Recipes | Happy Simple Living

How to Make a Pizza from Scratch With this Easy Homemade Pizza Recipe

By eliza_cross, on April 29th, 2012%

Pizza dough recipe at Happy Simple Living blog

A homemade, half-sausage half-cheese pizza

The first time I made a homemade pizza, I was dumbstruck by how much better it was than delivery pizza. The improvement in flavor was like comparing a home-grown summer tomato to one of those hard, pink, grocery store varieties – worlds apart. After I took a pizza baking class from my local Slow Food chapter at the Whole Foods bakery, I was hooked. The professional bakers taught us some tricks for making amazing homemade pizza, and now I’m going to share them with you – along with everything else I’ve learned about cooking pizzas nearly every week in a home oven.

If making homemade pizza sounds like a lot of trouble, I’m going to share our simple method—and you don’t need any fancy ingredients or equipment. I prepare the dough ahead and freeze several batches so we can have fresh pizza whenever we like. I can easily prepare a homemade pizza faster than one can be delivered from one of the pizza chains. Best of all, even though we use all-organic fresh ingredients it’s less than half the cost of a delivery pizza. A simple kid-friendly cheese pizza made at home with organic ingredients costs less than $4.00. What’s not to love?

I’ve experimented with different techniques, and I keep coming back to simply shaping and baking the pizza on a plain ole’ metal pizza pan. I bought ours for $10 about ten years ago, and since I’m aiming for simple, family-style pizza I generally don’t bother with the pizza stone and the peel and all that. But you certainly can if you’re feeling motivated.

The first step is to prepare the dough. I’ve included two recipes here. The first is a variation on the recipe we learned from the professional bakers at the class, and it takes 24 hours from start to finish so you do have to plan ahead. The base of the recipe is a Poolish, or “sponge” that you make one day ahead. This pre-fermenting step allows more time for yeast and enzymes to develop starch and proteins in the dough, which in turn creates greater complexities of flavor. The dough also goes through several steps of rising and kneading. The resulting crust is fantastic – crisp and slightly chewy, similar to what you might get in a great wood-fired pizza restaurant.

The second recipe, which is based on The Pioneer Woman’s, can be prepared on the same afternoon you have a hankering for homemade pizza. The dough is softer and slightly less chewy, but it’s still a hundred times better than delivery pizza crust.

Both recipes call for bread flour, which has a 12 to 14 percent protein content and will make the nice, elastic dough that creates great pizza crust. But if you don’t have bread flour, no sweat! Just use all-purpose flour and it’ll turn out fine. Also, you’ll save a ton of money if you pick up a bag of all-purpose instant yeast instead of using those little packets. The recipes below will work just fine with either type of yeast.

Are you ready to get started?

Pizza Dough Recipe #1

Note: You need to start this recipe 24 hours before you want to bake pizza. For a same-afternoon pizza, see recipe #2 below.

Poolish:

1 1/4 cups bread flour
3/4 cup water at 70 degrees F
1/4 teaspoon instant dry yeast

In a medium bowl, mix together all ingredients until well-blended. Cover and let sit at room temperature for 12 to 18 hours.

Pizza Crust Recipe:

3 1/2 cups bread flour
3/4 cup spelt or whole wheat flour (or just use additional bread flour)
1 3/4 cup hot water at 140 degrees F, or as hot as you can get it from the tap
1 3/4 teaspoons sea salt
1 1/2 teaspoons instant dry yeast
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons honey
1 recipe Poolish (see above)

Combine the flours, hot water, salt and yeast by hand, just until incorporated. Let the dough rest, covered, for about 30 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and mix by hand until incorporated, kneading for about 2 minutes. Let the dough rest again, covered, for another 30 minutes.

On a lightly floured work surface, knead the dough for 5 minutes:

Cover and rest for 20 minutes. Knead the dough for another 5 minutes, then cover and rest for another 20 minutes. Divide the dough into 4 or 5 pieces, lightly pre-shape into round pieces and cover and rest for 20 more minutes. Bake according to directions below.

Pizza Dough Recipe #2

This is a good all-purpose recipe for when you want to bake a homemade pizza that same night. The dough needs just one rise, and it’s ready an hour or two after you combine the ingredients. If you have a stand mixer with a dough hook, now’s the time to use it!

