Pizza Dough

Growing up in a large Italian family, homemade pizza was always one of my favorite meals. My mom made it all the time when I was a kid. From an early age, I started helping her and later started making my grandmother's recipe of about 12 pizzas on my own, sometimes even doubling the recipe for pizza parties! Since I moved out and am now only cooking for 1 or 2 people in a small townhouse kitchen, I started using a pizza stone and pizza peel instead of pizza pans and found a recipe that makes 2 pizzas. I've been snowed in for the past few days and now that most people are out and about again, I didn't want to head to the grocery store in case it is low on food or packed with shoppers. So I decided I would make pizza for dinner so I can take it in my lunch for the two remaining work days this week. Luckily I already had all the ingredients!

This Pizza Dough Recipe is pretty simple to make and only needs to rise for an hour, plus another 10 minutes once you divide the dough in half. Following the dough recipe are baking instructions for the pizza stone that I have - adjust as needed for however you are baking your pizzas.

Pizza Dough

Recipe Courtesy Bobby Flay

3½ to 4 cups bread flour*, plus more for rolling
1 teaspoon sugar
1 envelope (2¼ teaspoons) instant dry yeast
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1½ cups water, 110º F
2 Tablespoons olive oil, plus 2 teaspoons

Combine the bread flour, sugar, yeast and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and combine. While the mixer is running, add the water and 2 tablespoons of the oil and beat until the dough forms into a ball. If the dough is sticky, add additional flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough comes together in a solid ball. If the dough is too dry, add additional water, 1 tablespoon at a time. Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead into a smooth, firm ball.

Grease a large bowl with the remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil, add the dough, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put it in a warm area to let it double in size, about 1 hour. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into 2 equal pieces. Cover each with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let them rest for 10 minutes.

Makes 2 14-inch pizza crusts.

Note: *Using bread flour will give you a much crisper crust. If you can't find bread flour, you can substitute it with all-purpose flour, which will give you a chewier crust.

This recipe does not come with instructions for baking the crust. If you are using a pizza stone, preheat the oven to 500º with the stone on the middle rack for 20-25 minutes (longer for a crispier crust).

Use a rolling pin to spread the dough on a lightly floured surface. Sprinkle your pizza peel with cornmeal and transfer the spread dough to it - crimp the edges to make them thicker and higher so the sauce and toppings do not slip onto the stone. Add cheese, sauce and toppings to your pizza. Gently shake the pizza back and forth on the peel to make sure it will slide off easily onto the stone.

Once the oven is preheated, sprinkle cornmeal on the stone to help prevent the dough from sticking. Reduce the oven temperature to 475º. Gently slide your pizza from the peel on to the stone. Bake for about 10 to 12 minutes.

While the first pizza is baking, prepare the second on the pizza peel.

Use a spatula to transfer the baked pizza to a large cutting board since the second one will be on the peel. Slice the pizza with a pizza wheel or pizza chopper and enjoy!

Combine dry ingredients

Mix with water and oil

Knead into a ball and let rise for an hour

Separate into two dough balls and let rise for 10 minutes

Spread dough using a rolling pin

Crimp edges of dough

Add toppings

Bake for 10-12 minutes on pizza stone

Slice and enjoy!

Photos by JoJo

Dutch Oven Bread

I recently posted a recipe for a 4-hour Dutch Oven Bread and wanted to also post the original recipe I made which takes 18-24 hours to rise. A few years ago I helped my cousin Andrew prepare food for a baptism party and he made paninis using this bread. He got the recipe from a friend, Katie Newkumet, and sent it to me. I've made it multiple times and really like it. It's very simple to make and perfect if you like to plan ahead.

With a blizzard in the forecast at the end of last week, I made this dough on Thursday night and baked it on Friday afternoon just as the snow began to fall. I had some bread with my dinner that night, made French toast with it in the morning, had it again with multiple lunches and dinners, and used it to make croutons to put in French onion soup! This bread can be used for so many things.

I baked this in my Lodge cast iron 3-quart dutch oven, but it can be baked in any pot with an oven-proof lid.

Edit December 2021: my cousin Vincent said this bread comes out best using King Arthur All-Purpose Flour, not Bread Flour!

