PW’s Pizza Crust, Kind Of

We love making pizza at home. For the longest time I’ve been using the Olive Oil dough recipe from Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day, which is good and easy to make. But this time around I decided to try Pioneer Woman’s pizza crust recipe, which she raves about, and when have I ever made anything of PW’s that’s been less than stellar? Answer: never.

So I got started and I wasn’t too far into the recipe when I realized it called for 1/3 cup of olive oil, and I had… none. There was no going back at this point, so I used regular ol’ vegetable oil. Did it make a difference? No idea. The crust was awesome. A definite winner over the crust I’ve been making. But I shouldn’t have been surprised. When has PW ever steered me wrong? Answer: never.

This was supposed to be a pepperoni and olive pizza. Unfortunately as I started to put the pepperoni on, I realized they’d been in the fridge a little too long and had mold on them. Sad So we had olive pizza. And it was delicious! I really didn’t miss the pepperoni at all. You can use whatever toppings you like, of course. Even if it’s just olives.

Pioneer Woman’s Pizza Crust (from her cookbook)

• 1 tsp or 1/2 packet active dry yeast
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/3 cup olive (or vegetable) oil, plus more for drizzling

Pour 1 1/2 cups warm water into a bowl. Sprinkle the yeast over the water.

Combine the flour and salt in a mixing bowl.

With an electric mixer on low speed, drizzle in the oil until just incorporated. Or, you can use a spoon. Which is what I did.

In a separate bowl, gently stir the yeast/water mixture, and drizzle it into the flour/oil mixture. Mix until the dough forms a ball. You can use your hands if you like, which I did here, until the dough comes together.

Drizzle a little oil into a clean bowl, or mist with cooking spray. Toss the ball of dough in the bowl and turn over to coat in oil.

Cover the bowl with a moist kitchen towel and set in a warm place for 1-2 hours, or cover with plastic wrap and store in the fridge for up to 2 days.

To prepare the pizza, preheat oven to 500 degrees. Divide the dough in half. Lightly drizzle olive oil on a pizza pan or baking sheet. Or use parchment paper and no oil.

Using your hands, stretch the dough to the desired shape. Spread sauce and/or desired toppings over the dough and bake for 8-10 minutes, until the edges of the crust are golden brown.

The other half of the dough may be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerated up to 3 days before use, or frozen for up to 6 months.

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Focaccia Bread

I wish I’d taken a picture of the full loaf, but this one will have to do. I can’t say enough about this focaccia bread. It. Is. SO. Good.

We had a “make your own salad” bar the other night and this bread was the perfect accompaniment. Probably killed the low-cal point of making salads, but it was totally worth it. It was really pretty easy too, which was a huge plus. I used the recipe I found at The Paupered Chef, except I omitted the extra topping ingredients and just used olive oil and kosher salt. If you want step-by-step photos of the process, check out the original link because they did a great job of documenting the preparation.

I thought I had gone a little overboard with the olive oil drizzling on top, but it turned out great, so I highly recommend not being stingy with the oil. It helps give it a beautiful crust.

Focaccia Bread (Original recipe here)

• 3 1/2 to 4 cups flour (plus more for dusting & kneading)
• 1½ teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons yeast
• 13.5 ounces warm water (slightly over 1 1/2 cups)
• Olive oil
• Cornmeal
• Kosher salt

Combine 3 1/2 cups flour, salt, and yeast in a large bowl, and whisk together. Add water a little at a time.

Using your hands, combine the flour mixture and the water, kneading in the bowl. Check consistency of the dough – if it is too wet (should be somewhat sticky but not too much), add a bit more flour and work it in.

[From The Paupered Chef: A good test is this -- ask a friend to poke an unfloured finger into the dough (or rinse one of your own off and dry it and do the same).  The dough should stick to the finger a bit, but it shouldn't be impossible to get off.  You don't want it to be gloopy at all.  You want to be able to work and knead the dough without the majority of it clumping between your fingers.]

