Roasted Vegetable Pizza

On Wednesday I went to the Spruill Farmers Market in Sandy Springs (Georgia). It's a nice little market that sets up weekly and sells a variety of produce, dairy, meat, jams, and the like. For $37.50 I was able to get this:



I think that's a pretty nice catch for less than 40 bucks. In case some of it is difficult to see or identify, here's a list of the produce pictured above:
*3 sweet potatoes
*1 bunch rose turnips
*1 bunch carrots
*1 bunch kale
*1 bag braising greens (collards, mustard greens, and kale)
*1 bag chickweed
*1 bag totsoi (not sure I have the spelling correct on that one)
*2 winter squash
*7 1/2 oz fresh mozzarella

Charlie and I took some of the produce pictured above (along with a few other ingredients) and turned it into this:



Now, let me tell you something. I am a lucky woman for many, many reasons. I have a wonderful family, a husband who constantly wows me with his kindness and love, amazing friends, good health, a steady job, and such. All of that keeps me going, and I'm grateful for the good fortune I've had in my life. However, I think (and hope) most of those things are shared by a great many people. There is, however, one thing I have that most people don't, and that's a husband who makes awesome pizza. Isn't that lucky? Also, he has a knack for knowing when I'm exhausted and don't feel like cooking dinner. I love when Charlie calls and says he'd like to make a pizza for dinner. My reply is almost always an enthusiastic "Yes! Please!".
We decided to make a roasted vegetable pizza with some of our farmers market bounty. Charlie started by making dough. He's been working on the perfect pizza dough recipe for awhile, and after dozens of pizzas and constant tweaking I think he's finally achieved it.
While Charlie worked his magic on the dough I roasted vegetables. I decided to go with sunchokes (purchased at the Morningside Farmers Market last weekend), winter squash, and kale. I thought that combination would give the pizza a woodsy autumn flavor. I sliced the squash, tossed it with a little olive oil and kosher salt, then popped it in the oven (preheated to 375 degrees) for about 20 minutes.





I also thinly sliced the sunchokes (with the peel still on), treated them to a little oil and salt, and added them to the oven. They took a little longer to roast -- about 30 minutes total. (Sunchokes are also known as jerusalem artichokes, but they aren't from Jerusalem, and they aren't artichokes so I go with the farmsy (just made that word up!) term, sunchokes.)



Next up: kale! I gently sauteed a large handful in just a touch of olive oil, and then the veggies were ready! Charlie rolled out the dough, and we assembled our pizza.





Oooh...the fresh mozzarella is so tasty and melts into ooey gooey deliciousness. Bagged, shredded mozzarella just doesn't compare.
Charlie slid the pizza onto the preheated pizza stone, and 12 minutes later we had dinner!





Yum! Homemade pizza really is super easy to make and can be topped with anything you like. We've tried all sorts of toppings, from capers (nice and salty but you have to trap them with melted cheese or they just roll off) to anchovies (the fish flavor is intense...use sparingly!). It's a great weekday dinner as long as you remember to start the dough as soon as you get home from work.

Charlie's Pizza Dough

(adapted from Michael Ruhlman's Ratio suggestions)

ingredients:

2 cups semolina flour*

1/4 teaspoon yeast

6 oz water, lukewarm

1 Tablespoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon kosher salt

pinch of red pepper flakes (or more if you want a spicier crust)

1 Tablespoon olive oil (we just use a nice glug), plus additional for oiling the bowl

cornmeal

In a medium bowl combine flour and yeast. Create a well in the center, and add water. Allow to rest 2 - 3 minutes. Add oregano, salt, and red pepper flakes. Mix with a wooden spoon until dough begins to come together then add olive oil. Knead approximately 10 minutes or until dough is smooth, sticky, and bounces back when lightly touched. Lightly oil the inside of a medium bowl, place the dough in the bowl, and turn to coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and allow to rise 1 - 1 1/2 hours. The dough will not double in size but will swell a little.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. If you have a pizza stone, place it in the center of the oven to preheat along with the oven.

Turn the dough out onto a surface dusted with cornmeal. With floured hands, form the dough into a 8 - 10 inch circle with a flat center and slightly thicker edges (to form the crust), working some of the cornmeal into the dough as you shape it. (Use a gentle hand so you do not tear the dough as you work with it.) In order to prevent tearing, the final dough shaping should occur on whatever you will use to place the pizza in the oven. We use a pizza peel, but if you will be baking your pizza on a baking sheet you should use that at this point.