1-1/2 cups warm water
1 teaspoon dry yeast
4 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

In a small bowl combine the warm water and yeast. Stir to combine and let sit for a few minutes, until bubbly. In a medium bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer), combine the flour and salt. Using the low speed of an electric mixer or your hands, slowly drizzle in the olive oil and the yeast/water mixture. Mix until the dough comes together, like this:

Pull the dough into a ball and knead it for several minutes, until it is smooth and elastic.

Brush the bowl with a little olive oil, and place the dough inside. Flip it over to coat the bottom with oil, then cover with a damp dishtowel. Let the dough sit in a warm place for 1-2 hours or until doubled in volume:

Divide the dough in two equal pieces if you want a thicker crust, or into thirds if you want a thinner crust.

Easy Pizza Sauce Recipe

True confession time: sometimes I use a can of Hunt’s spaghetti sauce seasoned with a little oregano to top kid-friendly pizzas. A 28-ounce can costs $1 on sale and tops three large pizzas. Most of the time, however, we want a simple, traditionally-flavored sauce with rich tomato flavor to top the pie.

Here’s a super easy recipe that nicely fits the bill:

2 cups tomato puree or 1 15-ounce can tomato sauce
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
1 tablespoon ground dried oregano
3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground paprika
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

In a medium bowl, mix together the tomato puree and tomato paste until smooth. Stir in the oregano, garlic, paprika, salt and pepper. Makes about 2 2/3 cups of sauce, or enough for 2 large pizzas.

For grown-up pizzas, you can simply pulse a can of drained, Italian San Marzano tomatoes in the food processor until they are lightly blended but still chunky. Season to your liking, and you’re good to go. Or skip the red sauce altogether, and try a drizzle of olive oil.

Cooking the Pizza

Preheat the oven to 550 degrees F or your oven’s highest setting, and put the oven rack right in the middle. If you have a convection setting, turn it on. If you have a pizza stone you want to use, put it in the oven on the rack now and let it get nice and hot. If you don’t have a pizza stone, no problem – your pizza is still going to be crispy, chewy and GREAT.

Now, use your hands to pat and stretch the dough on lightly greased baking sheet to the desired shape and thickness. I don’t recommend using a rolling pin, because it will compress the dough and eliminate those wonderful air bubbles that give your pizza crust snap. Initially the dough may keep pulling back, and it may seem like it will never fit the pan. But keep working with it, and in a few minutes it will relax and stretch out. We like our pizza crust quite thin, so I try to stretch it as far out as possible without tearing the dough:

I like to bake the untopped pizza in the oven for three minutes to set the crust. This keeps the pizza from getting soggy when you add the sauce and toppings. Remove the pale, barely-baked crust from the oven:

Next, add your desired sauce. I tend to use more sauce when I’m making pizza for kids:

Finally, add your toppings. For some kids, this may mean simply a generous sprinkling of your favorite grated cheese. You can, of course, make the pie half-and-half for family members who like different toppings:

If you prebaked the pizza for three minutes, you can now easily slide it on a hot pizza stone if you like. I usually just leave it on the pan, but you may not be as lazy as I am. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes if you’re baking it on the pan, or until the edges of the crust are a golden brown and the cheese is bubbly. (One of the things the professional bakers said in our class is, “Home cooks never cook their pizzas long enough.” So make sure the crust is good and golden brown before you take it out of the oven.) Here’s a pie we made with half cheese, half Canadian bacon:

While the pizza is baking, I like to make a little garlic flavor for the crust. Just combine 1 tablespoon of melted butter or extra virgin olive oil with 1 clove of minced garlic:

Right when you take the pizza out of the oven, give the hot crust a quick brush with the sauce:

Cut and serve. (Don’t you love the red pizza cutter? It’s made by Microplane and we got it at Crate & Barrel – a very worthwhile splurge!)

