Best Pizza Crust

My family has used this pizza crust recipe for years. Every time I branch out and try something different, I end up returning to this recipe for several reasons. First, it is quick. The dough only has to rise for 30 minutes. Most other crust recipes that actually taste good require hours of rising (some even 24 hours of slow rising in the fridge!). Those are yummy crusts but a whole lot more work for not so much extra taste. This dough is delicious. And easy. Thus a staple.

Ingredients:
4 C flour
2 C warm water
2 Tbs instant yeast
1/3 C sugar
1 tsp salt

Directions:
Mix all ingredients until a sticky dough is formed. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise for about 30 minutes. Working with 1/2 the dough at a time, turn out onto a floured area and knead (it is usually pretty sticky so I sometimes sprinkle enough extra flour on top to make it workable). Roll the dough to desired size depending on your preferred crust thickness (dough will rise a bit in the oven). Bake 15 to 18 minutes at 375 or for an even better pizza use a pizza stone at 450-500 and bake for 8-10 minutes.


Makes 2 large thick crust pizzas

Whitney's French Bread

This is my favorite French Bread recipe. No kneading required but it comes out fluffy and delicious. The multiple rising times make this bread take a lot of time but most of it is just wait time and doesn't require your attention. I used to skip the second two rises but the bread comes out much better if you let it rise all the times required. The egg white helps the loaf turn an appetizing shade of brown.
Half the recipe for one loaf.

Ingredients:
2 Tbs dry yeast
1/2 C warm water
2 C hot water
3 Tbs Sugar
1 Tbs salt
5 Tbs vegetable oil
6 C flour

1 egg white + 1 tsp water for top

Directions:
Dissolve yeast in 1/2 C warm water. Let stand 10 min (if you use instant yeast you can skip this step and just toss the yeast in with all the other ingredients).
Combine all ingredients (except egg white) and beat well. Allow the dough to rise until double (about 1 hr). Punch it down and then allow it to rise again (about 1 hr). Roll into 2 long french loaves and put on a baking sheet. Gash the tops diagonally with a knife and brush with egg white. Let rise for 30 minutes. Bake at 400 for 16 minutes or until golden brown and delicious.


Ingredients for 1 loaf:
1 Tbs dry yeast
1 1/4C hot water
1 1/2 Tbs Sugar
1/2 Tbs salt
2 1/2 Tbs oil
3 C flour

Best Cornbread

I got this cornbread recipe from my friend Stacie, who got it from this site.

My husband says this is the best cornbread he has ever eaten. I think the secret is the sugar. And the butter.

Ingredients:

½ C cornmeal
1 ½ C flour
2/3 C sugar
1 Tbs baking powder
½ tsp salt
1/3 C oil
3 Tbs butter, melted
2 eggs, beaten
1 ¼ C milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Combine dry ingredients. Make a well and add wet ingredients. Mix until just combined. Bake in a greased 8x8 pan for 35 minutes. (I like to bake in muffin tins for about 25 minutes - it makes automatic portions and cooks evenly. But it is more dense in an 8x8 pan if you prefer it that way.)

Hour Bread for French Toast

I like this bread recipe because it only takes one hour to make start to finish. It isn't quite right for sandwich bread but I LOVE it for french toast. I will often make a batch and cook the whole loaf into french toast so I can eat it for breakfast all week. (Or freeze some for later).

This recipe is very versatile and can be used as a pizza crust or even turned into cinnamon rolls.

The measurements are kind of weird because the original recipe made four loaves and I like just one at a time.

Ingredients:
2 5/8 C flour
3 Tbs sugar
1/4 Tbs salt
3/4 Tbs yeast
3/4 Tbs vital wheat gluten
1 C water

Directions:
Combine dry ingredients in a large mixer. Add water and knead for 5 minutes. Roll out and then roll up into proper loaf size. Place in greased pan and let rise for 25 minutes. Meanwhile preheat oven to 350. Bake for 25 minutes.

Five Minute Prep Bread

I got this recipe from my mother in law. She has a cookbook called Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. I liked how the recipe made enough for several loaves but you don't have to make them all at once. That way you can enjoy fresh bread several times from the trouble of putting together just one dough. The bread tasted good the first day. The loaf I made a week later tasted even better! Both loaves tasted the best the day I made them but also stored tolerably well. I halved the recipe and ended up with two small loaves. The recipe as follows will make four.

Ingredients:
3 C warm water
1 1/2 Tbs yeast
1 1/2 Tbs Kosher Salt
6 1/2 C flour

Directions:
Mix all ingredients in a large plastic bowl with a loose-fitting lid. Mix until evenly moist. Let rise, loosely covered (it is important that the lid not be air-tight) for 2 hours. Refridgerate until you are ready to bake (up to two weeks).

Baking Day:
Sprinkle refrigerated dough with flour (to keep from sticking). Grab a handful of dough  and cut off a grapefruit sized piece. Quickly work the piece into a ball by tucking all four sides underneath. Place on floured parchment paper. Let rest 40 minutes. Meanwhile, place tray of water in bottom oven shelf (for steam). Heat oven to 450 degrees.

With a sharp knife, slash the loaf a few times. Slide dough onto pizza stone and bake for about 30 minutes.

Pizza Factory Breadsticks

These bread sticks turned out really good and were pretty easy to make. I think the butter in the middle of the dough and the kosher salt make this stand out.

