Homemade Pizza with Garlic Crust Dip

What better than pizza, well I'll tell you what's better...homemade pizza! There is a certain satisfaction to making  your own pizza dough, not to mention adding as much or as little toppings as you like...even adding adding an unusual twist that makes pizza night special just for you!

Making pizza in our house is a family affair, my children love stretching the dough into a circle, mixing the easy tomato sauce and topping their pizza just the way they like it. What better weekend baking is there, no rising just lots of fun kneading and shaping. The garlic dipping sauce is just as easy to mix together as the tomato sauce and tastes as good as take out!

Mark my word, you'll think twice about ordering out after you've tried making your own...enjoy!

5 Comfort Baking Recipes

I have rounded up some of my favourite recipes, from an elevenses treat to a jaw dropping nutella centrepiece. One of my most popular blog posts of all time is my How to Make Bagels at Home (link below) tutorial, I always have helpers in the kitchen when I bake bagels, the shaping always leads to high spirits!! 

Nutella Bread with Tutorial

I've made this bread a LOT recently! It makes the most impressive centerpiece and it will certainly impress your family and friends. The bread is light and airy and the Nutella is rich and creamy, the perfect gift or treat for your loved ones.

How to Make Bagels at Home

My children are well used to me taking photographs of food - usually their dinner or dessert- all without bothering to interfere with my set up. But I'm afraid the temptation of bagels warm from the oven proved to be too much for my daughter!

Crock Pot Brown Tin Loaf

I made this Brown Tin Loaf a couple of years ago and I really liked it, especially when it is toasted with real butter dripping down the sides.. yum. It is also the ideal bread for toasted sandwiches. With that in mind I thought I should perhaps update the recipe adding a new twist - cooking it in my slow cooker!

Slow Cooker Bread

I was a total skeptic too, how is it that for years I have been preheating my fan oven almost to the point of melting the metal racks! Only to discover that my humble, hard working slow cooker can do the job albeit with one major advantage, both raising and baking the bread and all without any interference from me...score!

Pizza Dough Recipe

It is a weakness of mine, I try to resist but alas it calls to me....Pizza time! I have two real favourites when it comes to pizza, order out or make my own. The frozen variety never really appealed to me, they have always seemed more cardboard than pizza! 

Ciabatta Bread

This bread was my nemesis up until recently, there is a long history in this house of me trying many ciabatta recipes. The finished result would taste beautiful, but the signature look of a proper ciabatta loaf was missing. While browsing my local library, I would make a beeline for the latest bread baking book, search out their ciabatta recipe, test it and then fail miserably. My mistake all along was...wait for it...the YEAST!!! I used the only yeast made available to me, the fast acting yeast sachets, they work perfectly on all my other recipes but alas never really work for me on this one. I was beginning to think that it would always evade my humble baking abilities to produce a home baked "proper" ciabatta loaf. 

While doing my weekly shopping in SuperValu in Cavan a couple of weeks ago, I noticed that they were selling Doves Farm Original Dry Yeast, thought, what the heck, I need some more so this will do the trick. Well was I in for a surprise, this stuff is completely different than the sachet stuff, you have to dissolve it in tepid water where you can watch it come to life, oh and the smell, it's so beautiful and homely. So the first recipe I tried was Ballymaloe Brown Bread, it was a great success and the second...you guessed it...Ciabatta. 

Now I know my loaf is not the perfect porous loaf (too much handling at the shaping stage took care of that!!) but to me it is wonderful, much more importantly it has given me hope for the future of my yeast baking endeavour. So now with renewed gusto I will be baking with my beloved Bread cookbook (by Eric Treuille and Ursula Ferrigno) and knocking out more loaves than a French boulangerie, well almost!

I'll wrap this up by saying that if you can buy it (online or on the shelf), I suggest that you try some dry yeast and have a go, if for nothing more than the occasional Saturday baking session so that you can enjoy beautiful fresh bread that you made yourself!!   