Ingredients for Pizza Toppings

Here’s a pie we made recently topped with sliced fresh Roma tomatoes, fresh mozzarella slices, spinach and basil:

You likely have your own favorite combination of ingredients, but if you’re looking for fresh inspiration you might like to try:

Barbeque sauce
Alfredo sauce
Pesto sauce (make your own!)
Goat cheese
Fresh mozzarella slices
Fresh ricotta cheese (make your own!)
Grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
Pepperoni slices
Cooked, crumbled ground beef
Cooked, crumbled sausage
Cooked, crumbled bacon
Meatballs
Sliced grilled chicken
Canadian bacon slices
Anchovies
Sliced prosciutto
Baby shrimp
Fresh tomatoes, sliced and drained
Sun-dried tomatoes
Caramelized onions
Thinly sliced red onion
Sliced mushrooms
Sliced roasted eggplant
Sliced bell peppers
Roasted red peppers
Sliced giardineria or banana peppers
Sliced black or green olives
Roasted garlic
Sliced jalapenos
Roasted asparagus spears
Capers
Thinly sliced roasted new potatoes
Chopped artichoke hearts
Basil leaves
Thinly sliced sage leaves
Lightly sauteed spinach leaves
Arugula
Pineapple chunks
Crushed red pepper

So there you have it. I didn’t mean to write quite such a book, but hopefully this long post will inspire you to bake some amazingly delicious pizza pies at home. Whether you regularly make homemade pizza or are ready to give it a try for the first time, you know we’d all love to hear your thoughts, questions, suggestions and experiences.

Ciao!

P.S. What are your favorite pizza topping combinations? Please share them in the comments section below!

Mini Raspberry Custard Tart Recipe

By eliza_cross, on April 16th, 2012%

For a recent baby shower, I was hankering to bake something pretty and petite that would pair well with fresh raspberries. I was envisioning a crispy, sweet little tart shell filled with vanilla custard and topped with whipped cream and raspberries. When I couldn’t find a recipe with that particular combination, I improvised. I modified my favorite sugar cookie pie crust to make the little shells, and reduced the quantities on my cream filling and topping recipes. The tarts were enthusiastically received, so now I can safely share the recipe with you.

You can prepare the tart shells and custard the day before, and then all you have to do is whip the cream (up to two hours before serving) and assemble the tarts (up to an hour before serving). These little tarts would also be nice for a Mother’s Day brunch, a ladies’ tea, or a sweet ending to a springtime dinner.

One note: try to use organic raspberries for this recipe if you can. Red raspberries are on the list of top 12 pesticide-retaining fruits and vegetables, and you can check out the other produce on the list here.

Mini Raspberry Custard Tarts

Sugar Cookie Tart Shells
Custard Filling
Whipped Topping
1 pint fresh raspberries, gently washed and dried
fresh mint sprigs for garnish

Sugar Cookie Tart Shells:

nonstick cooking spray
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and spray a mini tart pan or mini muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray. In a large bowl, cream together sugar and butter until light. Beat in flour, salt, milk and vanilla, until mixture is moist and crumbly. Roll the dough into balls that are 1 heaping teaspoon each. Press the balls into the prepared mini tart pan or mini muffin pan and work the dough until it is pressed thin and up the sides of the pan about 3/4 inch. You can use a spoon handle or a small pestle to press the indentation into the dough if you wish. You should have enough dough to make about 28-30 tarts. Prick the bottom of each tart.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until just barely golden on top.

Custard Filling:

1 1/4 cups milk
3 egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
tiny dash of salt
1 tablespoon butter
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

In a heavy saucepan, heat the milk over a medium-high flame until bubbles appear around edge. Beat egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl with wire whisk or mixer until pale yellow and thick. Beat in flour and dash of salt until well mixed. Gradually beat in hot milk; pour all back into saucepan. Cook, whisking constantly, over moderately high heat until mixture thickens and comes to boiling, lower heat. Continue cooking 2 to 3 minutes, over low heat, whisking constantly. Mixture will be quite thick. Remove from heat. Stir in butter and vanilla. Place a piece of wax paper directly on surface of filling to prevent skin from forming. Chill at least 2 hours.

Whipped Cream Topping:

3/4 cup chilled heavy cream
1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Chill a metal mixing bowl and the beaters from an electric mixer in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. Whip the cream in the chilled bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add the powdered sugar just until the cream forms stiff peaks. Add the vanilla and whip just until combined.

To assemble the tarts, spoon about 1 1/2 teaspoons custard filling into each mini tart shell. Use a teaspoon to put a generous dollop of whipped cream on each tart. (You may have some filling and topping left over. Feel free to sit down and eat this directly from the bowl as I did.) Top with a fresh raspberry, and arrange on a platter. Garnish with fresh mint sprigs and additional raspberries. Makes about 24 tarts.

