Naan Pizza

Naan Pizzas are easy and quick to prepare and is delicious. One lazy evening, I didn't feel like cooking and we were totally out of fresh vegetables at home. The only thing I had on hand was some frozen Naan, sun dried tomatoes, olives and cheese. So we decided to just make Naan Pizza out of it. Since I didn’t have any marinara or pesto sauce on hand, I decided to spread some mayonnaise on it. It just took few minutes to put together and came out quite satisfying so we have been making this every now and then. This is not exactly a recipe but I thought I'll share since we like it a lot.

Naan Pizza

Makes: 4
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Baking Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:
4 Frozen Garlic Naan
4 teaspoons Mayonnaise
1/3 cup Kalamata Olives – thinly sliced
1/2 cup Sun Dried Tomatoes in Oil – sliced
1 – 4 ounce cup Pineapple Tidbits in 100% Juice - drained
1/2 cup Extra Sharp Cheddar or Cheese of your choice – grated
1 tablespoon Cilantro – roughly chopped (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Spread 4 frozen Naans in a microwave safe plate and microwave for about 1 minute.
3. Spread 1 teaspoon of mayonnaise on each of the Naan.
4. Top it up with remaining ingredients among 4 Naans.
5. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until cheese is melted & Naan is crispy.

Note: I used toaster oven so it took me about 8 minutes. If using a big oven, it might take a little longer to cook.

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Pesto Bread

I’m always thinking of what to serve for breakfasts during the weekdays. I try to make breads or snacks that we can eat by re-heating it in the mornings. I’ve had my eye on this bread for some time now and finally got a chance to make it. When it comes to making breads, I often refer to this website. If you’ve made breads before, this is no different but this one has such a dramatic look to it. I had a lot of fun making this. To save some time, I’ve used store bought Pesto Sauce and reduced the portion used because I was afraid it would be too salty.

Pesto Bread

Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Dough Rising Time: 2 hours
Baking Time: 30 to 35 minutes

Ingredients:

For Dough	For Filling
2 cups Warm Water 2 tablespoons Olive Oil 2 tablespoons Sugar 1 tablespoon Active Dry Yeast 1/2 cup Milk Powder 1 tablespoon Salt 5 -5 1/2 cups Bread Flour	4 heaped tablespoons Pesto 1 cup grated Extra Sharp Cheddar

Directions:
For Dough

1. In a large bowl or bowl of your mixer, combine, water, oil, sugar and yeast; stir to combine and leave it aside for about 10 minutes until foamy.
2. Add milk powder, salt and up to 4 cups of flour adding 1 cup at a time and stirring with a wooden spoon after each addition.
3. Turn out dough to a lightly floured surface and knead by adding remaining flour as required until it no longer sticks to your hands. (If using a stand mixer, knead the dough with dough hook for about 3 to 4 minutes adding flour as required.)
4. Place dough in lightly greased bowl, turning once to grease top.
5. Cover with plastic and let rise in warm draft free place for about 1 hour or until doubled in bulk.

Filling and Shaping Dough

1. Punch dough down and divide into two equal portions. (Keep one covered while working with the other.)
2. Take one portion of dough and on lightly floured surface with a rolling pin, roll it into approximately 9 x 14 inch rectangle shape.
3. Spread 2 tbsp of pesto and 1/4 cup of cheese, evenly over the surface. Fold in the sides about 1/2 inch to create a border.
4. Starting at a short end, roll dough tightly, pinch dough to seal seam, and turn seam side under.
5. With a sharp knife, cut the rolled dough lengthwise and open up to expose the inside filling.
6. Take each of the cut piece and braid together with the cut side always facing up.
7. Place this into lightly greased (8 ½ x 4 ½ inch) loaf pan.
8. Repeat the same process with the other portion of dough.
9. Cover both pans loosely with plastic and let rise in warm draft free place for about 1 hour or until doubled in bulk.
10. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit 30 minutes or so before baking.
11. Top both the loaves with remaining cheese and bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Check 10 minutes before they are done to see if they need to be covered with aluminum foil if they are getting too brown.
12. Remove from loaf pan immediately and cool on wire rack.

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Basic White Bread with Jalapeno

We have been eating store bought breads for so long that I have forgotten how good homemade bread could taste. My sister used to bake a variety of breads and pastries for us back home. During that time, she made everything from scratch. We did not have a machine to knead the dough or a full size oven to bake. She made all her baked goodies using a small convention oven.