Top the pizza as you wish and place in the oven. Bake for 12 minutes. Let the cooked pizza rest for five minutes so the cheese and ingredients can settle, then dig in!

*For those of you in the Atlanta area, semolina flour can be purchased at the Dekalb Farmers Market. It can also be purchased in gourmet food shops, and I'm sure it's available for purchase online. Semolina is made of durham wheat and adds a unique texture to the pizza dough. If you are unable to find it, bread flour can be substituted.

Rye Bread: Part Two (Pastoli)

Pastoli!  Do you know what that means?  I didn't either because Charlie made up the word.  :)  I needed a name for the filled rye sandwiches I made with leftover rye dough, and he came up with pastoli.   I decided to keep the name when it passed the google test (it doesn't mean anything terrible and it isn't any sort of brand name as far as I can tell). 

This is a loose recipe for pastoli with salami, provolone, pickles, and spicy mustard. The ingredient quantities aren't exact because of the playful nature of this dish, and a zillion variations are possible. I think rosemary bread with brie, sliced turkey, and granny smith apples would be tasty. Maybe something with pesto? If anyone tries these at home please let me know what fillings you used and your level of success.

Rye Pastoli

ingredients:

1/2 recipe rye dough

8 slices provolone cheese

12 thin slices salami

spicy mustard

sliced pickles

1 egg

kosher salt

Make the rye dough and allow to rise for approximately one hour (first rise).

Take a large handful of rye dough and stretch it into a small square. Using a rolling pin, flatten the dough into a rectangle approximately 8 x 10 inches in size. (It doesn't have to be a perfect rectangle so don't stress over that.)

Place a small spoonful of spicy mustard in the center of the rectangle and spread around the center.

Top with pickle slices, 2 -3 slices of provolone cheese and 3 -4 slices salami.

Fold the short ends toward the center, leaving about 1/3 of the filling uncovered. Fold one of the long ends toward the center. Take care not to tear the dough.

Put a little water on your fingertips and wet the edge of the last side a little. Fold it over and press against the opposite edge to seal. You should have a neat little packet of dough.

Make four packets and place them seam-side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Allow to rise a second time for approximately one hour.

I think they look pretty great at this stage!  Also, this is the point at which you can refrigerate them.  Keep reading for more info on that.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Beat an egg with 1 Tbsp water and lightly brush over each packet. Cut three slits in each bundle and sprinkle with kosher salt.

Bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until bread is baked through and tops are golden.

Take a deep breath while the pastoli bakes because your house is going to smell amazing!  Cut each pastoli in half and serve while still warm.

I love how unfussy, yet somewhat impressive, these are.  Also, they can be assembled up to one day ahead of time and refrigerated until ready to bake.  Just let them come back to room temperature and rise for about thirty minutes.

 I think they would be perfect for taking on picnics because they're so self-contained.  I happen to know they're great around the pool, and everyone I've made them for (only four people so far, but they'll make an appearance at a larger gathering I'm sure) really likes them.  

I think rye bread is perfect for these, but I made another batch a few days ago using different dough and they were good too.  Still, as far as I'm concerned rye is the way to go.  

Rye Bread: Part One (Loaf and Rolls)

A couple weekends ago I assisted a wonderful class on baking bread at The Cook's Warehouse. Chef Doris Koplin, an amazing baker and a delightful person, instructed the class and over the course five hours produced an abundance of flavorful yeast breads. Everything she baked was melt-in-your-mouth good, but I was particularly taken with her rye. It had all the complexity that rye demands while still being light on the tongue.
Flash forward a week -- I decided to bake some rye at home so I could try out a few new techniques and the wonderful new recipe I have. I love this dough. It's so easy to work with, it smells great, and it makes really terrific bread. Also, it's quite versatile (as you will see). Here's the basic recipe.

Rye Bread
adapted from a recipe by Doris Koplin

ingredients:
6 cups bread flour
2 cups rye flour
3 Tablespoons caraway seed
1/4 cup sugar
2 packages (approximately 5 Tbsp) yeast
1 cup warm water
2 cups milk, heated to room temperature
1/4 cup canola oil

Measure dry ingredients (flours, caraway seeds, and sugar) into a bowl. Place the yeast in the warm water and allow to sit for approximately five minutes or until mixture becomes foamy. This is called proofing the yeast. Combine the oil and milk and add to the dry ingredients. Add the proofed yeast (including the water) and mix well with a large wooden spoon. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic. This should take approximately five minutes.



Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with a damp kitchen towel and set aside to rise until doubled in bulk, about one hour.



