The Best Pizza Dough Ever!!!

Last night for dinner we made homemade pizza again….yes again! We tried out a recipe for homemade dough, it was the best I have ever had. This recipe makes enough dough for two 14″ thin style pizza crusts. Next time i make it I am going to make 1 and a half batches because we do like our crust a little thicker then this was. It has great flavor and was super easy to make. So here ya go if you would like to give it a try.

1 1/2 cups warm water

2 packs of active dry yeast (I use Red Star Brand)

1 tablespoon honey

3 tablespoons of olive oil

4 cups of flour

2 teaspoons salt

In a large mixing bowl, start with your warm water and add your yeast and honey, allow to proof until your yeast resembles a creamy foam. Next add your olive oil and stir it in. Then add your flour a cup at a time, (add your salt into the mix after 2 cups of flour) mixing well after each cup. After your dough forms knead it in your mixer for 10 minutes. Take it out of mixer and knead 10 times by hand and
place in a well oiled bowl, and turn to coat. Cover with a damp cloth and allow to rise for about 10 minutes.

Split your dough in half and place on 2 oiled 14″ pizza pans, work it to the edges just like you would any other dough and add the sauce and toppings of your choice. Oven temps vary but we baked ours on about 400 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. Enjoy!

 

Cherry Bread and Chai Tea, The Perfect Morning Snack!

Well everyone I had some fresh black cherries in the fridge and didn’t want to waste them so i decided to use them up by making some bread with them and oh my goodness it is wonderful! Pair it up with a piping hot cup of chai tea and you have yourself a fantastic mid morning snack!

Cherry Bread

Ingredients:

Makes 2 – 9×5 inch loaves

1 cup Warm Water

1 cup Maraschino Syrup

3/4 cup Sugar

1 1/2 tablespoon Active Dry Yeast

1 1/2 teaspoon Salt

1/4 cup Vegetable Oil

1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract

1 1/2 teaspoons Almond Extract

1 to 1 1/2 cups Cherries ( coarsely chopped and patted dry )

6 cups Bread Flour (give or take)

In a large bowl, dissolve the sugar in warm water, then stir in yeast. Allow to proof until yeast resembles a creamy foam. Then add the maraschino syrup, oil, salt and extracts. Then slowly start adding your flour 1 cup at a time, I added my cherries to the dough after about 3 cups of flour then continued to add the flour, dough will be slightly tacky. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth. Place in a well oiled bowl, and turn to coat. Cover with a damp cloth and allow to rise for about 1 hour. Punch down and knead for a few minutes, divide in half, shape into loaves and place in 2 well oiled and floured 9×5 inch loaf pans. Allow to rise again for 30 minutes. At this point I mixed up 1 egg and 2 tablespoons of water and egg washed the tops of my bread and sprinkled a little bit of sugar on the tops of each loaf. Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour…

Chai Tea Mix

Ingredients:

1 cup nonfat dry milk powder

1 cup powdered non-dairy creamer

1 cup french vanilla flavored powdered non-dairy creamer

2 1/2 cups white sugar

1 1/2 cups unsweetened instant tea

2 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger

3 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cloves

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well, store in an air tight container.

To serve: Stir 2 heaping tablespoons of Chai Tea Mixture into a mug of hot water. Enjoy!

Makes about 36 servings!