Wheat Pizza Dough

Back at school, when nothing else looked good in the dining room your last resort was the make your own pizza line.  Freshman year, making your own pizza was all the rage.  But by Junior year we all came to realize that it was clearly only a fall back option, never the way you would make it yourself and that if you choose the wheat crust in a vain attempt to be healthy, you dinner was basically tomatoes and cardboard.  It wasn't good.

After 4 years of cardboard wheat pizza, I am so happy to report that this wheat pizza dough does not taste anything at all like cardboard.  It kinda taste like, well, normal pizza dough.  And even better, I'm in my own kitchen and allowed to actually touch the food and making my own pizza is no longer a last resort.  It's actually exciting.

With such low expectations of wheat pizza dough, this really blew my mine.  I made half a batch (the recipe makes enough dough for two pizzas), but as soon as I have officially moved and have a brand new freezer to stock up, I plan on making pizza for dinner again and freezing the extra dough ball.  And then, I can have make my own pizza any time.  And it'll be good and healthy.

Ben and I topped ours with a homemade tomato sauce (fire roasted diced tomatoes whirled together with some garlic, oregano, basil and thyme), crumbled Italian sausage, green peppers and red onions.  And then pigged out with the whole thing, ending the night with beers and chocolate turtle cake.  It was a damn good dinner while we watched The Social Network.  Except, I didn't really like the movie and am apparently in the minority there.  At least the pizza dough is a keeper.

Wheat Pizza Dough
Adapted from The Haeger NaturalStone Pizza Cookbook

Haeger calls this whole wheat pizza dough.  However, seeing as the majority of the flour used is plain all-purpose, I'm sticking to wheat pizza dough.  I'm one of those let's call a duck a duck kind of people...  This will make enough dough for 2 pizzas.  Halve recipe for one pizza or make the whole thing and have an extra in your freezer!

2 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 1/3 c. whole wheat flour
1 package (2 1/2 tsp) rapid rise yeast
2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. sugar
1 1/4 c. warm water (110 deg. F)
2 tsp. olive oil (+ more for oiling bowl)

Grease large bowl lightly with olive oil.  In bowl of food processor, combine flours, yeast, salt and sugar.  Pulse until well combined.  In cup with pour spout, combine water and oil.  With motor running, slowly stream in water/oil mixture.  Pulse food processor until dough comes together in a rough ball.  If dough does not come together, add up to 2 teaspoons more of water until it does.  Pulse food processor often for 25-30 seconds, or turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead by hand.  With floured hands, form dough into a smooth ball and set in prepared bowl, turning it once or twice to coat with oil.  Cover with plastic wrap and let sit in a warm area 1 1/2- 2 hours, or until doubled in size.

Prepare pizza sheet, baking stone, whatever you are using by sprinkling lightly with cornmeal.  Set aside.  Turn risen dough out onto lightly floured surface.  Punch down, knead lightly and form into a long cylinder.  Divide into two equal balls and let rest for 5-10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425 F.  Roll out dough to fit your prepared pan and transfer to pan.  Top with sauce, cheese and whatever pizza goodies you want.  Bake in oven 20-25 minutes until crust is golden and cheese is melted and delicious.

If freezing one or both balls, wrap well in plastic wrap and freeze in zipper-lock bag.  Dough will last in freezer for 2 months; to use thaw, at roomer temperature for 3-4 hours.

Shortbread Cookies

On Sunday afternoons after Ben leaves, I usually try my best to be productive.  I try to workout, clean the mess that has taken over my kitchen, wash laundry, fold laundry, blog, maybe vacuum and just try my best to prepare for the upcoming week.  But today, I got caught up, drawn to the various September 11th tributes on the TV.  It's been 10 years and I felt that somehow I needed to make sure that I properly remembered the date. 

I know that my last entry was sentimental and corny and I apologize for this one seems to be heading in the same direction.  But it doesn't seem right to not acknowledge the day and go right to shortbread cookies.  I could have at least had something patriotic, right?  The truth of the matter is, I don't really know what to say.  I have been rolling it around in my head all afternoon and all that comes out is "wow, ten years".  So I guess I'll just leave it at that, and encourage everyone to hug those they love and know you aren't alone if you find yourself with a few tears rolling down your cheek for those who had to live through, are still living through, the tragedy ten years ago. 

There is no segway into shortbread cookies from there.  So, I'll dive in and be short and sweet.  My first, most eagerly awaited, Bon Appetit magazine finally arrived about a week ago.  My first venture into the cooking magazine world was with Cooking Light, and to be completely truthful, I've been a little disappointed.  There's been a few good finds, but in general, It's just not doing it for me.  Sometimes you need butter, you know?  And my first venture into my first Bon Appetit magazine couldn't prove that point any better.

