ingredients:

• 1 package yeast
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1½ cups warm (110°) water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups all-purpose flour (plus more for dusting & rolling)
• Non-stick spray
  
• 1 teaspoon vegetable or canola oil

Combine yeast, sugar, and water in the work bowl of a standing mixer with a dough hook. If not using instant yeast, wait 5-10 minutes for the yeast to bloom and become frothy. Turn the mixer on low and add the salt. Slowly add the flour, a little at a time, reserving the last ½ cup. Turn off the mixer and feel the dough. If it is very sticky to the touch, add reserved flour. Slowly power up the mixer to medium speed and knead the dough for 5-10 minutes, until smooth and elastic.

On a lightly floured clean work surface, roll the dough into a tight ball. Place in a clean bowl or bin that has been sprayed with non-stick spray, rolling the dough around to coat the top of the ball with the spray. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm place for 1-2 hours, until the dough doubles in size.

Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and lightly punch down to redistribute the gasses. Divide into 8 equal portions, keeping each dough ball covered under a damp tea towel. Let rest under the towel for 15 minutes. Heat a large skillet or griddle to medium-high heat or heat a pizza stone in a 500° oven. If using a griddle/skillet, lube very lighly with oil to prevent sticking. With a rolling pin, roll out each dough ball into a thin circle 8-10 inches across. As each pita is rolled out, cook on the griddle or pizza stone for 3-4 minutes as you roll out the next one. If using a griddle/skillet, flip each pita halfway through cooking time. As the pitas finish cooking stack on a plate and keep covered under a sheet of aluminum foil. Keep in a warm oven (i.e. not 500° any more) while you work on the rest of the Gyro stuff.

Toppings
I like the following on top of my Gyros:

• sliced onion
• chopped cucumber
• sliced tomato
• shredded lettuce
• sliced olives (I like green, but black work too)
  
• crumbled Feta cheese
• Tzatziki sauce (recpie follows)

Tzatziki Sauce
This recipe makes a lot of sauce. You may want to make a half batch.
Ingredients:

• 16 oz plain (unflavored) yogurt
• 1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and chopped fine.
• Kosher salt
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced fine or pressed
  
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 5-6 fresh mint leaves, finely minced OR 1-2 teaspoons dried mint (to taste)

Pour yogurt onto the middle of a clean tea towel. Gather up the corners and suspend the yogurt over a bowl (use a skewer or a mesh strainer) so excess moisture can drip out. Thicken in the fridge for 2 hours.

Spread out the chopped cucumber on a couple of layers of paper towel on a sheet pan. Lightly sprinkle with kosher salt. Let sit for 10-15 minutes. Add more paper towels on top and press with another sheet pan to squeeze out water. Put drained cucumber and thickened yogurt in a medium mixing bowl and combine with remaining Tzatziki ingredients. Add additional salt to taste. This will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.

Gyro Steak
Although lamb is the traditional Gyro meat, steak is much easier to find where I live. I like flank steak because it is very flavorful, inexpensive, and is already a thin cut from the butcher (making it cook quickly and slice easily).
Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon each dried rosemary leaves and whole peppercorns
• ½ teaspoon each fennel seeds, dried oregano and dried thyme
• Kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons canola or vegetable oil
  
• 2-4 lbs steak such as flank steak, skirt steak, fajita steak, or stir-fry steak, about 1-2 inches thick
  

Finely grind the rosemary, oregano, thyme, and peppercorns together in a spice grinder or coffee mill. Lightly sprinkle both sides of meat with Kosher salt. Spread a thin dusting of the herb/spice mixture onto both sides of the meat, patting it down to ensure good contact and adhesion. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat or prepare grill for direct heat. Rub both sides with oil. Cook 5-7 minutes on a side, or until internal temperature reads 125° for rare, 145° for medium. I guess you could go until 160 for well-done, but why would you? Rest the meat off-heat for 10-15 minutes under a tent of aluminum foil and bias-slice thinly across the grain.

Whew!
It looks like we did it! To assemble, place a few slices of steak on half of the flat side of the pita. Add other toppings as desired. Fold the pita over and eat. Yum!