easy as pie: the best pizza ever

Making pizza is a snap. Once you've got some dough made, putting the ingredients together and making something truly sensational that you've made from scratch isn't very difficult or time-consuming at all. And it tastes way better than anything you'd find in the Yellow Pages.

For me, a thin crust pizza is best without tomato sauce. Deep dish pizza? Well, that's something else entirely. Keeping it thin...just some olive oil and some fresh vegetable toppings and a smattering of cheese, thank you very much. As for the pizza dough, it takes just over 2 hours to make, including rise-time, so if you plan your day in advance, you will have pizza for dinner and another pizza the next day. This dough recipe makes enough for 2 pizzas, so it's definitely worth making. You can also freeze the dough after you've let it rise. Just tightly wrap the dough in plastic wrap and put it in the freezer for future use.

And if you are interested in knowing a bit more about me, Marilyn over at Simmer Till Done interviewed me.

basic (but wonderful) pizza dough
1 envelope active dry yeast
1 1/4 c warm water
2 1/2 c all-purpose flour, plus extra for kneading
2 T olive oil, plus extra for greasing
1/2 t salt
cornmeal

1. In a large bowl, combine the yeast and 1 cup of the warm water. Stir in flour, salt and olive oil and mix with a wooden spoon until a sticky dough begins to form at the bottom of the bowl. Add the rest of the warm water and shape the dough into a ball using your hands. Flour up your hands if it becomes too sticky and knead, baby knead! Knead for about 5 minutes until the dough gets nice and elastic.

2. Oil up another large bowl. Place dough ball inside and cover with plastic wrap. Set in a warm-ish place and let it rise for 2 hours. Once it has doubled in size, you've reached gold. Spread cornmeal and a bit of flour on your work surface and plop dough on top. Cut dough in half with a knife. You can put the second half of dough back in the oiled bowl covered with plastic wrap to let it rise again in the fridge, so that you can have pizza the next day. Or just oil up 2 pans or baking sheets and have 2 pizzas right now.

3. Using a rolling pin, roll out the 1/2 lump of dough until it reaches a lovely thickness. I like it fairly thin, yet sturdy enough that you can't see through the dough. Transfer dough to your greased baking sheet and throw on your favorite toppings. Bake for 15 minutes or so at 400 degrees. Pull it out when the cheese gets all bubbly and the crust gets golden around the edges.

my favorite pizza toppings (of the moment):
As this is a thin-crust pizza you want to keep the toppings light, so don't go crazy adding everything in the fridge. You must keep a perfect balance of crust and topping. For me, I spread a little bit of really good olive oil over the top, followed by a bit of pesto, chopped tomatoes, dried red chili flakes, thinly sliced red onions, fresh basil leaves (torn), a bit of kosher salt, and because it was the only cheese in my house at the time, old orange cheddar thinly strewn about.

happy easter: hot cross buns with cinnamon icing

I grew up eating hot cross buns at Easter. My mom would come back from the grocery store with a bag filled with a double layer of 8 hot crossed buns. We'd heat them up in the oven for a few minutes and then eat the warm buns for breakfast. The only thing I hated about the buns was that they were always studded with candied fruit, which I'd pick out and leave on my plate in a little heinous pile. Candied fruits are the roots of all evil and I had no idea why someone would sully a perfectly good treat with those little bites of raunch.


I haven't had a hot cross bun in years and while strumming through an old Betty Crocker kid's cookbook that I had thrifted ages ago, I came across a perfect recipe. Why was it so perfect? Well, truth is, I'm intimidated by baking with yeast. I don't know why, but somehow I associate baking bread with serious devotion....an undertaking I didn't feel quite ready to tackle. Until now. I mean, this recipe is meant to be made by children, so really, how hard can it be? I felt perfectly at home trying this recipe instead of one I had been eying for years which seemed too complex and frightening for a newbie like me.

For a greenhorn, I chose right. It may not be as authentic as Delia's, but my hot cross buns were delicious (my husband called them delectable) and I was able to get over my fear of baking with yeast in one fell swoop. They were light and crispy on the outsides just out of the oven and the icing I doctored with vanilla and cinnamon was the perfect accompaniment. Plus, the best part was that I subbed out those nasty candied fruits with fresh orange zest to wonderful effect! The fruity orange essence was present without those god-awful bitter vile beasties. Oh yah, let my bread baking adventures begin! It's on, bitches.


hot cross buns with cinnamon icing
1 c warm water (not too hot)
1 pkg. active dry yeast
2 T sugar
2 1/4 c flour
1 t salt
1 1/2 t cinnamon
2 pinches nutmeg
1 egg
2 T butter, softened
1/2 c raisins
zest from 1 orange

icing:
2 heaping T icing sugar (powdered sugar)
a drop or two of milk
1/2 t vanilla
1/4 t cinnamon

1. In a mixing bowl, disolve yeast into water and stir in sugar. Wait until the yeast doubles in volume (this is called proofing the yeast - if it doesn't, you've got bum yeast. Try again with another packet). Stir in half of the flour, salt and spices. Add in egg and butter and mix well. Add in rest of the flour along with the raisins and zest and beat until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and cover the bowl with a cloth, letting rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.

2. Oil up a large muffin tin and set aside. Stir down the batter and spoon dough into prepared muffin cups filling half full. Cover tin with cloth and let rise until doubled in volume, another 30 minutes. Heat oven to 400 degrees and bake for 15 minutes or so until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack.

3. Prepare frosting by mixing together icing sugar with a few drops of milk and vanilla. Stir in cinnamon, adding another droplet of milk if necessary to get a smooth, creamy consistency. When buns have cooled, use a spoon to drizzle icing over the buns forming a cross. Place on a plate to catch any drippings.