“Make your own pizza” nights have become a favorite of my boys, although G. chooses to make calzones from the same ingredients as the pizza. I used to buy pre-made whole wheat dough at my supermarket (they kept it in the refrigerated section near the shredded cheese), but although it was serviceable it bounced back a lot. It was hard to stretch it out to the thinness we wanted, so the crust was always relatively thick and turned out chewy at best, and underdone at worst.
Since getting a stand mixer, I’ve tried making my own pizza dough a few times, though I’ve been working on a white flour version from the book that came with my mixer. Last night I got it perfect. We were able to make very thin crust pizza that actually crackled when I cut into it with a chef’s knife. Both boys agreed that this was the best dough we’d ever made, and that it did not need any more tweaks. See how thin that pizza is? It had a great crunch when we bit into it, too.
Because I am new to working with yeast, I use an instant-read thermometer to double-check the temperature of the water I’m using before I add the yeast. Turns out, “warm” water is actually much hotter than I would expect.
Also, my kitchen is the coldest room in my house, even though it’s not drafty. In my parent’s home, we’d let dough rise in the small utility room that held the water heater — it was clean, draft-free, and toasty. I don’t have an area like that, so instead I preheat my oven to 180° F, then turn it off. This creates an insulted, warm space for my dough to rise, but without being hot enough to start cooking it.
Next up: figuring out a whole wheat crust we all love.
Pizza & Calzone Dough
Adapted from Crusty Pizza Dough, in the KitchenAid Stand Mixer manual
Note: This recipe includes 2 hours of rising time.
1 package active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (105° to 115°)
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
2 tsp. olive oil (+ a little extra)
3 c. bread flour, divided (+ a little extra)
Add yeast to the bowl of your stand mixer, and then pour warm water over it. And salt, oil, and 2 cups of the flour. Using your dough hook, mix on Speed 2 for about a minute.
While continuing to mix, add in the remaining cup of flour, a bit at a time, until the flour is incorporated and the dough starts to pull off the side of the bowl. Knead on the same speed for 2 more minutes. Your dough should feel smooth, and not sticky at all.
Lightly coat a bowl with olive oil, and place dough in the bowl, then flip it over so it has a thin layer of oil on top.
Cover the top of the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel. Let it rise in a warm spot for 1 hour until it doubles in size. If you press a finger into the dough, the indentation should stay there. Punch the dough down, and let it rise, covered for another hour. Punch it down a final time.
Dough can be rolled with a pin or stretched to make pizza or calzones. Bake at 400° F for about 20 minutes, or until done.
December 20, 2011
I have been mulling over Thanksgiving 2010, a holiday that went smoothly overall, but fell a little short of what I thought I could have put together. I have mentioned various elements that bugged me to friends, acknowledging that I am being a bit of a loon to have been bothered by things like my mismatched but at least color-coordinated (and slightly wrinkly) tablecloths. These things sound so silly coming out of my mouth that I am reluctant to repeat them here and give them more power over me. Still, I think it’s good to make notes of what did and didn’t work for next year. Plus I deeply missed my sister and her husband, who moved to Australia at the end of the summer and couldn’t be with us. Their absence made me think even more about grandparents no longer with us, and especially after our families went home Thanksgiving eve, I was preoccupied with missing people instead of being thankful for what was in front of me. What a mess I am!
The meal turned out well. I was seriously on the ball with prep beforehand, but then made a rookie error: I had no plan for reheating any of it, and had not thought to put my stove top and Crock-Pot into service on the day of the feast. Everything needed to go in the oven all at once to be warmed for the meal, so all my glee at being extra-prepared on Wednesday went out the window. I’ve written notes to myself in the past about including a cold item as a side (such as the Celeriac and Apple Salad I made in 2009), but didn’t do that this year and should have. I also failed to locate infrequently-used items before the holiday, so I was scrambling to find our gravy separator at the last minute (still can’t find it). I would guess none of our guests (we had 20 people in total) had any idea we were flustered, though, and that is fine with me.
So, the meal: (more…)
November 29, 2010
I’ve been getting a lot of corn from our farm share each week, and since I had half a log of goat cheese left from the Roasted Squash & Goat Cheese Pasta Salad I made recently, I decided to try to find a recipe that would use up both of those ingredients. Bobby Flay’s Corn and Goat Cheese Grits fit the bill, especially since I always have stone-ground cornmeal in my pantry (I use Indian Head brand). I used fresh corn, of course!
I followed the recipe as written, except that I used skim milk instead of whole (it’s what I keep in the house). This recipe is easy and so creamy and rich — I loved it. Pay attention, though, to the cooking instructions on the cornmeal you use. Mine only needed 15 minutes to cook, not the “about 40 minutes” suggested in the recipe.
My friends said they liked this side dish, and even those who are not huge fans of goat cheese thought it was good, and not too “goat-y,” for lack of a better word. I think this dish would pair well with a big mess of sauteed swiss chard or collard greens for a vegetarian meal, or alongside a roasted chicken.
August 13, 2010
I’ve combined sauteed swiss chard and onions, Gruyere, and eggs before, in fritatta form. I don’t love swiss chard as a side dish, but folded into eggs (or mashed potatoes) I do like its flavor a lot (it is similar to spinach). I used the same ingredients for the quiche, but the flaky pie crust makes the already-yummy filling into a real treat of a summer dinner.
I used frozen Oronoque Orchards deep dish pie crusts, which are pretty decent but include a small amount of partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, including cottonseed. Not that pie crust is a healthy thing to eat anyway, but I do try to avoid cottonseed oil in particular. I noticed whole wheat pie crusts in Mrs. Green’s the last time I was there, so I will have to check the ingredients on those brands as a possible alternative.
I love this quiche cold, straight from the fridge. I baked two of them, and then froze one for an easy meal another day.
July 27, 2010
I'm Dara, the Chick in the Kitchen. Living in the suburbs of Manhattan with my two school-aged boys and husband. Feeding my family something more diverse than a different shape of pasta each night. Read more 
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