Eric and Ursula say:

Ciabatta was given it name because the bread resembles a well-worn slipper. Prolonged rising and plenty of liquid produce a very light bread with a uniquely open and porous texture. An authentic Ciabatta requires a very wet dough that can be tricky to handle and must be started a day in advance. Do not add extra flour to make the dough more manageable and avoid overhanding the dough at all costs (I should have read this bit more carefully!!). After it's long rise, the dough must be handled with a light touch ("like a baby", as they say in Italy), so that none of the precious air bubbles are knocked out.  

Recipe taken  from Bread, by Eric Treuille and Ursula Ferrigno

Yield  2 Loaves

Ingredients
for the starter
½ tsp Dried yeast (such as Doves Farm Original Dry Yeast)
150ml water
3 tbsp Tepid milk
¼ tsp Honey or granulated sugar
150g Strong white flour

for the dough
½ tsp Dried yeast
250ml Water
½ tbsp Olive oil
350g Strong white flour
1½ tsp Salt

Method
To make the starter
Sprinkle the yeast into water and milk in a (very) large bowl. Leave for 5 minutes, then add the honey or sugar and stir to dissolved.

Mix in the flour to form a loose batter. Cover the bowl with a tea towel (I prefer to use cling film) and leave to rise overnight (pictured below after 14 hours).

To make the dough
Sprinkle the yeast into the water in a small bowl. Leave for 5 minutes, then stir to dissolve. Add the yeasted water and olive oil to the starter and mix well.

Mix in the flour and salt to form a wet sticky dough. Beat steadily with a wooden spoon for 5 minutes; the dough will become springy and start to pull away from the sides of the bowl, but will remain too soft to knead.

Cover the dough with a tea towel (I used oiled cling film). Leave to rise until trebled in size and full of air bubbles, about 3 hours (I left it for over 4 hours).

Do not knock the dough back. Generously flour two baking sheets and have extra flour to dip you hands in (this is really important use lot and lots of flour) Use a dough scraper (if like me you don't have a dough scraper the I personally recommend a floured spatula for this job) to divide the dough in half while in the bowl. Scoop half of the dough out of the bowl on to one of the heavily floured baking sheets (the less handling at this stage the more air bubbles the finished loaf will have).   

Preheat the oven to 220ºC/425ºF/Gas Mark 7 (if you want a to use the option of steam, throw 5-6 ice-cubes into the oven now, steam allows the loaves to continue rising before the final crust forms). 

Use well-floured hands to pull and stretch the dough to form a roughly rectangular loaf, about 30cm (12in) long. Dust the loaf and your hands again with the flour. Neaten and plump up the loaf by running your fingers down each side and gently tucking the edges of the dough under.  

Repeat with the other half of the dough. Leave the two loaves uncovered to prove, about 20 minutes; the loaves will spread out as well as rise.

Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes until risen, golden, and hollow-sounding when tapped underneath. Leave to cool on a wire rack.

Lorraine Pascale's Pain D'Epi Bread Recipe

Okay I have to admit that when I find a recipe that makes a seemingly difficult and time consuming recipe look easy, then I'm hooked, this is one of these very recipes.
I am not an expert when it come to yeast bakery, in fact, I regard myself as somewhat as a learner. I think that anyone who helps me on that journey is to be praised! I know that Lorraine has her critics and that bread making should be a long drawn out process, but I'm not there yet, I'm still grappling with how to knead the dough or how warm the water should be, so for now this is our Pain D'Epi recipe and a regular guest at our table. Perhaps when I'm much more experience, I will share my findings, the recipes that are closer to the original (long drawn out) method and those important hints and tips! For now enjoy experimenting and learning how to bake with that (complex) ingredient, yeast.

Recipe complements of Lorraine Pascale's Home Cooking Made Easy

Yield 1 loaf

Ingredients
275g Strong white flour
2tsp Dried yeast
1tsp Sea salt, plus extra for the top
175ml Warm water
1tbsp Olive oil, plus extra for greasing

Method
Put the flour, 1 teaspoon salt and yeast into a large bowl. Stirring with a wooden spoon, add enough water until the dough just comes together. Stir in the olive oil.

Flour your work surface and knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. (Lorraine has a very distinct method of kneading bread, she rolls the dough away from herself with the heel of her right hand, draws is back, using the palm of her right hand. She then repeats this using her left hand leaving a distinctive V shape on the floured surface!)

