Whole Wheat Pizza

I decided to make Hawaiian pizza from scratch. That’s right, pizza dough from scratch. It sounds like a lot of work, but I tell you, it was so easy! I had this book on hand for reference:

I altered the pizza dough recipe to incorporate some whole wheat goodness and the crust turned out yummy.

Hawaiian Olive Oil Whole Wheat Pizza ~ adapted from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

2-3/4 C water, lukewarm                                         
1-1/2 Tbsp granulated yeast (1-1/2 packets)
1-1/2 Tbsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar
1/4 C extra virgin oil
5-1/2 C unbleached all-purpose flour
1 C whole wheat flour

1/2 C tomato sauce (I used Ragu)
20 – 30 slices pepperoni
1/2 C fresh pineapple, sliced and diced
1-1/2 C mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 C cornmeal

1. Mix yeast, salt, sugar and olive oil with water in a large bowl.

2. Mix in both flours and stir with a large spoon (or mixer fitted with a dough hook). If using spoon, you may need to use your hands to mix in the last bit of flour (make sure your hands are wet to reduce the dough from sticking to your hands).

3. Cover bowl with a dry tea towel and let the dough rest for approximately 2 hours.

4. If not using now, refrigerate in a lidded container (not airtight) and this can be stored this way for up to 12 days.

5. Twenty minutes before baking time, preheat oven with a pizza stone at 500 degrees. Prepare pizza topping ingredients.

6. Dust the surface of the dough with flour and cut off desired amount of dough (I used half of the dough). Dust the piece with more flour and shape into a ball by wrapping the dough around itself.

7. Flatten the dough with your hands and a rolling pin (dusted with flour) to desired thickness. Place the rolled out dough onto a pizza peel (I used a flexible cutting board) covered with cornmeal.

8. Spread tomato sauce thinly over the pizza leaving a 1/2 inch border around the crust.

9. Distribute pepperoni and pineapple pieces over pizza dough. Scatter cheese over pizza.

10. Slide pizza off of the pizza peel onto the stone.

11. Check for doneness in 8 – 10 minutes. Depending on thickness of the crust you may need to add an extra 5 – 8 minutes.

12. Allow to cool slightly before serving (cheese needs to set).

Spoon It On's Easy Banana Bread

Spoon It On claims that this banana bread is really easy. So, was it easy? Very easy! I got this recipe from her a few years back and I make it any time I have more-than-freckled bananas sitting on the counter.

Secrets to making Easy Banana Bread:

1. The more ripe the bananas the sweeter they are and the easier it'll be to mash them.

2. The potato masher. Rather than using a fork I use a potato masher. It only takes 50 strokes to get all the ingredients incorporated and into the oven. So a bowl, masher, measuring cup is all you need to wash.

3. Double the recipe! You're doing the work for one, so why not make 2 banana breads? Clean up is the same and you can either freeze the extra loaf or gift it to someone special.

Easy Banana Bread ~ Spoon It On
makes 1 loaf

1/2 C mayonnaise or salad dressing (do not use non-fat)
1 egg
3 ripe medium bananas
1 1/2 C all-purpose flour
1 C sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 C chopped nuts (optional)
1/2 C chocolate chips (optional)

**A healthy option: Though I didn't do it this time, I usually add 1/2 C of quick oats to the recipe to up the health factor. I find that you don't need to adjust the recipe for this addition. Put it in with the dry ingredients.

Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare your loaf pans either by lining with parchment paper and spraying with non-stick spray or greasing the pan and lightly dust it with flour (I use non-stick loaf pans so there is no need to prep the pans).

Measure mayonnaise, egg, and bananas into a medium bowl and mash until bananas are combined with the mayo and egg.

In a separate bowl (I just meaure the ingredients into the banana mixture so that I don't have an extra bowl to wash), combine remaining ingredients.

Add dry ingredients to banana mixture and mix with fork or masher until everything is incorporated.

If using nuts or chocolate chips, be sure to toss them in a teaspoon of flour to prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the pan during baking.

Stir nuts/chocolate chips into batter.

Pour into 9” x 5” (2L) greased or floured loaf pan.

I made 1 loaf without nuts/chocolate chips and the other with. Before putting the chocolate chips into the doubled batter, I poured the batter into one loaf pan. I then added chocolate chips into the bowl and stirred. I then poured the chocolate chip batter into the other loaf pan.

Bake 60-70 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes and remove from pan.

Artisan Bread - First Attempt

Have I ever mentioned that I love bread? I have a fondness to artisan breads like sourdough, pumpernickel, rye, Italian, and French loaves. These are pretty pricey, but oh so yummy. I always buy mine and just before serving I would warm it up in the oven at 200 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes. The crust would crisp up and the inside would be warm so that when I spread the cool butter on it would spread ever so evenly.

One day, while browsing online on Amazon, I somehow came across Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes A Day. I read the customer reviews and then even Googled it. I found their official website and watched the authors make their bread on YouTube. It looked really simple. They claim that there is no need to proof the yeast, no kneading, and only 5 minutes hands-on! Could it really be that simple? Is there a catch? Well, being the shopper that I am, I purchased it.

