Pizza Party Buns

Each month, King Arthur Flour offers a recipe called "BakeAlong" on their blog--Flourish.  I have been doing them since September and this month was especially inviting with Pizza in the title!  I make my own pizza, but thought...wouldn't these buns be great for snacking.

Superbowl is around the corner and these buns would be perfect.  They can also be made up ahead of time and frozen until game day.

Pizza Party Buns
Dough:
1 1/4 cups lukewarm milk
3 T olive oil
3 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour
2 1/2 tsp. instant yeast

Filling:
1/2 cup of your favorite pizza sauce (I use Raos)
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (or the cheese of your choice)
4 ounces (about 1 cup) chopped or shredded pepperoni (I used veggie sausage that I cooked first)

Place all of the dough ingredients into a bowl... you can mix by hand, use a stand mixer with dough hook, or in a bread machine--to make a soft dough.

Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl and cover it with plastic wrap.  Allow to rise until doubled, 60 to 90 minutes.

Roll the dough into a 12" x 18" rectangle.

Spread evenly with the sauce, cheese, and pepperoni (or your choice of toppings).

Starting with a long end, roll the dough into a log.  Cut the log into 12 to 18 pieces...depending on how large you want the buns to be.  I did 12!

Place on parchment lined rimmed baking sheet(s) and flatten to about 1 inch high.  Cover with plastic wrap that has been lightly sprayed with baking spray.  Allow the buns to rise once more, about 60 to 90 minutes, depending how warm your kitchen is during the winter!

Towards the end of the rising time, preheat oven to 350F-degrees.  Bake the buns for 25 to 30 minutes, until they're a light golden brown.  One change I made was to melt some butter (3T) and added 1/4 tsp Garlic Powder.  I brushed my rolls when they came out of oven.  This not only added extra flavor, but the melted butter gives the rolls a nice shine.

So yummy, and leftovers have been great for lunch; just nuke in the microwave 30 to 40 seconds on a paper plate.  Enjoy!

Celebrate Pizza Month & September's Give-Away Apron Winner...

Who knew that there is a whole month devoted to Pizza?  Well, October is and how great for us who are lovers of this flat bread!

Modern day Pizza comes from Naples, Italy in the 18th or early 19th century.  Typically, it is a flat bread with a tomato sauce, cheese, and various toppings.  Pizza Margherita is considered the first pizza to come from Naples created to honor a visit from Queen Margherita.  I decided on a breakfast pizza, topped with scrambled eggs, veggie sausage, and of course, two kinds of cheese.

Breakfast Pizza
2 cups Perfect Pizza Blend Flour (or Bread Flour)
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. Pizza Dough Flavor
2 tsp. Pizza Seasoning

 1 pkg (approx 1T) dry active yeast
1/2 cup very warm water
1 tsp. granulated sugar
2 T olive oil
Additional water

First, in a 1 cup glass measure, measure the yeast and mix into the very warm water.  Add the sugar and stir.  Let sit 7 to 10 minutes until foamy.  This is called proofing.

In a stand mixer, using the dough hook, measure the dry ingredients and mix on low speed.  Add the proofed yeast and olive oil and turn mixer on Speed 2.  Start adding more water, just until the dough comes together and the sides are "clean."  Continue to run the mixture for another 5 minutes to knead.  Turn the dough out onto a dough board and knead until smooth.  Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and set aside to rise to almost double the size...approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour depending how warm your kitchen is.

When dough has almost doubled, divide it into 3 or 4 pieces (depends on the size of your pizza. Preheat oven to 450F-degrees.  Place a baking stone in the oven or you could use a baking sheet. 

Roll out the dough to approximately 12 inches.  It's easy to have a baking peel handy, if you're baking on a stone; lightly covered with finely ground corn meal.  Brush the pizza with additional olive oil and place in the oven on the baking stone. Bake approximately 8 minutes, then remove and add some grated Fontina and Cheddar Cheese, scrambled eggs, and veggie sausage.  Return to the oven and bake another 8 to 10 minutes, or until lightly brown.  Remove from the oven and serve hot! Enjoy!

Now, the winner of September's apron is Carol.  Please email your address so I can send the apron to you:-D

One last thing...a little tip.  Next time you're baking muffins, change up the pan.  Here I used a mini angel food muffin pan.  Not my original idea; I had similar muffins at Bruegger Bagels.  I think they were trying to make a muffin with similarities to bagels!

