Pizza

Making pizza dough takes about 10 minutes, plus the 2 hours of rising time, and another 15 minutes to arrange the toppings on them. This recipe makes enough dough for 3 round pies, or two deep dish or rectangular pies. Or you can impress your friends with a buffet of 6" pizzas with topping themes.

Sometimes when I can't decide on any one thing for dinner, I make a batch of pizza dough and go to the grocery store while it rises. I get meats, cheeses, and vegetables that catch my eye with no clear plan in mind, only deciding what goes together as it gets placed on the pies. I use either my tomato sauce or well-blotted finely diced tomatoes and all the cheese I can find, usually a mixture of parmesan, romano, asiago, goat cheese, ricotta, and fresh mozzarella. Yes, I said "and."

Pizza Crust
½ cup water (the hottest from your tap)
2 ¼ tsp active dry yeast
1 ¼ cups warm water
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 cups all purpose or bread flour
1 ½ tsp salt
olive oil for the bowl


1. Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water in a small bowl, stir and let stand about 5 minutes until it looks foamy. Stir in the rest of the water and the olive oil.
2. In a large bowl, stir the flour and salt with a pastry cutter or whisk. Pour in a little of the yeast mixture, stir it in, and repeat until they are combined and start to form dough.
3. Either in the bowl or on a counter top, knead the dough by hand until it is smooth and cohesive, this should take a minute or two tops. If the dough is too stiff or dry to become smooth, dip your fingers in water and knead until it cooperates.
4. Form the dough into a ball. Oil the inside of the mixing bowl and place the dough ball in it, cover tightly with plastic wrap and set it in a warm place until it doubles in size, 1 ½ to 2 hours.
5. Once the dough has risen, remove the plastic wrap and preheat the oven to 475º.
6. Separate the dough into 3 pieces, roll each into a smooth ball then flatten to a disc. Each of these is enough for one standard pizza crust, but you can adjust the amount of dough used if you want to make thicker or thinner crusts.
7. Cover two of the discs with a cloth while you work with the third. Working from the center of the disc, press down with the heel of your hand, turning the disc a little at a time so that you are working it in a circular motion as you press. Occasionally flip the dough over and press the other side. Sprinkle a little flour on the counter if the dough is sticking. If you are feeling confident, try tossing it in the air with a flick of your wrist to make it spin. Continue to press the dough in an outward circle until it is the size of your pan.
8. Place the dough on a lightly greased pizza pan or cookie sheet. Press it into the pan, again working from the middle to the outside so there is excess around the edges to create a crust.
9. Set aside the crusts while you prepare your toppings: chop the veggies, slice the tomatoes, sautée the sausage, mince the garlic. If using mushrooms I strongly recommend sautéeing them in advance not only to add flavor but to reduce the liquid in them, otherwise you end up with pools of water between the mushrooms and cheese, sometime even a soggy crust underneath; which is neither pretty nor very tasty.
10. The crusts will have risen a little, you can press them back down before adding toppings if you’d like, or prick the bottoms with a fork to prevent bubbles from forming in the crust while baking. Personally, I like the bubbles.
11. Add tomato sauce, Italian herbs, cheese, meats and veggies of your choice. Brush olive oil around the edges of the crust. Bake for 8 to 12 minutes or until crust is turning golden brown around the edges.

Baguettes & Boules

For sandwiches, crostini, to spread with jam or cheese, there is nothing better than freshly baked French bread. Italian bread is nice, too, but as with most things I like the French version better.

Baguettes
1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup warm water
3 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons cold water
Oil for bread pan

1. In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm water. Let sit for 2 to 5 minutes, or until foamy and showing signs of life.
2. Combine flour and salt in a very large bowl using a pastry cutter, then add the yeast mixture and stir.
3. While still stirring, have a helper add the cold water in a steady thin stream and continue stirring until the mixture becomes dough, about a minute. If you have no helper, you can just pour a bit at a time and stir it in before adding more.
4. Knead the dough either on the counter or in the bowl for a few minutes, until the dough is smooth and soft. If it is hard to knead, dip your fingers in cold water and proceed with kneading (repeat as needed) until the dough is softened. If the dough is too wet, add a little flour to the kneading surface.
5. Form the dough into a ball and flatten it to a fat disc, then place it in the bottom of the mixing bowl. You should grease the mixing bowl slightly and get some of the oil on all sides of the dough. Cover with plastic wrap or a towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. I usually set the bowl over the warm part of the stove where the pilot heat exhaust is. Sitting it near the radiator also works.
6. Punch down the dough and knead it for about 30 seconds to get some of the air bubbles out.
**If you want to, you can repeat steps 5 and 6 two or three times for varying levels of bread softness. I usually only punch it down once or twice.**
7. Cut or tear the dough into 2 parts and set one aside under plastic wrap or a towel so it doesn't dry while you work the first loaf. Flatten the dough into a large rectangle using your hands, pressing out air bubbles as you go, and fold the dough over itself in thirds (like a letter) lengthwise. Fold the ends underneath and pinch them well to secure them on the underside of the loaf. It should look like a baguette about now. You can make the loaf longer and thinner by rolling it with your hands if you want to. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet, cover, and repeat with the other half of the dough. Cover both loaves and let rise by half, about 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 450, then cut 1/2" deep diagonal slashes down the top of the loaves . Cover and let rise while the oven heats. Bake 20-25 minutes, and throw in 2 or 3 ice cubes after 15 minutes to improve the crust texture. They'll make a nice sizzling sound, but it won't hurt you I promise.


For a Boule
Starting at the end of step 6, Form the whole piece of dough into the smoothest ball you can by making a thick square and tucking the corners underneath, pinching them into the underside dough to hold them there. Place patched side down on a *lightly* greased baking sheet. Cover with a bowl or pot and let rise to double or triple its original size. Once it is huge, turn on the oven to 425 and cut a few deep slashes in the top with a serrated bread knife, cover and let rise a bit more while the oven heats. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, tossing ice cubes into the oven after 15 minutes.

This bread is really great with peanut butter and blueberry preserves.