(Recipe from here)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 C warm water
2 Tbs sugar
1 Tbs yeast
3 1/2 C flour
1 tsp salt
butter
Parmesan cheese
garlic powder
kosher salt

Directions:
Mix water, sugar, and yeast. Let proof for five minutes. Add flour and salt. Mix until smooth. Let rest ten minutes. Roll out into a large rectangle. Melt butter and add garlic powder. Brush over dough. Sprinkle with Kosher Salt. Fold dough in half and cut into strips. Twist and place on greased cookie sheet. Let rise 15 to 20 minutes. Bake at 400 degrees for 17 minutes or until golden brown. Brush immediately with more garlic butter. Sprinkle on Parmesan cheese and kosher salt.

The original recipe said to use "real" butter and I did. I usually use margarine and am not sure how much of a difference this would make on the final taste.

Bread Machine Hamburger Buns

Today I wanted to actually make something for dinner since it has been a while (the arrival of a new baby will do that!). But I knew it needed to be something that wouldn't take too much work because I never know when I will be interrupted by his cries.

I decided to make crock pot barbecue chicken and homemade buns. I found this recipe at Food.com

These were very easy to make and taste delicious. I will use them as dinner rolls as well. And since they are made in the bread machine, hands on prep time is really only about 15 minutes total. The original recipe called for bread flour but I used all purpose flour and added wheat gluten.

Ingredients:
1 1/4 C milk, slightly warm
1 egg, beaten
2 Tbs butter
1/4 C white sugar
3/4 tsp salt
3 3/4 C flour
1 Tbs + 1 tsp vital wheat gluten (optional)
1 1/4 tsp instant yeast


Directions:
Mix all ingredients into bread machine according to manufacturer's directions. Run the "dough" cycle. Turn out onto floured surface and split dough into two pieces. Roll out each piece until 3/4 inch thick. Using an inverted cup, cut out 6 rolls from each piece (I chose to freeze half the dough). Place dough disks onto greased pan. Brush with melted butter and let rise until double (about 1 hour). Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.

These would make excellent dinner rolls as well. Just size them a bit smaller or bake in a muffin tin!

Amish Friendship Bread - No Starter needed

I like Amish Friendship Bread. The only thing I don't like about it is taking care of the starter and ending up with 6 loaves of bread everytime I make it. So this recipe is all the goodness of Amish Friendship Bread without the worry. The measurements are kind of weird because I halved the recipe to just make one loaf.

Ingredients:
3/8 C sugar
1/4 C milk
3/8 C flour
1/2 C oil
1 1/2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla

1 C flour
1/2 C sugar
3/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 box instant pudding mix (whatever flavor)
Chocolate Chips (optional)

Directions:

Combine the first six ingredients. In a separate bowl mix the dry ingredients. Combine, stirring until just blended. Add the chocolate chips if you desire. (I can never make a dessert without chocolate!).
Pour batter into a bread pan. Bake at 325 for an hour. Let cool 10 min in pan, then remove from pan to finish cooling.



I used butterscotch pudding because that was the only pudding mix I had in the house. But I have also used chocolate before and I believe vanilla or any other flavor would turn out wonderfully.

Butterhorns

These buttery crescent rolls are tasty and not very difficult to make. I am creating my second batch right now, hoping to freeze half of it so I can bake them at a shorter notice.

Ingredients:
1 Tbs active dry yeast
1 tsp plus 1/3 C sugar
1/2 C warm water
1/2 C butter (or margarine), softened
1/2 warm milk
1 egg
3/4 tsp salt
4 C flour

Directions:

Dissolve yeast and 1 tsp sugar with water in a large mixer. Add the butter, milk, egg, salt, 1/3 cup sugar, and 2 cups of flour. Beat until well mixed. Add the remaining flour. Knead in mixer for 3-4 minutes or by hand for 6-8 until a smooth, soft dough is formed.

Let rise in greased bowl until doubled in size (about 1 hour). Punch down and divide dough into two balls. Roll the balls into 12 inch circles. Cut each circle into 12 wedges and roll to form crescent shapes (start with wide end).

At this point, flash freeze the ones you want to save. Once frozen, place them in a freezer bag.

For those you are cooking now, cover and let rise on baking sheet for 30 minutes or until doubled in size. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

PS: Freezing worked out great. I thawed them in the fridge overnight and they were ready to go into the oven that evening. Tasted great.

French Bread

This is a recipe I got from my friend. She does weight watchers and loves this bread recipe because it doesn't have any fat it in. I made it yesterday and it was yummy! I had some for breakfast too.

Ingredients:
1 C warm water
1 1/4 tsp yeast
1/2 TBS sugar
1/2 Tbs salt
3 1/2 C flour

Directions:

Mix the water, yeast and sugar. Let yeast develop for 5-10 min. Sift together salt and flour. Slowly add to yeast mixture. Once combined, knead dough for a minute or two. Place in greased bowl, cover with wet towel, and let rise 1 1/2 hours.

Once risen, roll out the loaf to roughly a 16x12 inch rectangle. Roll loaf and shape ends. Place on greased baking sheet. Brush with butter then cover and let rise 45 min.

Place a dish of water in lowest rack of oven. Preheat to 450. (The water creates steam, which helps make the crust nice and crusty, use this technique whenever you bake bread!) Bake loaf for five minutes at 450 then 20-25 min at 350.

Don't forget to remove the dish of water once your oven has cooled!