I love everything about homemade breads; fragrance while baking, warmth of a freshly baked bread, its delicate texture, and best of all, simple yet delicious taste of it. I’m still new to making breads but it is not as difficult as I initially thought it would be. It does require some time but most of the time it needs is for dough resting so you’re not actively involved during that process.

This is a basic loaf of bread with an addition of Jalapeno peppers. This recipe came with my KitchenAid mixer and original recipe is for 2 loaves of bread. I usually make one loaf at a time so below is the one loaf version. If you don’t have a machine, you can just knead the dough with hands.

Basic White Bread with Jalapeno

Click on the image to enlarge

Makes: 1 loaf
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Dough Rising Time: 2 hours
Baking Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:
1/4 cup Milk
1 1/2 tablespoons Sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons Butter or Margarine
3/4 cup Water
1 packet Active Dry Yeast (1/4 ounce packet or 2 1/4 teaspoons from bulk)
2 1/2 to 3 cups Unbleached All Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon Salt
Oil Spray
1 Jalapeno – finely chopped

Directions:

1. In a small sauce pan, heat milk, sugar and butter over medium heat just until the butter is melted and sugar is dissolved. Pour it into a stand mixer bowl or a large bowl, if kneading by hand.
2. Add room temperature water to the bowl and stir. This will bring down the liquid temperature to lukewarm. The temperature should be around 105 to 110 degree F.
3. Add yeast to the liquid mixture, stir and keep aside for 5 to 10 minutes until foamy.
4. In a separate clean bowl, sift 2 cups of flour and salt together. Add flour to the liquid mixture and attach bowl and dough hook. Turn on to speed 2 and mix for about 1 minute. (If kneading by hand, use a wooden spatula and stir to combine)
5. Meanwhile, sift the remaining 1 cup of flour in a separate bowl. You might not need to use all of the flour while kneading.
6. Continuing the machine on speed 2, add the remaining flour 1/3 cup at a time until the dough clings to the hook and cleans the sides of the bowl. Knead on speed 2 for 2 more minutes or until dough is smooth and elastic. Dough will be slightly sticky to the touch. (If kneading by hand, pour dough out to lightly floured surface and knead, adding flour as required until dough is smooth and elastic, for about 10 minutes)
7. Place dough in lightly greased bowl, turning once to grease top.
8. Cover with plastic and let rise in warm draft free place for about 1 hour or until doubled in bulk.
9. Punch dough down, add jalapeno and knead to combine. On lightly floured surface with a rolling pin, roll into approximately 8 x 14 inch rectangle shape.
10. Starting at a short end, roll dough tightly, pinch dough to seal seam, pinch ends and turn under. Place the shaped dough seam side down in a lightly greased (8 ½ x 4 ½ x 2 ½) inch loaf pan.
11. Cover loosely with plastic and let rise in warm draft free place for about 1 hour or until doubled in bulk.
12. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit 30 minutes or so before baking.
13. Bake the bread for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from loaf pan immediately and cool on wire rack. 

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Triple Onion Cheese Buns

I like homemade breads and this is one of my favorites. I came across this recipe a while back and have made it few times. I replaced shallots and chives with red onion and green onions, mainly because I don't have it handy. Since I don't eat bacon, I've made without it and it still taste pretty good. For this batch, I've used Turkey Bacon.

For cheese, I like to use Habanero Cheddar. I came across this cheese in Costco while they were selling special flavor cheeses. They don't carry it all the time but I was lucky to have found it twice. I love cheddar cheese and I love spicy food. This cheese was a perfect combination. It was not too spicy but has a good kick. The last time I bought, I freeze it and I'm using it for this batch of bread. You can still make it with Gruyere Swiss Cheese as mentioned in original recipe or any of your favorite cheese.

If you're new to making breads at home as I am, make dough as per recipe and be creative with filling and topping.