Make Your Own Green Chile With This Easy Recipe

By eliza_cross, on October 23rd, 2011%

Photo by Jacki

During these final weeks of the farmers’ market, we’re seeing a good harvest of chile peppers here in Colorado. Some vendors cook them in a hand-cranked roaster right on the spot, and one of the best smells of autumn is the aroma of fresh-roasted chiles wafting through an outdoor market or parking lot.

Along with our locally-grown chile varieties, we also love the renowned Hatch chiles from Hatch, New Mexico. These chiles have a short harvest season in late summer, but you can often find them in the frozen section at the grocery store. Just remember, the longer you keep them in the freezer the hotter they get!

If you get the opportunity to buy some fresh roasted peppers at the farmers’ market, peel off the blackened skins and use the chiles for a great pot of green chile. Or freeze them for a treat later this winter.

Photo by Scott Moore

Here’s our favorite green chile recipe, which you can easily multiply for larger quantities. It’s a simple preparation that really highlights the flavor of the chiles, and it’s naturally thick without the addition of flour (which I think can make green chile beige and pasty). It’s great served as is with tortillas on the side, or you can smother burritos, enchiladas or your favorite Mexican dish with it.

You can make the vegetarian version of this chile by omitting the pork and substituting vegetable broth for the chicken stock. The easiest way to control the heat is to begin by choosing your preferred level of spiciness with the peppers – mild, medium, spicy or extra-spicy. You can always also add fresh chopped jalapenos or habaneros to this recipe if you really like a kick!

HOMEMADE GREEN CHILE

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 pound lean pork, cut into 1″ cubes
1 medium onion, chopped fine
4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 1/4 pounds fresh long green chiles, roasted, peeled, seeds removed and coarsely chopped — or 16 ounces frozen, thawed, chopped green chiles like Hatch chiles
juice of half a fresh lime
1-1/2 cups chicken stock
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven or medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Sauté the pork until evenly browned and remove with a slotted spoon to a paper towel to drain. Return the pan to the heat and add the onion, garlic, cumin and oregano. Cook, stirring often, until the onion just begins to brown. Add the green chiles and lime juice and cook, stirring often, for five minutes.

Return the browned pork cubes to the pan, add the chicken stock and stir well. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season to taste with salt and black pepper, cook for a few minutes more and serve. 6 servings.

Enjoy!

11 Things To Do With Fresh Mint

By eliza_cross, on September 6th, 2011%

Got mint? Summer may be winding down, but if mint grows in your garden I’m guessing it’s going nuts. You may feel like you’ve got enough mint to feed the entire state of Rhode Island, but fear not — here are some fresh ideas to help you make the most of the harvest.

1. Whip up some mint whipped cream and put a dollop (such a great word, and there aren’t nearly enough opportunities to use it) on strawberry mousse, chocolate cake, cookies and cream ice cream, brownies, hot chocolate, etc.

2. Add a handful of fresh mint to your next batch of pesto — like this.

3. Roll up some of these colorful, mouth-watering Vegetable and Mint Spring Rolls with Peanut Sauce from The Kitchen.

4. Bake a batch of milk chocolate cupcakes with fresh mint frosting – from our friends at the aptly-named blog How Sweet It Is.

5. Take off your shoes and make a batch of Natural Lemony Mint Foot Scrub.

6. Now that your tootsies are happy, make the Barefoot Contessa’s Tabbouleh salad.

7. Make a mojito. We love this recipe from Jo Lynne at Musings of a Housewife with a mint-infused syrup that adds an extra punch of flavor. Plus, how often do you get to “muddle” something? Not nearly often enough, if you ask us.

8. Put up some homemade mint jelly. We like this recipe from the cleverly-named site Simply Recipes, which uses Granny Smith apples for natural pectin. Plus it’s a beautiful amber color instead of the typical artificial green. Enjoy a jar at home and give the rest as holiday gifts.

9. Make a batch of Fresh Mint Chocolate Truffles. Oh, yes yes yes. If you have extras, I can easily provide you with my shipping address.

10. Make minted iced tea — like this.

11. Who needs a still in the back yard when you can make homemade hooch in your kitchen? Brew some homemade Creme de Menthe and you’ll be able to make the Pioneer Woman’s Grasshopper Pie whenever a craving hits. It’s good to be prepared, I always say.

