Dare Me? I Dare You.

Whew! I've just barely made the cut off for this month's Daring Bakers challenge, Bake Your Pizzas Like A Real Pizzaiolo using a pizza dough recipe from “The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering The Art of Extraordinary Bread” by Peter Reinhart. Steve actually got me this book for Christmas this year, and I pour over the recipes trying to decide what I can make, and quite honestly, what I have time to make. The recipes definitely take a lot of pre-planning - it's not the book I'd turn to when in need of something quick 'n' easy, but this is a great place to turn to for technique and the background to bread making.


One piece of this month's challenge was to toss the pizza dough like a pro...or something like that. I definitely tossed the dough, but I can't say it landed where it should have! And, overall, if there's one recipe that Peter Reinhart gives in this book that anyone can handle, the pizza dough recipe is as accessible as it can get. I cheated and cut out one of the additional rises and I can't say we noticed the difference.

Steve and I make pizza almost once a week...we rotate from "Pizza Monday" all the way through "Pizza Thursday" depending on what the week brings for us, and our staple is our whole wheat pizza that we love so much, piled on with toppings including chicken sausage, roasted garlic, mozzarella, and extra veggies for Steve. I dare you to break away from ordering out and have a pizza night at your house, whole wheat or white, whatever you have a taste for. Not only is it easy to make, it's also much easier on your wallet...no delivery charges :)

A Katie's Ladies Classic

My formative baking years were spent at a little cafe in my hometown called Katie's Cafe. It was there that I gained a great comfort in the kitchen. Daily tasks included making mass quantities of cookie dough (a double-triple sugar dough recipe included 18 eggs and 18 cups of flour!), cinnamon rolls, scones, herb rolls (enough for the restaurant to use for the day to accompany soups, salads, and sandwiches), all created from scratch and by hand...and I mean literally, by hand. No mixer, just us Katie's ladies armed with spatulas. I quickly learned to multi task, make snap decisions on the go, and not even stop to flinch when a renegade hot tray would sear my arm. It's amazing that part of me, deep down, can actually miss those days...



On the mornings I was the breadmaker, I also had to conserve a portion of my dough to make pepperoni rolls, filled with pepperoni, mozzarella, green peppers and onions, all tightly packaged together. Absolutely delicious and something I can whip up without a second thought. Well...these days I have second thoughts. Pepperoni rolls, if you can believe it, aren't exactly the healthiest options. Since Steve and I make whole wheat pizza almost once a week, why not whole wheat pizza rolls with homemade marinara on the side? Voila! An update on an old favorite to fit with a new lifestyle.

Whole Wheat Pizza Rolls

Recipe by Lazy Susin

1 cup whole wheat flour

1- 2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

1 package rapid-rise yeast

1 tbsp honey

2 tbsp olive oil

1 cup 100 deg. water

fillings for pizza rolls (we use chicken sausage, part skim mozzarella, green peppers, onions, mushrooms)

Add 1 cup whole wheat flour and 1 cup all purpose flour, salt and sugar to large mixing bowl. Mix together.
Add yeast to warm water, stir with a fork and let yeast proof. Add yeast mixture, honey, and olive oil to dry ingredients. Either mix by hand (with hands or spatula) or using stand mixture with dough hook. If sticky add 1/2-1 cup whole wheat flour as needed. If mixing by hand knead lightly on a floured surface. If using dough hook, dough is ready when it comes away from the side of the mixing bowl.

Cover with a dishtowel in a warm spot and let rise for 45 minutes-hour in a bowl lightly greased with olive oil. (If making up a day ahead of time do not allow dough to rise. Place dough into a well-oiled Ziploc bag and place in fridge, let rise for 1 hour before ready to use.)
Whichever method you are doing, after about an hour of rising time the dough is ready to go.

Roll dough on a lightly floured surface until almost as thin as you can make it without holes forming in the dough. Using a small knife, divide the dough into equal squares.

Place toppings in the center of each square of dough. Gather up all of the edges and gently squeeze them all together to seal the edges. This is an acquired skill - if you gather it too tightly, the roll will burst in the oven and all of the cheese will ooze out. You have to make it tight enough to keep everything in, but not make it overly tight.

Place the rolls on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and let rise for 15-20 minutes before placing in a 400 degree oven. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the rolls are golden brown.

Let cool slightly and enjoy with marinara dipping sauce.

Makes 4-6 pizza rolls, varying by size.

Cheesy, easy pizza

Steve and I love to make pizza at home, but we're always struggling to get the crust "just right." We prefer whole wheat for health reasons, but 100% whole wheat pizza crust tends to fall flat. A basic white crust is great, and there's no question of its ability to puff up beautifully in the oven, but it's not the healthiest alternative. Last night, I think I unlocked the secret of a great semi-whole wheat pizza crust that delivers the best of both worlds.

I topped my pizza off (above) with roasted garlic, sundried tomato and basil chicken sausage, part skim mozzarella, fresh basil and a drizzle of olive oil (Steve also added fresh mushrooms and onion to his) - phenomenal! Honestly beats out ordering out pizza any day of the week, because not only was it tasty, I didn't feel full, fat, 'n guilty afterwards.

Perfectly Puffy Wheat Pizza Dough

by Lazy Susin

1-2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 package rapid-rise yeast
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup 100 deg. water
coarse cornmeal
toppings for pizza

Add 1 cup whole wheat flour and 1 cup all purpose flour, salt and sugar to large mixing bowl. Mix together.

Add yeast to warm water, stir with a fork and let yeast proof. Add yeast mixture, honey, and olive oil to dry ingredients. Either mix by hand (with hands or spatula) or using stand mixture with dough hook. If sticky add 1/2-1 cup whole wheat flour as needed. If mixing by hand knead lightly on a floured surface. If using dough hook, dough is ready when it comes away from the side of the mixing bowl.
Cover with a dishtowel in a warm spot and let rise for 45 minutes-hour in a bowl lightly greased with olive oil. Divide into two parts. If making up a day ahead of time do not allow dough to rise. Place dough into a well-oiled Ziploc bag and place in fridge (can divide into two parts if making 2 pizzas).

If refrigerating overnight, remove dough from fridge about an hour before planning to bake and place in oiled bowls and allow to rise in a warm place.

Whichever method you are doing, after about an hour of rising time the dough is ready to go. Each half makes approximately a 12" pizza. Stretch out onto a pizza pan or sheet pan that has been generously sprinkled with coarse cornmeal.

Bake each crust at 450 degrees for about 5 minutes. Remove from oven and add toppings and return to oven and bake for another 8-10 minutes, until crust is brown and toppings are fully cooked and cheese is starting to brown up.

Cut and enjoy!