Scrape dough onto a floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes, adding flour as needed to keep it from getting too sticky. After kneading, scatter a little flour back in the mixing bowl, and dump the dough back in. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a towl, and let rise in a warm place until doubled, 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Drizzle a baking pan with olive oil (I used a metal pizza pan, but you can use whatever pan you like) and spread it around to coat the bottom and sides, then scatter a little cornmeal around the pan. Drop the dough in and spread it around the pan. It’s okay if it doesn’t reach the edges, but you do want it to be a relatively uniform thickness throughout.

Cover the pan with (greased) plastic wrap and let rise 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

When dough is finished rising, poke holes with a floured finger all over the surface. Drizzle with olive oil (don’t be stingy), spread it around a bit, and sprinkle with kosher salt.

Bake 25-30 minutes , until top is light golden. Remove from oven and let cool just a couple minutes – it is best eaten warm.

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It’s a Girl! (and Golden Oat Pancakes)

SO SORRY for the ridiculously long hiatus! I should probably “officially” state on the blog that we are expecting a little girl, due in December so between that and a variety of other things going on, I’ve either not been cooking as much or forgotten to photograph what I do make.

As far as symptoms go, I’ve really had a pretty easy time of it. Nothing too exciting to speak of… although my nesting instinct did kick in last week and I decided it was high time I remodel the bathroom, beginning with the flooring. Yes, there is a nursery that could have been worked on, but why work on the nursery when you could remodel the bathroom? My thoughts exactly. So I will post before-and-after photos of that when it’s finished. Should be fun.

I don’t want to leave you without a recipe since I’ve neglected you for so long already, so hopefully you’ll enjoy this one. If you’re looking for a heartier pancake that has some nice texture and is super yummy, give these Golden Oat Pancakes a try. I originally got the recipe from Apartment Therapy’s The Kitchn, and I have made it many many times since then. If you want to go the even-healthier route, you can pick up some white whole wheat flour (I use King Arthur) and use that in place of white flour… but if that doesn’t float your boat, white flour works just fine.

Occasionally I’ve had a little trouble getting the middles of these fully cooked, since they tend to be pretty thick – but just be sure to keep them cooking long enough or add a splash more liquid to the batter. The photos with the original recipe don’t look as thick as mine, so I’m not sure what the difference is.

Golden Oat Pancakes (Recipe found here)

• 1 1/3 cups milk
• 1 cup rolled old fashioned oats (I use quick cooking oats)
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2/3 cup flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Combine milk and oats and let stand five minutes. Beat the eggs lightly in a separate bowl then add along with the oil. Combine flour, powder, sugar and salt and stir into oat mixture. Let sit for about five more minutes or until slightly bubbly. Pour onto a hot griddle, or nonstick pan; flip when bubbles form and the edges are beginning to look dry.

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Easy Banana Bread

No picture – but you know what banana bread looks like.

This bread (Or cake? No, that adds calories. Bread it is) is SO good. And super easy. You don’t have to get out the mixer, all you need is a bowl and a spoon. The original recipe makes 2 loaves, but I halved the recipe and baked it in a mini-bundt pan (adorable). I also used a bit more banana than the recipe called for, and it was fantastic.

Here’s my single-loaf version:

Easy Banana Bread (Original recipe here)

• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 3 medium overripe bananas, mashed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a loaf pan or mini (half-size) bundt pan.

Combine all ingredients in large mixing bowl (I mashed the bananas in the bowl first, added eggs and beat a little bit with a fork, then added everything else).

Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake 45 min-1 hour or until toothpick/knife comes out clean.

Cool on wire rack for at least 15 minutes before turning bread out onto tray. Cool completely before slicing, if you can stand it.

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Corn Casserole

I had never made corn casserole before last night. Eaten it? Sure. Enjoyed it? Absolutely. But never made it. And this one turned out great. What I like about it is that it is a nice starchy side that isn’t potatoes, pasta, or rice.

An added plus? JW, who does not like corn, cornbread, or sweet things, ate two helpings of this and said I should make it again. THAT, my friends, is success

I researched several recipes and this one kind of came together as a result of personal preferences and things that sounded good. Sorry… no picture… we ate it too fast.

Corn Casserole

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 (15-oz) can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 (15-oz) can cream style corn
• 8 oz sour cream
• 1 box (8.5 oz) Jiffy corn muffin mix
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 cup shredded cheese (I used Colby Jack, but probably would be great with sharp Cheddar)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease an 8×8 baking dish.

Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and spread into dish.

Bake 45-55 min. or until golden brown and set.

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Golden Cornbread

TWO recipes in one day – can you believe it?!

I’ll give you a moment to recover from your shock.

This is one of those crap-I-forgot-to-look-up-a-good-cornbread-recipe-to-go-with-my-chili-and-now-I-have-to-resort-to-scrounging-around-in-my-pantry-to-see-if-there-are-any-recipes-on-the-bag-of-flour-or-something recipes. I discovered it quite by accident when I was in the middle of the aforementioned situation and found a cornbread recipe on the side of the Clabber Girl Double Acting Baking Powder can. Hallelujah! It saved my chili.

I should mention here that JW does not like cornbread [Are we sensing a pattern here? Do you see what I have to live with?]. I have made this numerous times in the past year or so, knowing full well that I would be the only one eating it. Two squares would be eaten and the rest would go into the trash.

This week, however, JW said he might try a piece. I told him he should, that he just might like it. So he was brave and tore off a corner and stuck it in his mouth.

And do you know… that boy ate TWO pieces of this cornbread that he had supposedly “not liked” every other time I had made it before.

Heaven help me.

So here it is. It’s slightly sweet. Not so sweet you feel like you’re eating cake, but sweet enough to make you want “just a bit more.” Enjoy. And if you live with a die-hard cornbread hater, ask them to try just a small piece and see what happens.

Golden Corn Bread (thank you Clabber Girl)

• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1 egg
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 cup oil or shortening, softened

Sift together dry ingredients into bowl. Add egg, milk, and shortening. Stir or whisk together until smooth. Do not overbeat. Bake in greased 8-inch square pan or greased muffin pans in hot oven (425 degrees). Serve warm with butter or covered with creamed chicken, fish or meat.

I would have taken out that last sentence but I found it charmingly funny.

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Premium Thin Crust Pizza

JW has been asking for a thin crust pizza for a while, so I decided to dig up some new recipes and see what I could find. This one really stood out because of the great reviews, and I was intrigued by the preparation and rising times. I used the quicker sponge method, but it can also be made as an overnight dough.

I – the person who does not like to knead – actually did knead this by hand, and for the recommended 15 minutes (I KNOW! Aren’t you impressed?) I wanted to follow the recipe as closely as possible. I think it did take quite a bit more flour than originally called for in the recipe, but it really was very easy to work with, especially when it came to stretching it out.

I stretched it thin, but left some nice edge on the side. I prefer to use my hands to stretch so the edges don’t get too flat, which has been my experience with a rolling pin.

Speaking of rolling pins, mine has gone on the fritz and I haven’t bought a new one yet. When I told this to JW’s mom, she asked if I had whacked him too hard over the head with it

I brushed some olive oil over the edges and sprinkled with a mixture of garlic salt, Italian herbs, and parmesan cheese. It turned out a tad salty for me, so next time I may use garlic powder instead of the garlic salt.

Ready to go into the oven…

And here’s the finished product!

Do you see the mini pepperonis? Aren’t they cute?!

I really did like this dough. The only thing I wish I’d done differently is bake it on a pizza stone – which I normally do, but mine got apple pie juice on it, which bubbled up and then burnt, and if it had been more expensive I probably would have tried to clean it, but as it was I just threw it out when we moved. So the crust wasn’t as “crispy” as if I’d baked it on a stone, but I guess it means I’ll just have to try it again, eh?

Premium Thin Crust Pizza (Recipe found here)

• 1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 3 cups all-purpose flour (or more)
• 1 tsp sea salt

OVERNIGHT COLD RISE METHOD: In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Stir in 2 cups of flour and salt; mix well. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and supple, about 15 minutes. Place dough in bowl dusted with flour cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

SPONGE RISE METHOD: In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup water. Stir in 1/2 cup of flour; mix well. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise until foamy, about 1 hour. Blend in remaining water, flour and salt; beat well. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and supple, about 15 minutes. Place dough in bowl dusted with flour and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled, about 2 to 3 hours (less if rising in a warm place).

Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into two equal pieces. Roll dough out to half of its final size. Let rest for 10 to 15 minutes (while you prepare desired pizza toppings). Preheat oven to 450 degrees F, or higher (higher temp will cook more quickly).

Stretch out dough over your floured knuckles and stretch or toss until desired size is achieved. Place dough on a piece of parchment paper sprinkled with cornmeal or a lightly greased pizza pan. Spread with desired toppings and bake on a pizza stone in preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Let baked pizza cool for 5 minutes before serving.

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Pumpkin Yeast Rolls

We say goodbye to Anzi tomorrow. We’ve loved having her in our lives for these 2 1/2 weeks. She is such a sweet, gentle girl. We wish her the best, and hope she finds an adoptive home soon!

Yes, her eyes really glow like that.

No, not really

On a different note, last night’s dinner was fantastic! Peppercorn-crusted pork tenderloin, roasted asparagus and potato slices, and – in the true spirit of Fall – these pumpkin yeast rolls, which would look stunning on a Thanksgiving table.

We really only had pork tenderloin because as it turns out, the pork loin I thought was on sale was in fact not on sale, and I had to pick something else up quick. A little pricier per pound than I like to pay, but this time I didn’t mind.

Don’t expect pumpkin flavor in these rolls; the pumpkin is there primarily for color, and probably for moisture as well. But they’re not difficult to make, and if you’re looking for a beautiful presentation and some good dinner rolls, don’t hesitate to give these a try!

Shaping these rolls involves rolling out a few large circles of dough, slicing into 8 pieces, and rolling up into a crescent. This makes very large rolls. Next time I will either divide the dough into more circles before cutting, or cut each one into a few more pieces, so the rolls are smaller.

Pumpkin Yeast Rolls (Original here – I halved it to make 16 rolls, but I’ve included the full recipe below)

• 2 pkgs active dry yeast
• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 7 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup butter, softened (optional)

Dissolve yeast in warm water and stir in sugar, salt, 1/2 cup butter, pumpkin and eggs. Add 3 cups of the flour and beat well. Stir in enough additional flour to make dough easy to handle. Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic. Place in greased bowl, covered, and allow to double in size.

Punch down, and divide into 4 parts, rolling each into a 12-inch circle. Spread with 1/4 cup butter if desired. Cut into 8 wedges. Roll up each wedge beginning at wide edge. Place on greased sheet and allow to rise.

Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 15-20 minutes.

This dough begs to be wrapped around sausage, kolache-style, which I’d like to try sometime. I’ll bet you could also make some kick-butt pumpkin cinnamon rolls from this dough. Oh yum…

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Cinnamon Rolls, Courtesy of Pioneer Woman

My intention was to start on a cinnamon roll quest. I have several cinnamon roll recipes I’ve saved for the past year or so, and they are by far one of JW’s favorite foods, so I thought I’d try one after another, post my findings, and hopefully end up with a favorite go-to cinnamon roll recipe.

But I ran into a hitch along the way.

I like this recipe so much, I’m not sure I’ll want to try any others.

On top of the fact that these are melt-in-your-mouth delicious, soft, moist, buttery, and cinnamony, they are also ridiculously easy, and there is NO kneading required!

The dough-making process for these rolls is unique. Milk, oil, and sugar are heated in a dutch oven (large pot) and allowed to cool to a temperature that makes yeast dance and sing. Yeast and flour are added, and the mixture rises right in the pot, then the remaining ingredients are stirred in. The dough is ready to use now, or you can put it in the refrigerator like I did until you’re ready to use it.

I used a traditional cream cheese frosting, which I don’t have a recipe for (I just throw things together until it looks and tastes right), but I’ll include Ree’s maple frosting recipe below.