It's been sitting on my bookshelf for over a month now and I finally got up the nerve to try it. And you know what? It was as easy as the authors said it would be. Here is a pictorial of what I did (sorry, but I forgot to take pictures of when I cut the dough and shaped it onto the board before putting it in the oven):

1. First I measured out the yeast and salt.



2. I measured out the water, making sure it was lukewarm and added it to the yeast and salt.

3. I added the flour and mixed with a rubber spatula and it was kind of hard to stir so I ended up using my hands.




This is what the dough looked like after stirring. This recipe makes 4 1-pound loaves. You may not be able to tell, but the dough is pretty wet and sticky.

4. Let the dough sit on the counter for 2 to 4 hours. After that you can bake a loaf or two or you can store it in the refrigerator. It will keep for 14 days.



This is what the dough looked like after sitting on the counter 2 hours covered. See the bubbles from the yeast doing its work? At this point, I could have cut a 1-pound piece and shaped it to go in the oven but I didn't need it just yet so I covered it and put it in the refrigerator overnight.

5. To make my loaves for dinner, I took my doughs out of the refrigerator (I also made a batch of the Light Whole Wheat loaf recipe). I put some cornmeal on some waxed paper (I don't have a pizza peel). I floured the surface of the dough and cut a 1-pound piece from it and shaped it into an oval and placed it on my make-shift pizza peel. I then slashed the loaves three times each.

6. About 10 minutes later, I preheated the oven to 450 degrees with my Pampered Chef stone cookie sheet. Once the oven reached 450 (about 25 minutes), I slid my loaves onto the hot stone and poured some hot water into a pan on a lower rack to create steam. I set the timer for 30 minutes...and Voila!
The one on the left is the Master Recipe for French-style Boule and the one on the right is the Light Whole Wheat version. The regular version is much prettier, don't you think? I think it's because whole wheat flour absorbs more water making it a little more difficult to shape smoothly.
The verdict? It was very easy and it tasted yummy. A little on the dense side but I think it's because I didn't let the dough sit on the counter long enough after shaping. I will definitely be making my own from now on. My guest thought it was great so I packed up the unused doughs for him to bake at home. Success, indeed.

My drawers of shame and more

...my kitchen gadget and tools drawers:

Drawer 1

Drawer 2

Actually, I guess I have no shame. Believe it or not, I have more scattered throughout my kitchen cupboards as well as in boxes in the basement. But, that still doesn't stop me from buying more! Over the past two weeks I have accumulated more kitchen stuff:

Silicone bakeware that can double as molds and a brownie heart-shaped cutter (the blue pans are by President's Choice, the rest are Wilton). My four year old started school this year and these will be great for class parties and events. All were on sale for 40% off. I've used the Bite Size Brownie Squares pan. I must say the clean-up was not fun. Getting into all the square edges and corners was tough. The instructions says not to scratch it so I had to be delicate too. The Teddy Bear cups and Square Baking Cups are going to be for baking cupcakes as well as be used for making Bentos (I am starting a new hobby). As for the green Flower mold, well, that is my favorite shape so I HAD to HAVE it.

I had a Buy One Get the Second for 50% off coupon for Foogo products from Kitchen Stuff Plus. Walking into that store is hazardous to my wallet and my junk, I mean, gadget drawer. I couldn't just leave with the Foogo sippy cup and food jar for my daughter. Me going into a kitchen store is like a child going into a candy shop. I couldn't resist buying. So here's my loot: measuring cups and spoons (you can never have too many), candy/deep fryer thermometer, oil sprayer pump, a peeler that can cut julienne strips, and the best ceramic stove top cleaner ever. Not pictured here is the instant-read meat thermometer which I actually opened and used (a gadget that got used! Woohoo!). So what's the worst thing that could happen when checking out of the store? Giving me a 25% off one item card for my next visit!!!!! They sure know my type well. Oh, the temptation.

On a different note, yesterday was Girlfriend Day and it's the best kind of day that a mom can have. It was almost like a mini-vacation. A spa, if you will...well, not quite, but just as rejuvenating. Yeah, I don't get out much, not these last four and half years that's for sure (since the birth of my firstborn). I've been dying to go to Panera Bread in Richmond Hill since I drove by it a month ago. It was perfect because one of my dearest friends lives right around the corner from there. So the three of us, with my baby daughter in tow, went to check this place out. The foodie in me was drooling as we pulled into the parking lot. Panera Bread did not disappoint. I ordered half of a Turkey Artichoke Hot Panini with a small order of Broccoli Cheddar Soup. It was served with slice of their warm Multigrain Baguette. Delish! Although we were full, their dessert display was too yummy to pass up. I ordered a Cobblestone (their Raisin Cinnamon Bread cut in cubes baked with apples and molasses with icing drizzled on top). One of my girlfriends ordered the Pineapple Upside-Down Cake. Yummy - I was pleasantly surprised that there was cornmeal in it. My other girlfriend ordered the Cheese Danish and it was the better dessert of the three. I ordered a coffee to go with my dessert. It was too strong and left me sleepless last night. So what is my review of Panera Bread? Great food, great service (although you order it and bring it to your own table), and great atmosphere. I would definitely go back and highly recommend it to anyone who loves bread.

Upon leaving, I felt guilty for leaving the hubby and two boys behind so I picked up 4 ginormous Chipper Cookies for them: (clockwise from top-right) Chocolate Chipper, Nutty Oatmeal Raisin, Nutty Chocolate Chipper, and Chocolate Duet with Walnuts. They were very happy to see me and I missed them too. A mommy needs some time and space to herself sometimes and Girlfriend Dates are the way to do it.