Cooking for Seven

{Grandma’s Cooking School is my chronicles of the informal cooking lessons that my Grandma graciously decided to give us girls. I have compiled a list of all the lessons so far. Enjoy!}

I am at a loss for words to describe these delicious creations, so I’ll let the photos do (most of) the talking.

Grandma’s homemade bread. Light, flavorful, delicious.

I love Grandma’s flour/baking drawer.

And her cupboards.

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Are you looking for a light, airy bread recipe? This one is not for you. Are you looking for a hearty, whole-grain bread filled with complex flavors? Keep reading.

I must admit that I had my doubts about this recipe. I threw all of the ingredients into the bread machine, set it to the dough cycle, and left it for hours. When I returned, it hadn’t risen very far and the dough smelled strongly of yeast. Being an optimist at heart, I scraped it out of the pan, formed it into a ball, and set the oven.

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Allow me to share a few things with you:

This week I had the honor of writing a guest post over at the Tasty Kitchen blog. {link}

Joy the Baker commented on my blog. *squeals with delight*

I made Hannah’s (honey & jam) recipe for Roasted Broccoli the other night. Delicious beyond words.

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Last year, my sister Janna gave me Peter Reinhart’s Whole Grain Breads for Christmas. I haven’t baked very many loaves yet, but the ones I have tried have been very tasty.

Hearth Breads are baked directly on the hearth (without a pan) to create a nice, crispy crust. I baked mine in a very hot oven on a stone.

As with most of Peter Reinhart’s breads, the dough was soaked overnight to produce superior flavor. There are only a few tablespoons of non soaked grains in this bread.

I must confess that this bread was nearly a disaster. When I scored the risen dough, it deflated pitifully. Then, when I attempted to transfer the loaf from the pizza peel to the oven, it slipped onto the floor. Not to be daunted, I simply picked up the lump of dough, placed it back on the pizza peel, transferred it to the stone, and shut the door, hoping it would regain it’s height in the oven.

Thankfully, the dough rose very nicely in the oven. I am quite pleased with this recipe and hope that next time I bake something from Whole Grain Breads I will not have quite so many mishaps.

This is my entry for World Bread Day.

Here is the roundup

Can you believe that this dough is 100% whole wheat? Can you? It is! Yet is handles so well - better than any pizza dough recipe I’ve ever tried. It is so easily manipulated, yet it doesn’t tear easily.

What’s the secret? I really couldn’t say. Perhaps the method of mixing. Perhaps the perfect combination of ingredients (thanks, Cook’s Illustrated!). Perhaps the type of whole wheat flour I use (white whole wheat flour). All I know is, my search for a whole wheat pizza dough recipe ended when I found this one. Maybe someday I’ll try a different pizza dough recipe, but for now I’m content.

Care for some ideas for pizza?

~ Why not spread it with some homemade pizza sauce and sprinkle it with homemade Italian sausage?
~ Or you could drizzle it with Smoky BBQ sauce and add chicken (perhaps some bacon) and cheddar cheese for a BBQ Chicken Pizza.

~ The other day, I made pizza on the grill. It’s a great way to beat the heat and it is so delicious. Here is an excellent article and video with the instructions.

How do you like to fix your pizza?

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Pizza Dough

Adapted from The New Best Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup warm water (about 110°
• 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
• 1 1/4 cups water, at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 cups (20 ounces) white whole wheat flour (aka white whole wheat flour)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
• Olive oil or butter, for greasing the bowl

Directions:

1) Place the 1/2 cup warm water in a small bowl. Add the yeast and stir. Let sit for about 5 minutes, or until the yeast begins to swell. Add to the room temperature water and oil and stir.

2) Place the flour and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix briefly until combined. With mixer on low speed, slowly add the liquid ingredients. Mix just until a cohesive dough forms. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes.

3) Change to the dough hook attachment. Knead the dough until it becomes smooth and elastic, about 5-10 minutes.

4) Oil or butter a medium-sized bowl. Transfer the dough to the prepared bowl. Cover with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap and place in a warm spot. Allow to rise for 1 ½-2 hours, or until double in volume. The dough is now ready to be used in your recipe.

Makes enough dough for approximately 3 large thin-crust pizzas