Enjoy the cinnamony deliciousness! [Note: I halved the recipe, but I will give you the full recipe below]

Pioneer Woman’s Cinnamon Rolls (Original recipe post here)

• 1 quart whole milk
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 pkg (2 1/4 tsp each) active dry yeast
• 8 cups + 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 heaping tsp baking powder
• 1 scant tsp baking soda
• 1 heaping tablespoon salt
• 3-4 cups melted butter
• 2 cups sugar
• lots of cinnamon

Mix milk, vegetable oil, and sugar in a dutch oven or large pot. “Scald” the mixture (heat until just before the boiling point). Turn off heat and leave to cool for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

When mixture is lukewarm to warm (NOT hot!) add both packages of yeast, let sit for a minute, then add 8 cups flour. Stir mixture together, cover, and let rise for 1 hour.

Add one more cup of flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir mixture together. At this point, you can cover and refrigerate overnight, or up to two days, until needed – just punch dough down if it starts to rise too much.

Sprinkle work surface generously with flour. Take half the dough and form a rough rectangle. Roll the dough thin, maintaining a general rectangular shape. Drizzle 1 1/2 to 2 cups melted butter over the dough (I just used 1/2 cup, one stick). Sprinkle 1 cup sugar over the butter, followed by a generous sprinkling of cinnamon (I mixed my sugar and cinnamon together beforehand).

Starting at the opposite end of the rectangle, start rolling the dough in a neat line towards you. Keep the roll relatively tight as you go. At the end, pinch the seam of the roll to seal it.

Spread 1 Tbsp butter in seven round foil cake or pie pans. Begin cutting rolls approximately 3/4 to 1 inch thick and laying them in the buttered pans.

Repeat this process with the other half of the dough.

Let the rolls rise for 20-30 minutes, then bake at 400 degrees until light golden brown, about 15-18 minutes.

Maple Frosting

• 1 bag powdered sugar
• 2 tsp maple flavoring
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 1/4 cup brewed coffee
• 1/8 tsp salt

Mix all ingredients together and stir until smooth. Mixture should be thick but pourable. Taste and adjust as needed. Generously drizzle over the warm rolls. Don’t skimp on the frosting!

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Buttermilk Biscuits

JW requested a ‘Breakfast for Dinner’ night this week, and as he rarely has special requests for dinner, I was more than happy to oblige, thinking it would be fun.

“What do you want to have?” I asked.

“Biscuits and gravy. It has to be a brown gravy, and thin, like my mom makes it. Call my mom and find out how she makes it, and make it like that.”

“Um – okay.”

“And bacon! We need to have bacon. And sausage, and eggs. I can cook the eggs.”

“Okay…” as I grab a pad of paper to start writing things down. This was getting a bit more complicated than I’d anticipated.

“And cinnamon rolls!”

I wrote down all his requests and looked at the sheet. “Anything else?” I asked, in that voice that wives are so good at using that clearly means If you ask for anything else I am going to scrap this entire meal and we are going to eat oatmeal and THAT will be your Breakfast for Dinner.

“Um… no. That’s all.”

Well it was really a fabulous evening. It didn’t set me too far back budget-wise, I was able to try some new recipes, and we invited some friends over to help us eat all the food, and had a wonderful time with them.

And as a result, I have TWO fantastic carb-filled recipes to share with you! But you only get one today. Be patient, my friends. The next one is worth waiting for. It will knock your socks off.

I’ve tried a couple different biscuit recipes in the past, and I’ve found one or two that were decent, but none have come close to this recipe for buttermilk biscuits. The original name is J.P.’s Big Daddy Biscuits. How do you ignore a recipe with a name like that?!

They taste amazing, and they’re soft, fluffy, perfectly buttery (thanks to butter-flavored Crisco!) and just downright delicious.

Fluffy Buttermilk Biscuits

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp white sugar
• 1/3 cup butter-flavored shortening
• 1 cup buttermilk, or as needed

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Cut in the shortening until the mixture resenbles coarse meal (freezing the shortening in pieces for a few minutes beforehand makes this part easier). Gradually stir in buttermilk until dough pulls away from the side of the bowl. You may not need the full cup of buttermilk, so don’t pour it all in at once.

Turn onto a floured surface, and knead a couple times, just to get all the dough into a cohesive workable lump. Roll dough out to 3/4″-1″ thick. Cut biscuits with a biscuit cutter or glass dipped in flour. Repeat until all dough is used. Place onto an ungreased baking sheet.

Bake 13-15 minutes in preheated oven, or until tops begin to brown.

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