PIZZA BASE (WITH YEAST)

 

Since I got the doughnuts (with yeast) right, I have overcome my fear of using yeast and naturally proceeded to make pizza.

So simple to make! What else can I say.

While we were eating it, I wondered why I spent so much moolah ordering Pizzas from Dominos (pizza aficionados may stick your noses up in the air, Skip and I love pizzas from Dominos) when one could just bake them at home.

The base is crunchy and chewy. If you don’t have yeast at home, you can make the No-Yeast Pizza base and if you don’t have an oven at home, you could try these Whole Wheat, Stove-top Pizzas. The base with yeast does taste the best but the others are great alternatives too.

I made a 6 inch Margherita for Skip and a large veggie one for Sky and me.  

We had a few slices left over. We heated it and ate it the next day, it still tasted great.

This recipe is from Sally's Baking Addiction.

 

PIZZA BASE (WITH YEAST) ( MAKES TWO 12 INCH BASES)

Ingredients:

Warm water – 1 1/3 cups (320 ml)

Instant yeast – 2 ¼ tsp

Granulated sugar – 1 tbsp

Oil – 2 tbsp

Salt – 3/4 tsp

All-purpose flour – 3 ½ cups (450 gms)

Cornmeal – for dusting the pan

 

Method:

 

1.     Add the warm water, yeast and sugar to a bowl and whisk it well. Cover and let it rest for 5 minutes.

2.     The liquid will appear frothy after 5 minutes.

3.     To this, add oil, salt and the flour and mix it with a spatula till it comes together.

4.  On a floured surface, knead the dough for about 5 minutes. ( The dough should remain soft).

5.    Grease a bowl and place the dough in it, covering it with the oil. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise.

6.     After 60-90 minutes , the dough would have doubled in size.

7.     Preheat oven to 250C for at least 15-20 mins.

8.  Shaping the dough : when  the dough has doubled up in size, punch it down to release any air bubbles. Divide the dough in half (to make two pizza bases). Flour your work surface and flatten the dough with either a rolling pin or your hands. Pinch the edges of the base and poke holes in the base with a fork.

9.     Grease the baking dish and sprinkle cornmeal/semolina on it.

10. Place the base on the baking dish, brush the top lightly with oil and add your favourite toppings.

11. Bake the pizza for about 12-15 minutes until the bottom has browned.

12. Done.

 

Recipe Notes:

•      Preferable use Olive oil if you have it.
•       I didn’t have cornmeal so I used semolina for dusting.
•       Step 4: you know the dough is ready to rise when you poke it with your finger and it slowly bounces back. If it doesn’t, continue kneading. 
•      I tried using a rolling pin to shape the dough but found it easier using my hands to stretch the dough.

P.S: I still continue to order from Dominos. Let’s be honest here, it’s sometimes just easier  to order than cook at home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE SOFTEST DOUGHNUTS EVER!

 

I’ve never been this excited about getting a dish right. Even as I type this post, I want to get up and do a little victory jig.

Skip LOVES doughnuts. He isn’t very fussy and I’ve seen him relish even those that taste and look like stale buns. His favourite are the Krispy Kreme ones.

On his birthday in May, since he couldn’t have a birthday party with his friends, I decided to make it special by making doughnuts at home. I didn’t have yeast so I got the recipe of an eggless doughnut without yeast.

While I kneaded the dough, I visualised the outcome and the priceless look of joy on my son’s face when he would see home cooked doughnuts on his birthday. The dough was very sticky and I wondered if the quantity of milk was mentioned right in the recipe. I kept adding additional flour to make the dough pliable and admired the smooth, round dough I had kneaded. I cut them out into the required shape, fried them, let them cool and dipped them in chocolate. I knew the recipe had gone wrong, the minute I dropped the doughnuts on a steel plate and I heard the loud plonk!

The doughnuts turned out dense and hard (and there were so many).