Do you have a mass o’ mint this year? If so, what are you doing with it? I’d love to hear your ideas.

Small Batch Homemade Greek Yoghurt With Fruit

By eliza_cross, on July 27th, 2011%

I just love Greek yogurt with fruit, like this FAGE nonfat Greek yogurt with Strawberry “Goji,” whatever that is. BUT, this tiny cup retails for $1.69 at our supermarket. According to the ingredients list, twenty percent of the product is the strawberry topping–which means that the cup contains only about 4 ounces of yogurt. That’s pretty expensive when I can make a 32-ounce batch of homemade Greek yogurt for just a few dollars. (Here’s the recipe, in case you missed it in my earlier post.) Plus, I’m trying to eliminate disposable packaging as much as possible. But those little cups are so cute, with their spoon-shaped compartment of…goji. What’s a sustainability-lovin’ girl to do?

I recently made a batch of regular (non-Greek) yogurt, but one morning I awoke craving one of those little goji cups. So I experimented and set up a small strainer with an unbleached coffee filter inside like this:

I added two cups of yogurt and let it sit for about an hour. The straining process reduced the volume by half, and I poured off the whey (which I freeze and save for cooking).

Then I spooned the thick, creamy Greek yoghurt in a bowl — a luxurious eight ounces instead of the measly four offered in the little FAGE cups — and (since we happened to be out of goji) added a swirl of homemade strawberry jam.

The result? The best cup of Greek Yogurt with Strawberry Goji I’ve ever had. Now that I know I can have it on demand whenever I like, I’m a whole lot more pleasant in the morning. Okay, that’s not really true. But this homemade version of one of my favorite treats does make me happy. Try it and see if you agree.

P.S. This post was shared on Frugally Sustainable’s Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways.

Homemade Convenience Foods: Make Your Own Frozen Pancakes

By eliza_cross, on July 5th, 2011%

Photo by D. Sharon Pruitt

I have to admit, we’ve microwaved our share of store-bought frozen pancakes in this household. These days I’m trying to prepare more wholesome food using organic ingredients, though, so I tend to cook more from scratch. Still, some mornings I’ve wistfully thought that it would be really nice to have a stash of pancakes in the freezer that we could heat up quickly. So when I made pancakes a couple of Sundays ago, I doubled the recipe and froze some of the extras. Once I figured out the reheating technique, the pancakes came out of the microwave warm and tender. My son is in pancake nirvana now that he can have flapjacks for breakfast whenever he likes. Here’s the recipe:

HOMEMADE PANCAKES

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (preferably organic and unbleached)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup + 2 tablespoons milk
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons vegetable oil + a little extra for the griddle

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt and whisk to combine. In another bowl, combine the milk, egg and oil. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir just until combined. Brush the griddle with a little of the oil (just enough to barely coat it) and heat on medium-high. When the griddle is hot, pour about 1/4 cup of batter to make pancakes. When the bubbles on top begin to burst and the undersides begin to brown, turn quickly with a spatula and finish cooking.

Just like my mama taught me, I put a folded kitchen towel on an ovenproof dish in the oven (set on 150 degrees F or ‘warm’) and slip the pancakes in the folds of the towel to keep them warm until serving time.

This recipe makes about 10 5-inch pancakes, and you can double it if you want to make extra pancakes for freezing.

To freeze, cool the pancakes completely and arrange them on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Cover and freeze for at least three hours. Wrap in waxed paper or parchment paper and seal tightly in a bag or container in the freezer.

To reheat using the toaster, slide the lever to the lightest setting (the one you never use). Pop the pancakes in the slots and toast on one or two cycles until warm.
To reheat using the microwave, arrange two pancakes in a stack on a microwave-safe plate. Heat on ‘High’ for 70 seconds. Check the temperature; you may need to heat them for a few more seconds, but don’t overcook them or they’ll get tough.
You can also reheat the pancakes in a 375 degree F oven. Arrange the pancakes in a single layer on a baking sheet and cover tightly with foil, which will keep them from drying out. Bake for 14 to 16 minutes.

Enjoy!

P.S. What other convenience foods do you wish you could make from scratch? I’d love to hear your ideas.