Pizza Dough--no bread machine needed

Kendra also passed along Zach's grandma's pizza dough recipe. I have had it twice and it is really good. I will probably stick with my previously posted recipe that I make in the bread machine, just because it's easier and still pretty good. But for those of you out there without bread machines, I thought you might benefit from this yummy recipe. Enjoy!

Pizza Dough from scratch

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
2 1/4 tsp. yeast
1 cup warm water
1/2 tsp. salt

1. Combine all ingredients
2. Knead together for at least 10 minutes.
3. Coat a bowl with a little olive oil, place dough inside, cover and put in a warm place to rise for 30-45 minutes.
4. Spread on your favorite pizza pan/stone. Top w/ sauce and your favorite ingredients. Bake at 450 for 10-15 minutes.

Basic Pancakes

This morning, my three year old requested pancakes. This might not seem like a big deal, but if you're around here in the morning you know that breakfast ALWAYS equals cereal or hot oatmeal. He'll do eggs, pancakes or french toast for dinner but he thinks it's dinner food. I've suggested it for breakfast and he laughs--I'm not kidding! So, this morning when he requested pancakes, even though I knew it would take longer and slightly change our plans for the morning, I jumped at the idea! Especially because I had been wanting to try this recipe from my friend Jen for weeks! And they are delicious. Just writing about it is making me want to go warm up one of the leftovers. :) We stuck with the basic recipe, but will definitely be adding blueberries one day soon--I heart blueberry pancakes! ;) Enjoy!

basic pancakes

Ingredients:
2 c all-purpose flour
1 T baking powder
1/2 t salt
1 T sugar
1 or 2 eggs (I used 2)
1 1/2 to 2 c milk (I used 1 3/4)
2 T melted butter or oil

Mix together the dry ingredients. Beat the eggs into the milk and then add the butter. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry, enough to moisten the flour. If it's thick, add more milk.



Variations:
Add fresh or frozen blueberries. Fresh are added as the last ingredient in the bowl, Frozen are added without defrosting and the panckes are cooked slowly b/c they tend to burn.

Add chocolate chips while panckaes are cooking.

For you meat eaters, you can spoon the batter over cooked bacon.

Sprinkle ground cinnamon, ginger, cloves or allspice over batter as it cooks. Use sparingly.


I also make a whole batch and refrigerate or freeze the leftovers for future breakfasts. They are really good reheated in the microwave.

Thanks Jen! :)
(she said to be sure to give credit to "the minimalist", mark bittman, from the cookbook "how to cook everything."

Gingerbread Waffles

My friend, Jen, just shared this recipe with me and it sounds delicious. I haven't tried it yet, but I did just try her pancake recipe this morning and they are SO good! I'll post that next. Here's what she posted on facebook:

i am putty at the hand of anything gingerbread related, and these waffles are no exception. the recipe makes a gigantic batch of batter, so i freeze any leftovers or share the still-warm waffles with my next door neighbor. make sure that you use a huge bowl, and get all the dry ingredients mixed in(they are easy to miss once you get mixing because there is so much batter). i set the timer for three minutes once the waffle iron is closed, and that seems to be the perfect amount of time for cooking. source for this one is rachael ray's cookbook "cooking 'round the clock".


gingerbread waffles


3 cups all-purpose flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, eyeball it

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 large eggs

2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar

1 cup canned pumpkin puree

1 1/4 cups milk

1/2 cup molasses

1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter, plus some to butter the iron

Syrup, whipped cream or fresh fruits for topping, to pass at table




Preheat waffle iron.



In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt. In a medium bowl, beat eggs and brown sugar until fluffy, then beat in pumpkin, milk, molasses and melted butter. Stir the wet into dry until just moist. Do not overstir the waffle batter. Brush the iron with a little melted butter and cook 4 waffles, 4 sections each. Serve with toppings of choice.

Yeast Rolls

This recipe was given to me by my sweet friend, Christina. They are pretty easy to make, but they do require a bread machine. Also, I learned the hard way that you do need to use bread flour, regular all-purpose flour won't cut it. :) These are best right out of the oven, but most likely, there won't be many left anyway!!

Rolls

Ingredients:
1 cup warm water
2 Tbsp butter or margarine, softened (not melted)
1 egg
3 1/4 cups BREAD flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
3 tsp yeast

1. Place all ingredients in bread machine pan IN ORDER listed.
2. Select dough cycle (mine is 1 1/2 hours long)
3. After it's done in the bread machine: grease a cookie sheet.
4. Divide dough into 15 (or so) balls, place 2 inches apart on sheet.
5. Brush with a little melted butter. Cover with a towel, let rise in a warm place 30 or 40 minutes or until double.
6. Preheat oven to 375, bake 12 to 15 minutes.
7. Brush tops again with butter if desired (I think this helps them taste yummier, but that's just my opinion).

from Christina Gathany

Pizza Dough

I got this recipe from my dear friend, Tina, and it's now a favorite around here. This is a bread machine recipe, so if you don't have one...well, check out Craigslist or garage sales or something! :) Mine was given to me by a sweet friend who got a bread machine that makes two loaves--who knew!--and no longer needed(or should I say kneaded...heehee) her single loaf machine. Anyway, one last tip and then the recipe...don't try to double this recipe in the machine...it doesn't work! I speak from experience.

Pizza Dough

Put the ingredients in bread machine in this order:
1 Cup warmish/hot water
2 Tbsp olive oil (or you can use veg. oil if you don't have olive oil)
3 Cups flour1/2 tsp salt
*Make a little well in the top of the dry ingredients and put in 1 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast

Set bread maker on dough cycle (mine is 1 hour 40 minutes long)
After you spread it out on the pan, and top with toppings, bake at 400 degrees for 16 minutes.

This recipe is from Christina Gathany