Punch dough down and shape as desired (more to come on that). Place breads on baking pan which has been covered with parchment paper and cover again with the damp towel. Allow to rise again until doubled in bulk, about one hour. Brush breads with a beaten egg to glaze, sprinkle with caraway seeds and a little coarse salt. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven, 25 to 30 minutes for loaves, 15 to 20 minutes for rolls.

You might have noticed that this is going to produce a tremendous amount of dough. Eight cups of flour! What could you possibly do with that much rye bread? Plenty. Here are some suggestions.

The most obvious thing to do is bake rye loaves. This is certainly a worthwhile thing to do with the dough, and you'll have plenty to freeze for later. The recipe above will yield three loaves of rye. To make a loaf, divide the dough into thirds (after the first rise). Using one piece of the newly-divided dough roll out an 11 by 9 inch rectangle. Fold the 9-inch ends toward the center, about one third of the way. Now move to one of the 11-inch sides and carefully roll it toward the center until you have a nice tight loaf. Gently place the dough into a greased bread pan, seam-side down. You may need to gently press the ends of the dough toward the center in order to ensure a comfortable fit. It should look like this:



I have no idea why I didn't photograph the other steps, as it would really help to have a few visual aids here. The next time I bake bread (probably this weekend) I'll try to remember to take photos and update this post.

Cover the loaf with a dish towel and allow to rise approximately one hour or until doubled in size. Brush with an egg wash (one beaten egg with a splash of water) and sprinkle with your choice of caraway seeds or coarse salt (or both!). Bake the loaf in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 25 to 30 minutes or until the loaf is golden brown on top and sounds hollow when thumped on the bottom. That's it! Now you have a yummy loaf of rye bread.

If you're feeling a little more adventurous you can make rolls. I think rolls are so much fun to make. There are a zillion ways to shape rolls, my favorite being fancy tucked knots. The entire dough recipe given above will make approximately 3 dozen rolls small rolls or 18 large rolls.

To make one fancy tucked knot roll, pull off a handfull of dough. Using your palms, roll it into a long, thin rope. (This is kind of like making snakes with playdough when you're little.) Don't worry if it isn't perfect.



Now, take the rope and tie it into a knot. Don't make this too complicated! It's just a knot. :) Also, try not to break the dough or stretch it too much in the process. Just go with the flow.



Now take the ends of the rope (sticking out on either side) and tuck them. Go in the direction they're already tending toward. Don't worry if it doesn't look perfect when you finish. They'll rise a little more and that will cover a number of flaws. You can see that mine isn't perfect in the photo below.



Now you have a roll. Place the formed rolls on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper, then cover them with a damp dish towel. Allow to rise for approximately one hour or until doubled in size. Glaze with an egg wash and sprinkle with caraway seeds and/or coarse salt. Bake in a preheated 350 degree F oven for 15 - 20 minutes or until golden and cooked through. You can use a toothpick to test doneness just as you might do with a cake. If the toothpick comes out clean they're done. If has dough stuck to the sides they should bake a little longer. Pictures of the rolls before the go into the oven:






And after baking:





Yum, yum, yum!

There's one other thing I did with my rye dough, but it will have to wait until later. It's quite wonderful. And we call it...a pastoli! Stay tuned!

The makings of brunch

Brunch on the weekends is such a lazy, decadent treat.  Every now and then I rise early on a Saturday or Sunday morning and rush to prepare a complicated or time consuming dish, but usually it's a time for simple and easy-to-prepare food.  

Eggs and pancakes -- that's the way to go.  Something savory and something sweet.  I try to stick to that rule when making brunch, and it serves me well.  Sometimes I go with straight-up scrambled eggs and buttermilk pancakes, and sometimes I play around with it a little.  Today the pancakes took a turn and became Creme Brulee French Toast with Strawberries.  I wanted something I could prepare fairly quickly then toss in the oven while I made a fruit salad and cooked eggs and bacon.  I tinkered around in the kitchen for awhile before coming up with a recipe, and boy am I pleased with the result.  It's light, fluffy, sticky, and gooey all at once.  It's sweet but not overwhelming, and the flavors all blended perfectly.  Also, my quick and easy plan worked.  This is a no-fuss fancy dish. :)

Creme Brulee French Toast with Strawberries

 ingredients:

1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1 Tablespoon vanilla sugar, plus 1 teaspoon

4 slices challah bread (sliced 1 1/2 inches thick)

3 eggs, plus 1 eggwhite

1 cup half-and half

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon orange liquer

pinch of salt

1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

1 cup sliced strawberries

confectioners sugar (for dusting)

fresh mint sprigs (optional)

Melt the butter in a small pan on medium heat.  Add the brown sugar and 1 Tablespoon vanilla sugar (recipe to follow).  If you do not have vanilla sugar add 1 Tablespoon of sugar and 1/8 tsp vanilla extract.  Stir constantly until sugar has melted and mixture is smooth.  Pour into the bottom of an 8x8 baking dish.