Triple Onion Cheese Buns

Makes: 16 to 18 buns
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Dough Resting Time: 2 hours
Cooking and Baking Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

For Dough	For Filling
3/4 cup Water 1/2 cup Milk 1/4 cup Butter 1/4 cup Honey 3 1/2 to 4 cups Bread Flour 1 Large Egg - lightly beaten 4 teaspoons Active Dry Yeast 1 1/4 teaspoons Salt	3 tablespoons Butter 1 tablespoon Garlic - crushed or finely chopped 1/2 cup Chives or Green Onions - thinly sliced 1/2 cup Shallots or Red Onion - finely chopped 1/2 cup Onions - finely chopped 4 slices Turkey Bacon - cooked and crumbled 2 to 2 1/2 cups Habanero Cheddar Cheese or Gruyere Swiss Cheese

Directions:
For Dough

1. In a small saucepan, combine water, milk, butter and heat until butter is melted without bringing it to a boil. Transfer to a large bowl and let cool until lukewarm or 110 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Add honey, 1 1/2 cups of flour and stir with a wooden spoon or spatula until smooth.
3. Add egg, yeast and mix well till smooth. Keep this aside for 15 minutes.
4. Add salt along with 1 cup of flour and mix again.
5. Pour out to a clean surface and knead dough by adding remaining flour until it no longer sticks to the counter. Knead for 8 to 10 minutes by hand. (If using stand mixer, knead for 5 to 6 minutes by adding flour just until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl)
6. Place dough in lightly greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover with plastic and let rise in warm draft free place for about 1 hour or until doubled in bulk.

For Filling

1. While dough is resting, heat butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and sauté for few seconds till fragrant.
2. Add all three types of onions and sauté until onions are translucent. Turn off the heat, add bacon, mix well and keep aside to cool.

Making Buns

1. Punch dough down and on lightly floured surface with a rolling pin, roll into approximately 12 x 24 rectangle shape.
2. Evenly spread onion bacon mixture and 1/2 of the cheese. Staring from the long end, roll dough tightly and pinch to seal seam and turn under.
3. Cut the dough log into 16 to 18 equal pieces and place each in a lightly greased muffin tin. Cover loosely with plastic and let it rise in warm draft free place for 1 hour or until doubled in bulk.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
5. Top the buns with remaining cheese and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until nicely browned.
6. Allow to cool in muffin tin for 5 minutes. Remove from muffin tins and let cool on wire rack.

Note: Since I only have one muffin tin that fits 12 pieces, I kept the remaining pieces on a lightly greased tray.

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Steamed Buns with Coconut Filling

Chinese steamed buns are very popular in Burma and we call them Pausi. There are different varieties of fillings that you can get but most common ones that I grew up eating were curry chicken with boiled egg, red bean paste and coconut. I've been craving for these buns for a while now but haven't really found a recipe that uses only basic ingredients for the dough until I saw this recipe on Maangchi's website. I've been planning to make this for some time now but never actually got a chance to try it out. I wanted to make the savory version with curry chicken but I don't remember it enough to come up with something close to what I used to eat. At last, I decided to give it a shot with coconut filling while waiting for my sister to give me recipe for curry version.

The dough recipe is quiet easy to follow and the filling used here is very simple. Dough can be filled with variety of vegetable, meat or sweet fillings. This coconut filling is also very versatile and can be used to fill puff pastries or even spring roll sheets to form spring rolls or samosas. Combinations are endless and sky is the limit :). I'll post more in future when I make them. Below is half of original recipe.

Steamed Buns with Coconut Filling

Makes: 8 buns
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Dough Resting Time:  1 hour 30 minutes

Ingredients:
For Dough:
1/2 cup Luke Warm Water (between 105 and 110 degrees Fahrenheit)
1 teaspoon Active Dry Yeast
1 tablespoon Vegetable Oil
1/2 teaspoon Sugar
1 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour
1/4 teaspoon Salt
Oil Spray

For Filling:
6 ounces Fresh Coconut – shredded (about 1/2 coconut or 2 1/2 cups shredded)
2 tablespoons Sugar (Adjust to taste)
Pinch of Salt