Form the dough into a tight ball so the top is really nice and taut. Place it onto a floured baking sheet and form it into a long and thin baguette shape, thinner than usual as it will expand while it rises.

Cover the tray with lightly oiled cling film so it is airtight but not too tight so the dough has room to expand. Put in a warm place until the dough doubles in size, about 1 hour. I usually leave mine on a chair near the oven. Preheat the oven to 200ºC. Uncover the bread and sprinkle on some flour. Put the bread with the shortest edge facing you (or lengthwise) and, starting at the end furthest away from you, hold a pair of scissors so they are parallel to the bread, then tilt them so they are at a 45-degree angle. Make a large cut 10cm away from the top of the dough, almost as if you were going to snip that bit off but it will still be attached, then take that piece and move it to the left. Make another snip about 10cm down from the bottom of the last one and move that piece to the right. Keep on doing this until you reach the end of the bread.

Sprinkle the top with flour and salt.

Spray some water (I usually place 4-5 ice cubes into the oven) to create a steamy atmosphere. Put the dough into the oven. Bake until the bread is golden brown and sounds hollow when you tap it on the bottom, about 25 minutes.

Brown Tin Loaf

This is one of my favourite homemade bread recipes, mainly because this bread is beautiful toasted slathered with real butter and a steaming cup of coffee. It is crunchy unlike any sliced loaf you are likely to buy in your local supermarket.
It also is full of fibre, unlike most shop bought "Brown" sliced pans that deceive us into thinking that we are buying healthy bread, when I suspect that some only contain about 5-10% wholemeal, whereas this is 50% wholemeal and if you want you can omit the white flour and go for a full 100% wholemeal loaf or to reduce the fat content substitute the milk for water. I'm sure that not many are going to stop buying bread with the weekly shop in favour of this, but it is worth making at least once if you are feeling jaded by mass produced bread.

Festive Stollen

This is a very detailed recipe, not because it is difficult but because it needs care and attention. Stollen is a German bread baked at Christmas time. It has a  rich buttery crust and the marzipan in the centre is a real surprise. I suggest that you time the rising to coincide with school runs or a large basket of ironing! Two jobs at once.

Sarah's Tomato and Basil Bread

This is my five year old daughters contribution to my blog! It is easy enough for a child to make or If you're new to yeast baking it will transform the humble Tesco Crusty White Bread Mix (500g) into something special. This fragrant loaf has a soft crust and is very moreish, it goes very will with my Cool Tomato Salad. My daughter enjoys baking bread especially the type that " has to grow". Suitable for ages 5 and up!

Yield 1 x 500g Loaf

Ingredients
275g Packet white bread mix (or 270g strong white flour and a 7g sachet of fast acting yeast)
1 tsp Caster sugar
½ tsp Salt
Handful fresh Basil leaves, finely chopped
2 tbsp Olive oil
2 tbsp Tomato puree
175ml warm water
25g Parmesan, finely grated

Method
Lightly grease or spray with oil a flat baking tray, set aside. Put the bread mix into a large bowl. Stir in the sugar, salt and basil.

Beat together the oil, tomato puree and warm water. Body temperature water any hotter and you'll kill the yeast. If you put the oil in first the tomato puree will just slide off your measuring spoon. Make a well in the centre and tip in the tomato mix.

Mix to form a soft dough. Sprinkle your grated Parmesan cheese on a clean, dry work surface. Knead the dough on the surface until all the cheese is incorporated and the dough is smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes). Use a light sprinkling of flour if its a bit sticky.

Shape the dough into a round and place on your prepared baking tray. Cover with oiled clingfilm and leave to rise until doubled in size.

I usually let it rise in my oven with ONLY the oven light on, any warmer and it will kill the yeast. Preheat your oven to 230 degrees C (200 degrees C FAN)/450 Degrees F/ Gas 8. Your bread will also rise sitting beside your preheating oven. When risen, slash with a knife once or twice.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden. Tap the base, if it sounds hollow it's cooked, this also makes you very professional looking! Cool on a rack. Serve with my Cool Tomato Salad and a chilled glass of wine!!