Dutch Oven Bread

4 cups King Arthur Bread Flour (yes, this specific flour is the key!)

2 cups warm water

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon active dry yeast

Mix everything together in a bowl and let in rise in a warm place for 18-24 hours.

Preheat the oven to 400°F; place your empty dutch oven into the oven for 30 minutes.

Take the dough out of the bowl and roll it in some flour so it doesn't stick to your hands. No kneading required - just form a ball shape.

Take the dutch oven out after 30 minutes and drop the dough into it.

Place it back in the oven with the lid on for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, take the lid off and leave bread in for another 15 minutes.

Remove bread from dutch oven and let it cool before slicing.

Mix everything together in bowl

Let rise for 18-24 hours

Take dough out

Roll in ball shape

Drop dough ball in dutch oven

Bake for 30 minutes with lid on

Bake for 15 more minutes with lid off

Cool and slice

Photos by JoJo

Italian Orzo Spinach Soup

Last winter I made an Italian Orzo Spinach Soup recipe that I found online. I remember it being OK but not loving it. It was pretty cold today and is supposed to be the rest of the week too, so I decided to give this recipe another try tonight, with a few modifications.

Below is the recipe as I made it. The changes I made from the recipe link above are that I used rosemary & oregano diced tomatoes instead of fire-roasted since I did not like how those tasted the first time I made it, and I remember the soup needed more flavor so I thought these might work better than just regular diced tomatoes. I also remember the carrots were still pretty raw by the time the soup was done, so I cooked those first this time before adding the other veggies. I increased the amount of chicken broth since I know I will be eating this for several nights and the orzo will absorb a lot of it. I simmered the soup for about 30 minutes before adding the orzo, hoping that giving all the flavors a chance to combine would give the soup more taste. I used regular orzo instead of whole wheat, and I used 1 cup instead of 1 1/2 cups. I also tend to season my soup pretty well with salt and freshly ground black pepper, which I found it needed.

I didn't want to get my hopes up in case this soup did not come out better than last year, but it tasted much better! This recipe took about an hour to make and I will probably get 5 nights worth of dinner out of it. I made this in my 7 1/4-quart dutch oven with plenty of room to spare, so a 5-quart dutch oven or stockpot would work perfectly. Since I didn't have any fresh bread, I had Mini Saltine Crackers with this, which are delicious with soup (as are Oyster Crackers).

This is a great, quick meatless meal, but you can certainly add Italian sausage or chicken to it. You can also add other veggies and use your favorite kind of pasta, and make any other modifications you wish to make it more to your liking. If you prefer more broth in your soup, you should add more stock. I will likely have to add a bit more when reheating this during the week. You could also cook your pasta separately and add it into the soup by the bowl, which is what my mom always does when she makes minestrone. I am glad I didn't give up on this recipe, and I will definitely make it again!

Italian Orzo Spinach Soup

Recipe Adapted from Gimme Some Oven Blog

This delicious Italian Orzo Spinach Soup is simple, flavorful, and so comforting.

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 cup diced carrots

1 cup diced celery

1 small white onion, peeled and diced

3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

8 cups chicken or vegetable stock

1 (14-ounce) can Hunt’s Rosemary & Oregano Diced Tomatoes, with juice

½ teaspoon dried thyme

¼ teaspoon dried oregano

¼ teaspoon dried rosemary

1 cup Orzo pasta

4 cups loosely packed baby spinach

Salt and black pepper, to taste

Heat oil in a 5-quart stockpot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add carrots and sauté for 4 minutes. Add celery, onion and garlic and sauté for 7 minutes or until all vegetables are cooked to your liking. Add chicken stock, diced tomatoes, thyme, oregano, and rosemary and stir to combine. Bring soup to a simmer, stirring occasionally.

After soup has simmered for 30 minutes, add orzo. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is al dente.

Stir in the spinach and cook for 1-2 minutes until it is bright green and wilted. Season the soup with salt and black pepper to taste. Serve warm.

Serves 4-6.

 

Diced carrots

Diced celery

All veggies

Simmer for 30 minutes

Add orzo

Add spinach

Enjoy!

Photos by JoJo