Other:
8 Standard Cupcake Liners or Parchment Paper cut into 4 inch squares

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine water, yeast, oil and sugar. Mix with a spoon until well combined.
2. Sift in flour and salt into the liquid mixture and stir with a wooden spatula to combine. When it becomes hard to stir, start kneading dough with hands until smooth for about 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Lightly coat the bowl with oil spray, put dough, turn once to coat with oil, cover and leave it in warm area for about 40 minutes or until doubled in size. (For faster rising, place the bowl in a larger bowl filled with warm water)
4. Knead the dough for about a minute to remove air, cover and leave it again for another 30 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, in a medium size pan combine coconut, sugar, salt and cook over medium low heat stirring frequently until sugar is melted for about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat and let it cool completely.
6. Place cupcake liners 1 inch apart on the rack of a steamer and keep aside.
7. Take dough and divide into 8 equal portions. (Keep unused dough covered to prevent from drying out.)
8. On lightly floured surface, roll each portion into approximately 4 inch circles leaving center thicker than edges.
9. Take a heap tablespoon (or 1/8) of filling and place in middle of the circle. Gather the edges of the dough and conceal the filling by pinching and sealing the edges while forming pleats. Twist ends off to seal and close; and place it in prepared steamer rack.
10. Continue rolling and filling rest of the dough, cover and let it rise for 20 minutes.
11. Steam the buns for 20 minutes, covered and undisturbed.
12. Turn off the heat, remove buns from steamer and serve.

Note: Steamed buns can be kept at room temperature for a day or two. Keep them in fridge for few more days after that. Before serving, wrap it with damped paper towel and microwave for 10 to 15 seconds.

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Bhakri

Bhakri is a type of Indian flat bread that is thicker and crispier than other flat breads. My mother-in-law taught me how to prepare these since my husband loves to eat them in breakfast. It is really not difficult to make and we like to make it on weekends and serve as brunch. If serving as breakfast/brunch, it is best to be served with Gur Kari (Gujarati Sweet Mango Pickle), some fried or grilled fresh chili, or chili garlic chutney and Chai. It can also be served as lunch or dinner if paired with daal and some vegetable dish.

Bhakri

Makes: 4
Preparation Time: 15 to 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:
1 1/3 cup atta flour
 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 tablespoons oil
1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon water (more if needed)
1/2 teaspoon ghee

Directions:

1. In a bowl, combine flour, salt, cumin seeds and oil. Mix with hands until oil is incorporated into flour. When you take a handful of flour and form a fist, the mixture should hold its shape.
2. Add water, little at a time until the dough almost comes together. Knead the dough for a minute or two until everything comes together and can form into a dough ball, adding more water if required. This is not soft dough so it won't be very smooth but should be in one piece without falling apart.
3. Preheat a skillet or clay pan over medium heat.
4. Divide the dough into 4 equal portions. Take each portion and with clasped hands, squeeze the dough between your two palms, pressuring on the edges while rotating the dough to form a smooth disk-like shape. Shape all four pieces.
5. Take one shaped piece and with rolling pin, roll into a circle about 6 inches in diameter and approximately 1/8 inch thickness. It is normal if the edges are not very smooth. 
6. Place the rolled out dough on the skillet and cook for 1 to 2 minutes per side until some brown spots appear.
7. If using gas stove, take the cooked Bhakri with a kitchen tong and place it over direct fire over medium heat. Rotate and flip few times and cook over direct fire for 20 to 30 seconds to get more color. If not using gas stove, just continue cooking on the skillet till it is cooked through.
8. Place it in a plate and with a sharp edge kitchen tong or spoon poke some areas of Bhakri so that ghee can penetrate. Coat the back of a small spoon with ghee and spread it over the Bhakri evenly.
9. Repeat the rolling and cooking process with the remaining dough and serve either warm or at room temperature with chili garlic chutney (recipe below), Gur Kari(Gujarati Sweet Mango Pickle) and Chai.

Note: To save time, while you’re cooking one Bhakri work on rolling the other.

Chili Garlic Chutney
1 big Jalapeno
2 cloves garlic
3/4 tablespoon oil
Salt to taste

Process jalapeno and garlic in food processor until fine or chop it up with knife very finely. Transfer to a small bowl, add oil and salt. Mix it up and serve.

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Lasan Puri (Garlic Puri)

The garlic flavored Puri is a great dish for breakfast and brunch. The procedure of making the Lasan Puri is same as making regular Puris except this is flavored with spices and garlic. It can be a meal on its own without any gravy or curries accompanying it. I believe it is a common Gujarati (eastern state in India) dish and I was introduced to this dish by my husband’s family, and learnt how to make them from my mother-in-law.

I love to eat Puris but we don’t make or eat as much because they are deep fried. I have to admit, I have difficulty in making the Puri’s puff 100% of the time but with a little practice, I’m getting a hang of it. Even if some of them don’t puffed up, the taste is still great. Fry the Puris with enough oil and maintain the temperature for successful Puris.