These cookies are buttery, deliciousness.  And, if you like, you can be like me and try to convince yourself that they are also healthy because they are made with only whole wheat flour.  Well, that and ten and a half tablespoons of butter.  Yes, that is a lot of butter for 16 cookies, but they are fantastically worth it.  My only wish in this butter drenched dream was that I hadn't used the strawberry preserves in my fridge as the filling, but rather something a little more tart to cut through the lovely, buttery cookie.  I could keep going, but there are only so many times one can use the word butter as a descriptor.  Butter just doesn't really have enough synonyms, you know? 

This recipe is already cut and pasted into the big green cookbook, no questions asked, and with any luck will make its reapparence in my kitchen soon.  They are very easy to make and I promise you, as delicious and buttery as I am claiming. 

Shortbread Cookies

From my first (the September 2011 edition) Bon Appetit!

2 c. whole wheat flour

1/2 c. sugar

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

10 1/2 Tbsp. salted butter, room temp

1 large egg, room temp

1 large egg yolk, room temp

3 Tbsp. (about) raspberry (or other fruit) jam

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Whisk flour, sugar and baking powder in large mixing butter.  Cut butter into small pieces and mix into flour mixture with hands.  Cut butter in until to mixture forms a course meal texture.  In smaller bowl, whisk together whole egg and yolk until well combined.  Pour egg mixture into flour and butter mixture and stir until just incorporated.  Don't overmix.

To form cookies, take about 2 tablespoons of dough and roll into a ball.  Place onto prepared baking sheet.  In center of ball, make an indentation for the jam (wider is better than deeper).  Spoon about 1/2 teaspoon of jam into each indentation. 

Bake cookies about 12-15 minutes, until golden, switching trays around once in the middle of baking.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool. 

Makes about 16 cookies.

Peach Mixed Grain Muffins

The honest to God truth is I did my damnedest to break this recipe. And I failed.

I found the recipe this afternoon from a New York Times article full of summer fruit recipes.  The recipe was for Mixed Grain Blueberry muffins and I was excited about it.  It would use the buttermilk I still have floating around in my refrigerator, plus give me an excuse to break into the whole wheat flour I bought the other day.  And I love blueberries and it's summer and they are beautiful.  And that was the only ingredient I had to buy.  It was supposed to be soothe sailing.

Supposed to be.  After work, I made what I wanted to be a lightning quick stop at the grocery store for blueberries.  It lasted a little bit longer when I realized that the tiny, more gray than blue, spheres they were calling blueberries cost $5.  Is blueberry season over already??  I almost called it quits right there, but wander around the produce section awhile debating the $5 purchase.  I wandered past the peaches on sell for 99 cents a pound several times before thinking "what the heck, why not".  $1.36 later and I was back in my car heading home.  Once home, after realizing I forgot my phone charger at work, but that's another story, I also realized that the recipe called for milk.  I don't actually keep milk stocked in my fridge.  I bummed around my living room for awhile before deciding to use all buttermilk in the recipe.  I got the oats soaking in the buttermilk and started assembling the other wet ingredients.  At which point I realized, half of the buttermilk was supposed to be with those wet ingredients.  So I did my best to drain some from the oats into it, as well as splashed a bit extra in.  The last effort to ruin my muffins was when I sifted about half of the dry ingredients onto my cutting board rather than into the bowl in an attempt to save on dishes.  Yet...

Yet, they turned out.  Somehow, and I haven't quite figured out how yet.  And they're tasty.  In that whole wheat, mixed grain, bran muffin-healthy kind of way.  It still kind of amazes me.  But it also makes me really happy, I love recipes you can't break.  Cause, really, if it didn't break after that, what could break it?  Although there are many things I would do different the next time around, on the top of that list is a heaping teaspoon or two of cinnamon and cut the peaches a bit smaller.  To break up that good bran muffin motif it has going on.  I'm so excited for breakfast tomorrow.

Peach Mixed Grain Muffins

Adapted from NYT September 8, 2009 Recipe

Note:  Here is the messed up, yet still delicious recipe that mine ended up being.  I adjusted the baking soda/baking powder quantities to make up for the double buttermilk.  Definitely check out the actual recipe, but obviously don't feel too restricted by it!

2/3 c. rolled oats
1 c. buttermilk, divided
1/4 c. cornmeal
3/4 c. whole wheat flour
1/4 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
Rounded 1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large or extra-large eggs
1/4 c. mild honey, like clover
1/4 c. canola oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 medium sized, ripe peaches (about 1 1/2 cups, heaping), cut into small bite sized pieces

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees with a rack in the middle. Oil 12 muffin cups. Combine the oats and 1/2 cup buttermilk in a bowl, and let sit for 15 minutes, until the oats have softened.

2. Sift together the cornmeal, whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

3. In a medium bowl, beat together the eggs, honey, 1/2 cup buttermilk, canola oil and vanilla. Quickly whisk in the flour, then fold in the oats and peaches. Combine well.

4. Spoon into muffin cups, filling each two-thirds full. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool in the tins for 10 minutes, then remove and cool on a rack.

Advance preparation: These will be good for a couple of days, and they freeze well. Thaw overnight or in the microwave.