Place challah slices in one layer on top of sugar mixture, gently squeezing to fit.  

In a medium bowl whisk together the 3 eggs, half and half, vanilla extract, orange liquer, and salt.  Pour over the challah.  Allow to sit at room temperature for one hour.  It may sit for up to 1 day but should be refrigerated and allowed to return to room temperature before continuing. 

-

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk the egg white, heavy cream, and 1 teaspoon vanilla sugar (or regular sugar) until it just begins to thicken (before stiff peaks are formed).  Pour over the challah.

Bake for 35 minutes or until french toast is puffy and golden.  Remove from oven and allow to rest for five minutes.  Top with sliced strawberries and confectioners sugar.  Serve and garnish with  mint.

This type of food makes me feel like I'm cooking in the country.  It's so warm and homey with the sticky bottom and the light top.  Bacon compliments this dish.  The sweet and salty play off one another quite nicely.

One last little thing before I finish the mimosas still on the table.  Vanilla sugar is a real treat to have around and is very simple to make.  After scraping the seeds out of a vanilla bean (and using them for something else) place the pod in a jar and fill with granulated sugar.  Put the top on and shake it up a little.  In a couple of days the vanilla will have infused the sugar, and you'll have vanilla sugar!  It's a wonderful thing to have around and can be used in a variety of ways.  Add it to coffee and use it in place of regular sugar when baking.  It adds that little something extra to the recipe above.

California Flatbread Salads with Balsamic Strawberries

Spring has sprung, and I've been seriously craving fresh veggies.

I made tortillas recently but realized as I started gathering my ingredients that I had only a little all-purpose flour. Instead of throwing my hands up in despair I decided to use 1 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour and 1/2 cup all-purpose.  This resulted in crispy, cracker-like flatbreads -- not exactly a tortilla but still delicious.  

Instead of trying to roll up the "tortillas" and fill them with meat, cheese, and the like, I piled the flatbreads with fresh greens, sliced almonds, bleu cheese, red onion, and balsamic strawberries.  I enjoyed this creation so much that I've decided to repeat the process and use the flatbreads as a base for fresh salads on a regular basis.  The finished product has a very California kitchen feel to it.  


    

Here is a loose recipe for the salad I threw on top of the flatbread.

California Flatbread Salads

ingredients:

6 - 7 strawberries, sliced

2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/2 head Romaine lettuce

2 large handfuls baby spinach

1/4 cup diced red onion

Honey Lemon Vinaigrette (recipe to follow)

4 - 5 whole wheat tortilla crisps

1/4 - 1/2 cup crumbled bleu cheese

1/4 cup sliced almonds

Place the sliced strawberries in a small bowl and pour the vinegar on top.  Allow the strawberries to marinate while you make the rest of the salad.

Tear the Romaine into bite-sized pieces and mix with the spinach in a large wooden bowl.  Add the diced red onion and use your hands to evenly distribute the greens and onions.  Drizzle the dressing on top of the salad and toss to coat the leaves.  Place each tortilla on a plate and top with a generous serving of the salad.  Top each serving with a sprinkling of bleu cheese and almonds.  Drain the strawberries and place on top of the salad.  Serve immediately.

Honey Lemon Vinaigrette

ingredients:

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tablespoons dijon mustard

1 squeeze fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons honey

2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

coarse kosher salt

freshly ground pepper

In a small bowl mix the garlic, mustard, lemon juice, honey, and apple cider vinegar.  Stir vigorously until fully combined.  Starting with a single drop, slowly add the olive oil.  Continue pouring in a steady stream, vigorously stirring the vinaigrette as you add more oil.  Mix until the dressing is full combined.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Tiny flower biscuits

I made the cutest little biscuits the other day. They weren't fluffy southern-style breakfast biscuits but rather something more like an accompaniment for tea. I cut them into flowers before baking and ended up with something along the lines of a savory cookie. I think I'll make these tiny treats again for brunch and serve them with an assortment of jams, honey butter, and lemon curd.