Lasan Puri (Garlic Puri)

Makes: 22 puris
Preparation Time: 30- 40 minutes
Frying Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:
2 cups atta flour
1 teaspoon ajwain (carom seeds)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
2 tablespoon garlic – crushed or finely chopped
2 tablespoon oil
3/4 cup water (more if required)
Oil for deep frying

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, mix first 6 ingredients together. Add oil and mix with hand until oil is incorporated into flour. It will look like wet flour or coarse bread crumbs and when you pressed flour in your fist, it should partially hold the shape.
2. Add water little at a time until the dough comes together. The dough should be little tight and not very soft, so be careful not to add too much water.
3. Knead the dough for 2 to 3 minutes until it is smooth. Divide the dough into 22 equal portions and shape them into smooth balls.
4. Heat deep frying pan with few inches of oil over medium heat, to 325 to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
5. Take each dough ball and roll out into thin circles about 4 inches in diameter. You should be able to roll out without dusting any flour if the dough is at right consistency. However, if the dough has more water than needed and it is sticking to the surface, you can dust some flour while rolling.
6. Roll few and keep in a plate in one layer while the oil is heating. (Keep the unrolled dough balls covered with a plate or towel.)
7. Once the oil is hot slide one puri at a time in hot oil. It will initially sink to the bottom of the pan but within few seconds, it should rise up. With a slotted spoon, lightly press the puris so that it puffs up. Once puffed, turn over and fry the other side for few more seconds until very lightly golden in color on both sides. Remove from oil and place it on a large plate or pot lined with paper napkins for oil to drain.
8.  Fry all the puris and serve hot with Gur Kari (Gujarati Sweet Mango Pickle), Chai and fried Jalapeno peppers (see note below).

Note: To make fried Jalapeno; cut 1 to 2 big Jalapeno peppers into 1 inch chunks. Deep-fry in the same oil for few seconds until lightly golden in color. Remove from oil, drain on paper napkins and season with some salt, and coriander powder to taste.

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Aloo Puri

Aloo and Puri goes together like love and marriage ;). It is just a perfect combination. My mom used to make super delicious Aloo Puri for us and we all loved it. She also made Kheer along with this meal but since I'm not too crazy about Kheer, I've never made it before. She usually made the puri out of atta flour, which produces softer puris but since my husband likes little chewer version, I use mixture of all purpose flour and atta to make them. The Aloo subzi has a little tangy flavor from tamarind and good aroma from black onion seeds. This is fairly an easy dish but does require deep frying the puris.

Aloo Subzi

Serves: 2 to 3
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:
2 tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon brown whole mustard seed (rai)
1 teaspoon black onion seed (kalonji/kala zeera)
1/4 teaspoon hing (optional)
1 1/2 cup of onion - finely chopped
1 teaspoon ginger - grated or finely chopped
1 teaspoon garlic - crushed or finely chopped
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 1/2 pounds potato - diced into 1/2 inch pieces
1/4 cup tamarind (adjust to taste)
Salt to taste

Directions:

1. To make tamarind pulp, in a small bowl, soak tamarind in enough lukewarm water to cover it. Let it sit for about 20 to 30 minutes to soften. With your hand squash and squeeze the tamarind so that it mixes well with water. Strain, discard the solids and keep aside the liquid/pulp for later use.
2. In a pot, add oil and heat over high heat. Once it is hot, add mustard seeds, black onion seeds and hing. Fry for few seconds until the mustard seeds start to pop. Add chopped onion, a pinch of salt and stir well.
3. Fry the onions, stirring occasionally for 3 to 4 minutes until they are lightly golden in color.
4. Add ginger, garlic, turmeric powder and stir for few seconds.
5. Add potatoes, salt to taste, stir well and cook for about a minute.
6. Add about 1 1/3 cup of water or enough water to cover the potatoes, reduce heat to medium, cover the pot and cook for 12 to 15 minutes until potatoes are cooked through and soft. It is okay for some of the potatoes to be little mashed as this will create thicker gravy.
7. Add tamarind pulp (2 tablespoon or to taste), more water if required (about 2/3 cup), stir and cook for further 2 to 3 minutes. Make necessary adjustment to taste and consistency of the gravy by adding more water if required. Serve hot with fresh puris.

Note:

• I prefer using tamarind for this dish but you can substitute it with lime juice as well.
• Amount of tamarind used for this dish will depend on the sourness of the tamarind itself and the amount of water used in making the pulp. Add few teaspoons at a time and adjust according to your desired sourness of the dish.
• Unused tamarind pulp can be frozen in ice cubes trays and store the cubes in Ziploc bag or airtight container in freezer for few months.