 

Paczki and Breakfast Pizza for a Wintery Morning

Our luck ran out and we've had a couple of snowy days that have blanketed our beautiful landscape, so what better way to make the most of it than with baking!  I decided to make up some quick yeast doughs--pizza and paczki (pronounced poochki) to make our breakfast a little special after my hubby shoveled the driveway and the deck.

Today, happens to be the anniversary of the doughnut, as we know it in America.  In 1847, Captain Hanson Crocket Gregory of Rockport, Maine, is credited with putting the "hole" in the middle of fried cakes, creating what we know today as doughnuts.  The story goes, that while at sea, during a storm, he lost his balance and slammed the fried cake down on a spoke of the ship's wheel--what had once been a soggy middle was gone!  Paczkis are Polish doughnuts and I was introduced to them through one of my dearest friends who sent me some from a bakery in her area.  They may not have a hole, but the addition of homemade jam made them the perfect treat with my cocoa this morning and with proper frying, no soggy middle--LOL!

For my hubby, I made up a pizza dough and topped it with veggie sausage, scrambled egg, and Fontina cheese for all his hard work in shoveling.

Sweet for me and savory for my husband on this cold, wintery day.  Can't wait for Spring, but as long as I have pantry supplies, we won't starve!

Paczki
2 T granulated sugar
2 T butter, melted
1/2 cup whole milk, warmed to 110F-degrees
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped or 1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
2 to 2 1/2 cups King Arthur all-purpose flour

Peanut oil for frying
your favorite jam or jelly
confectioners' sugar

In a medium bowl, stir the butter and sugar together, then add the warm milk and stir to incorporate. Sprinkle the yeast over the mixture and stir.  Let it set for 5-7 minutes to proof.  

 Add the vanilla and eggs and stir again.  Start adding the flour, one-half cup at a time until the dough comes together and is no longer sticky.  Turn out onto a floured board and knead until smooth.  

 Brush the bowl with 1 tablespoon of melted butter.  Place the dough, upside down, then, turn it over.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise about 1 hour or until doubled.

  When doubled, punch down the dough and lightly flour the bread board surface.  Roll dough to about 1/2-inch thickness and with a 3-inch round cutter, cut out 12 rounds.  Place on a lightly floured pan and cover with a cloth to rise again.

Heat a heavy Dutch oven with 2 inches of peanut oil to 350F-degrees.  Use a thermometer attached to the side to insure accuracy.

I cooked 4 at a time, being careful not to over crowd the pan and lower the temperature of the oil.  Cook 2 minutes, then, flip the paczkis and cook another 2 minutes.

The tops should be a golden brown.  Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and transfer to a rack to cool for at least 15 minutes before filling with jam.

I used a #230 tip to pierce and fill the paczkis.  If you don't have that tip, make a slit in the side with a sharp knife and fill with a large round tip.
Finally, dust the tops with confectioners' sugar before serving.

The tender doughnut with scrumptious Cherry~Cranberry jam was just the thing to shake the winter blahs.  Yum!

Breakfast Pizza
Dough:
3 cups 00 Flour or Perfect Pizza Blend flour 
2 tsp. Kosher salt
1 tsp.  + 1 T granulated sugar
2 T olive oil (more for brushing on top)
1 T yeast

Pizza stone
toppings:
Veggie sausage
undercooked scrambled eggs (2 large per pizza)
Fontina cheese




Proof the yeast in 1/2 cup warm water (105F-degrees) with the 1 tsp. sugar.  Whisk to combine and let sit for 5 to 7 minutes until foamy.
In a food processor or a bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, combine flour salt, and the remaining sugar.  Pulse several times to combine, if using the processor, or mix on medium speed to blend.


Add the proofed yeast and olive oil and mix.  Add enough additional warm water for the dough to come together.  Turn out onto a lightly floured board and knead until smooth.  Spray a gallon-sized food bag with a baking spray and place dough inside.  Seal the bag and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.
Preheat oven to 450F-degrees
Take about one-third of the dough and roll out to a 5" x 12" rectangle.

Transfer to a pizza peel, sprinkled with cornmeal, and lightly brush the surface with olive oil.

Bake the dough in the oven for 5 minutes, until lightly browned.

Top with about a cup of cheese, then, distribute the egg and sausage over top.  Add additionally cheese, if desired and bake another 5 to 7 minutes until golden browned and melted.

I love baking when it's cold outside because it gives a warmth to the house with aroma as well as temperature.  As we're expecting a few more days of this "white" stuff, I suppose the oven will get a workout.  Enjoy!