“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.
This is my final menu plan of the year! Next week, both the boys and J. are home on vacation, and since we’ll be out of our usual routine, we’re going to play meals by ear.
Monday: Make your own calzones or pizza (G. likes calzones, A. likes pizza)
Tuesday:First night of Hanukkah! Latkes with sour cream and applesauce, garden salad
This is a tasty, vegan winter dish. Although I don’t care for fennel raw, I really love it roasted.
Warm White Beans with Roasted Fennel & Red Pepper
Adapted from Cooking Light
2 medium fennel bulbs, trimmed and cut in 1/2″ slices
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut in 1/2″ slices
2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 small onion, sliced
2 15-oz. cans cannellini beans, drained (or any white bean)
7 oz. package of fresh baby spinach, washed (about 4 c.)
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional)
salt & pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 450° F.
Toss fennel, red pepper, and half the oil on a baking sheet, and bake for about 20 minutes until vegetables soften and begin to brown.
While the fennel and pepper are in the oven, add remaining oil to a large skillet and saute the onions over medium-high heat. Cook for 10 minutes, until they caramelize. Add beans to the onions and cook for an additional 5 minutes; add the fennel mixture when ready. Stir in the spinach and continue cooking for a few minutes over medium heat until the leaves wilt slightly. Season and serve warm.
I ripped this recipe for Pretzel-Shortbread Bars out of the October 2011 issue of Martha Stewart Living — the mix of salty pretzels and sweet cookies caught my eye. I was considering making these treats for a holiday cookie exchange later this month, but since the recipe was new to me I wanted to test out a smaller batch first. Luckily, I have plenty of people willing to eat my test batches!
The reviews attached to the recipe were unanimous: the pan size stated is far too large. Either use the ingredient quantities as listed and bake in an 8″x8″ pan, or double the ingredients and bake in a 9″x13″. I did the latter. This is a very easy recipe, though it requires the use of two small appliances: a food processor and a mixer (stand or handheld). I love the idea of making a flour out of ground pretzels in addition to including larger pretzel pieces in the dough. However, I did not think the pretzels on top were necessary at all — although I pressed them down into the dough, most of them fell off and made serving an already (purposely) hard cookie more difficult to eat.
The flavor, though, was really lovely. Very buttery, mildly sweet, and wonderfully salty all at the same time. I love that there is no chocolate called for here: it would be easy to recommend a drizzle of chocolate on top, but it is not needed and would just take away from the unique salty sweetness of this cookie.
My boys thought these cookies were “weird” and “interesting.” They have eaten more than one but told me not to make them again. G. said he would like the cookie part if I put chocolate chips in the dough instead of the pretzels! It is a delicious shortbread base. While I enjoyed these bars, I wouldn’t make them again unless someone asked for them by name.
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 about me and CITK, and keep in touch:
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Cheesy Kale Crisps: We rarely eat kale now that our farm share is over, and I want to fix that. I've wanted to try using nutritional yeast, and this recipe looks like a tasty way to do it.
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.
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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