I had been toiling in the kitchen for hours, baking and frying and kneading and cooking and all I wanted was to make the perfect doughnut for Skip. As I offered one to taste, I teared up and announced these were terrible doughnuts. Exhaustion caught up and I plonked myself on the sofa, landing with a soft plop unlike my tough doughnut.

Sky chewed his share unblinkingly ( I mean this literally) which is always a sign of food not tasting good. Skip ate his and looked at me in surprise, “Whyyy? These doughnuts taste so good”.

In the evening, after Skip cut his birthday cake, he said he would eat just cake and the doughnuts because he needed more space in his tummy for the world’s best doughnuts.

.

.

.

While Skip may have said so, they clearly weren’t.

For the past two weeks, I have been having cooking fails even with the simplest recipes. So when I decided to make doughnuts (with yeast) I wondered if that was a wise decision.

I got the recipe from Emma’s Goodies.

While I was kneading the sticky dough, I thought of how simple it would have been to just place an order for Krispy Kreme doughnuts on Swiggy. As I was grunting and kneading the dough, R reminded me of the birthday doughnuts.

As I took the fried doughnuts off the pan, I knew they had come out perfect. I patiently waited for the chocolate glaze to cool, clicked pictures and took one to share with Skip and Sky.

These were the softest, fluffiest, tastiest doughnuts ever! These did melt in the mouth. I broke out into a Kodava dance.

I am so excited about this recipe, I have been asking everybody to try it. Please do share the pictures of the doughnuts if you make them and I shall share it on my Facebook and Instagram pages  

 

DOUGHNUTS WITH CHOCOLATE GLAZE (with yeast) (makes 18)

Ingredients:

All purpose flour (maida) – 280 gms (2 cups)

Granulated sugar – 40 gms (3 tbsp)

Salt – ¼ tsp

Grated nutmeg – ¼ tsp (optional)

Warm Milk – 120 ml (1/2 cup) ( you may require 2-3 tbsp extra)

Egg - 1

Melted butter – 40 gms

Dry yeast – 7 gms

Glaze:

Cream – 50 gms

Dark chocolate bar – 50 gms

 

Method:

 

1.     In a bowl, add the flour, sugar, salt and grated nutmeg and mix well.

2.     In a separate bowl, add warm milk, egg, melted butter and yeast. Mix it well.

3.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry. Mix the dough well until no dry ingredients remain. I used a spatula. (The dough will be soft and very sticky) (Add more milk (2-3 tbsp) if you feel the need).

4.     Pour a little oil on the kneading surface, place the dough and knead well for about 10 -15 minutes. You may add a tablespoon more of flour if you are finding the dough difficult to work with (DO NOT ADD MORE). Use a dough scraper (or spatula) to keep scraping off the sticky bits. The dough will be elastic and soft and will keep getting stickier.

5.     Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl. Cover it with either a plastic wrap or damp muslin cloth and set aside in a warm place for about 1 ½ - 2 hours until the dough has doubled in size.

6.     Flour your work surface. Take the dough and place it on the floured surface. Add a little flour on the dough and press it down with your fingers. Roll it out with a rolling pin to ½ inch thickness and cut out the doughnut shape. ( I used a small bowl and a bottle lid).

7.     Place these doughnuts on a greased surface and let it rise again for about 20 -30 minutes.

8.     Heat oil in a deep bottomed dish. Lift the doughnuts gently and place it in the oil (the oil shouldn’t be too hot) the doughnuts should bubble gently. Do not fry the doughnuts for too long. Fry on both sides for  few minutes and set it aside.

9.     For the glaze: warm the cream. Take it off the flame and add the chocolate bar. Mix it well until it melts.

10. Once the doughnuts have cooled, dip the top into the glaze. Place the doughnuts on a wire rack and let the glaze set.

11. Done.

 

Recipe Notes:

• The dough MUST be sticky. DO NOT be tempted to add more flour. (You may add just one tablespoon more).
•   I do not have a dough scraper so I used a spatula while kneading the dough and it was quite helpful.
•   I did not have nutmeg, so I used cinnamon powder.