This Week's Bread

This weekend I chose to bake Honey and Bran Bread and German Pumpernickel Bread, both from William Sonoma's Baking cookbook.  Both recipes called for wheat bran, but I substituted oat bran since I was unable to find what was called for (see previous post).  Here are the recipes with photos.

Honey and Bran Bread

ingredients:

2 1/4 teaspoons quick-rise yeast

2 1/2 cups lukewarm water

3 cups whole-wheat flour

2 - 2 1/2 cups bread flour

2 cups wheat bran 

1/4 cup honey

1 Tablespoon corn oil

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 egg yolk beaten with 1 teaspoon water

In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in 1/2 cup of the lukewarm water and let stand until bubbles start to rise, about 5 minutes.  In a large bowl or the bowl of an electric stand mixer, combine the whole-wheat flour, 1 cup of the bread flour, and the bran.  Stir in the remaining 3 cups lukewarm water, honey, oil, salt, and yeast mixture.  Gradually stir in enough of the remaining bread flour to make a soft dough that holds its shape.

Knead by hand or with a dough hook, adding bread flour as kneaded.  Knead by hand until smooth and elastic, about ten minutes; knead by hook until the dough pulls cleanly from the bowl sides, 6 - 7 minutes.  Form the dough into a ball and place in a clean, greased bowl, turning the dough to coat all sides.  
Cover with greased plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled, 45 - 60 minutes.

Grease two 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 inch loaf pans.  Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and press flat.  Cut in half.   Using a rolling pin, roll out each half into a 12 by 7 inch rectangle.  
Starting at a long side, roll up tightly and pinch the seams to seal.  Place in the prepared pans, seam sides down.

 Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 45 - 60 minutes.   Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Brush the loaves with the egg-yolk mixture.  Bake until well browned and a thin wooden skewer inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean, 30 - 35 minutes.  Transfer the loaves to a wire rack to cool.

The honey and bran bread has a very subtle nutty flavor that I just love!  I think the oat bran tastes just fine, but I still want to try wheat bran and see what difference that makes.  The dough was very dense and heavy, which surprised me, and the finished loaves are quite dense.  I'm interested in seeing how it lends itself to making sandwiches, but for now it's just great with a little fresh butter smeared on a slice.

German Pumpernickel Bread

ingredients:

3 cups rye flour

1 cup wheat bran

2 1/2 - 3 cups bread flour

2 1/4 teaspoons quick-rise yeast

1/2 cup lukewarm water

2 Tablespoons dark or light molasses

3 Tablespoons corn oil

2 teaspoons salt

2 cups plain low-fat yogurt, warmed to 110 degrees F

cornmeal for sprinkling

In a bowl, whisk together the rye flour, bran, and 2 cups of the bread flour.  In a large bowl or the bowl of an electric stand mixer, combine the yeast, 1/2 cup of the flour mixture, and the lukewarm water; let stand until bubbles start to rise, about 10 minutes.  Stir in the molasses, oil, salt, and yogurt.  Gradually stir in 4 cups of the remaining flour mixture to make a stiff but workable dough.  The dough will be sticky.

Knead by hand or with a dough hook, adding the remaining flour mixture and more bread flour as needed.  Knead by hand until smooth and elastic, about 15 minutes; knead by dough hook until the dough is not sticky and pulls cleanly from the bowl sides, about 10 minutes.  The dough will be slightly heavy.  Form the dough into a ball and place in a clean, greased bowl, turning to coat on all sides.  Cover with greased plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled, 60 - 75 minutes.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and press flat.  Cut in half, knead briefly, and form each half into a ball, stretching the sides down and under.  


Sprinkle a baking sheet with cornmeal and place the loaves on it.  Cover with a clean kitchen town and let rise in a warm place until doubled, 45 - 60 minutes.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Uncover and bake until browned and the loaves sound hollow when tapped on the bottoms, about 1 hour.  Transfer to wire racks to cool.

This is the first time I've ever attempted pumpernickel, and I really enjoyed it!  The dough is just gorgeous and handles very well after enough flour has been added (up until that point it's very sticky).  The photos don't really do the finished loaves justice.  They're beautiful in a very rustic way.  I tried a slice last night with a little butter, and it had the same dense, moist texture as the honey and bran bread.  I wonder if that's because of the oat bran (?).  Does anyone know?

I have a feeling that as it sits the flavors will deepen and it will have a more traditional pumpernickel flavor.  I certainly hope so because I just love a good, deep pumpernickel flavor!