Puri

Makes: 16 puris
Preparation and frying Time: 30 minutes
Dough resting Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup atta flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon oil
1/4 cup milk
1/3 cup water (more if required)
Oil for deep frying

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, mix all purpose flour, atta flour and salt together. Add oil and mix with hand until oil is incorporated into flour. It will look like wet flour or coarse bread crumbs and when you pressed flour in your fist, it should partially hold the shape.
2. Add milk to the flour mixture and start by adding half of the water and continue to add more until the dough comes together. The dough should be little tight and not very soft, so be careful not to add too much water.
3. Knead the dough for 2 to 3 minutes until it is smooth.
4. Lightly coat the kneaded dough with oil, cover and keep aside for about 30 minutes or so. Tip: While dough is resting, prepare Aloo Subzi.
5. Once ready to make the puris, divide the dough into 16 equal portions and roll them into smooth balls.
6. Heat deep frying pan with few inches of oil over medium heat, to 325 to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
7. Prepare a large plate or pot by lining it with some paper napkins to keep the fried puris and keep this aside.
8. Take each dough ball and roll out into thin circles about 4 1/2 to 5 inches in diameter. You should be able to roll out without dusting any flour if the dough is at right consistency. However, if the dough has more water than needed and it is sticking to the surface, you can dust some flour while rolling.
9. Roll few and keep in a plate in one layer while the oil is heating. (Keep the unrolled dough balls covered with a plate or towel.)
10. Once the oil is hot slide one puri at a time in hot oil. It will initially sink to the bottom of the pan but within few seconds, it should rise up. With a slotted spoon, lightly press the puris so that it puffs up. Once puffed, turn over and fry the other side for few more seconds until very lightly golden in color on both sides and remove from oil. Fry all the puris and serve hot with Aloo subzi.

Note:

• Having a second hand in making puris will be very helpful. While one person rolls, the other person can do the frying process. Before starting the frying process, have 5 to 6 puris rolled out ahead of time.
• If you're making it alone, just work in few batches rolling and frying 5 to 6 puris at a time. While you're rolling, just reduce the heat of the oil a little to maintain the temperature.

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Simple Crusty Bread

This was probably one of my very first breads I tried making few years back. This recipe is adapted from NY Times. It is pretty simple but does require some dough rising time.  This dough does not require kneading but since the dough is quite soft, it does need a little patience to work it.

Simple Crusty Bread

Makes: 4 loaves
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Baking Time: 30 minutes
Resting and Rising Time: 3 hours or more

Ingredients:
1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast
3 cups of lukewarm water (105 to 115 degrees F)
1 tablespoon sugar
6 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour plus more for dusting
1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
Cornmeal for dusting
1 cup hot water for baking

Directions:

1. In a large bowl or pot, combine yeast, water and sugar. Mix well and set aside for 5 to 10 minutes.
2. Once the yeast is foamy, sift flour and salt into the yeast mixture. Mix well until there are no dry patches with a wooden spatula.
3. Loosely cover with plastic and let rise in a warm spot or room temperature for 2 hours.
4. Sprinkle cornmeal over pizza peel and set this aside.
5. After 2 hours, punch the dough down. Sprinkle some flour on top and with a sharp knife; divide the dough into 4 equal portions.
6. With well floured hands, take each portion of the dough and try to shape as round on the top as possible by stretching and gathering the dough to the bottom.  Place this on the prepared pizza peel. Do the same with the remaining 3 dough and let rest for 40 minutes.
7. Place a broiler pan in the bottom rack and pizza stone in the middle rack of the oven and turn on the oven to 450 degrees F. Let it heat for at least 20 minutes.
8. Once the dough has been rested for 40 minutes, sprinkle little flour and slash the top 3 times with very sharp knife. Transfer onto the stone. Pour 1 cup of hot water into the broiler pan and close the oven door quickly to trap the steam. Bake for about 30 minutes or until golden brown on top.
9. Remove from oven and transfer to wire rack and cool completely.

Note:

• Sliding all 4 dough from pizza peel to the stone is difficult. Remove the stone from the oven and transfer one at a time. Take one dough, reshape it a little and drop it onto the stone. 
• Be very careful and wear an oven mitt while pouring hot water into the broiler pan.

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