pizza dough made with whey

I have a whole lot of whey left over from the Ricotta I made yesterday, and this pizza dough was one of the recipe suggestions in the booklet.  It was super simple (mix flour, yeast, whey, and oil; knead; let rise 10 minutes; roll out) and really good.  I just used jarred pizza sauce and pre-shredded mozzarella.  Both kids even asked for seconds!

I have a lot more whey in the freezer, so I’ll definitely be making this again.

Pizza dough made with whey, from Ricki’s Mozzarella and Ricotta Kit.

Rosemary and Rock Salt Focaccia

I’ve made this recipe before, and it’s turned out MUCH better.  I was not satisfied with this.  The picture’s not great, either.  I think the issue is that I just grabbed a random packet of yeast from the fridge, and I think I got the “Old Fashioned” kind, and the recipe called for the “Rapid Rise” kind.  Because it didn’t really rise all that well.

I love this recipe because it’s so incredibly super simple, but tastes very good and goes with anything you want bread for.  I had it tonight with cauliflower soup, and I’ll probably have it as a snack tomorrow dipped in a little bit of fancy dipping oil.

Rosemary and Rock Salt Focaccia, from Nicola Graimes’ The Best Ever Vegetarian Cookbook.  Pg. 504

Light Waffles

Not a great recipe, but really good waffles.  How on earth are you supposed to “gently fold” beaten egg whites and whipped cream into a very thick, heavy, yeasted dough?  I had to take the electric mixer again and beat the bejeezus out of it to get it somewhat incorporated.

It was the first time I’ve made yeasted waffles.  They were a bit heavier and more substantial that most of the waffles I’ve ever made.  They were good, but I’m not sure I’m in love with them.  They were very rich, and that was definitely good.  But I tend to like lighter breakfast fare.  The kids seemed to love them, though.  The recipe didn’t make all that many, either: I got 8 plus a tiny little spare one.  I’m looking to make more than that, so I can keep them in the fridge and give them to the kids as snacks.

Thinking about it, I bet they would be really good as waffle sundaes, with ice cream and some hot fudge sauce.  I don’t think they’d get soggy and mushy right away, like a fluffier waffle recipe would.

Light Waffles, from This Good Food: Contemporary French Vegetarian Recipes from a Monastery Kitchen, by Brother Victor-Antoine d’Avila-Latourrette.  Pg. 66

Monkey Bread

My mother bought me a dedicated monkey bread pan a few years ago, and I’m always torn between using it more often, and reserving it just for Christmas.  So far, we only bring it out every Christmas for our annual junk food breakfast, which also includes mini marshmallow filled ambrosia salad.

I’ve tried a few different recipes for monkey bread recipes over the years, and settled on the Cooks Illustrated one as being my ideal.  The one problem is that every year, this year included, we eat it as a dessert for breakfast, because the cooking time is about twice as long as the recipe claims.  I don’t know if that’s because of the thick stoneware pot that spends the night in the refrigerator, or if the recipe is just a bit wonky (my guess is on the first, though I do try to let it sit out for an our or two before putting it in the oven).  One of these years I’ll remember that.

Monkey Bread, from the February 2005 issue of Cook’s Illustrated.

Vanilla Cream-Filled Doughnuts

Possibly the most ambitious thing I’ve ever cooked (maybe the mint chocolate Martha Stewart cake I made a few years ago with chocolate fondant, buttercream, AND icing was more so), but it was actually qite easy.  And oh so very, very delicious.

It was quite the all day affair, though.  I couldn’t get back to sleep this morning when Trixie woke up at 4am, so I went downstairs and made the dough (and then pancakes, which was a nice treat for everyone).  That takes 6 hours to rise in the fridge.  Then you cut the doughnuts, and let them rise for 2-3 hours.  And we have a cold house.  Then you fry them, which only takes a few minutes.  When they have to completely cool, and you fill them.  All said, it took about 11 hours.  Obviously, in the future I’ll read the directions ahead of time and let the dough do its first rising overnight.

The one eensy weensy little problem is that they didn’t cook all the way through.  I think next time I’ll turn down the heat of the oil just slightly and let them fry for a bit longer.  Raw bread dough wasn’t a great surprise when you bite into them.  The cream, however, is delicious and not hard to make at all, though it does have a few steps.

Now I want to go to Williams Sonoma and get that doughnut cookbook I saw there!  Just think, when I saw it I thought “who in their right mind would MAKE a doughnut?”  Me, apparently.  While it was an all-day endeavor, it wasn’t actually all that complicated, and the actual labor didn’t take terribly long.

Vanilla Cream-Filled Doughnuts, from Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston’s Flour Bakery + Cafe.  Pg 98.

old fashioned white bread

After my ill fated loaf of whole wheat bread last week, I went out and bought some fresh yeast.  And oh what a difference it makes!  Alas, I was out of while wheat flour, so I made white bread.

It came out really, really good.  Which is somewhat surprising, considering how badly I messed up the recipe!  I think I added extra flour: a lot of extra flour.  At least a cup and a half.  So then when I went to kneed it in the mixer, it didn’t form a ball.  It looked kinda like pie dough before you add water.  So then I had to pour in more milk.  Lots and lots of more milk.  And then it was too big for my mixer, which I think is dying.  Which is bullshit, because it’s a nice mixer and only 5 years old.

But, miraculously, the bread came out excellently.  I went out this evening and when I came home, B had eaten about 1/2 the loaf.  If I didn’t feel like I should make whole wheat bread when I go through all the trouble of making bread, I’d make this recipe all the time.  Next time I’ll work on giving it a slightly better shape.  LOL, I’m not sure exactly what went wrong there…

Old-Fashioned White Bread, from Williams Sonoma’s Bread.  Pg 10.

whole-wheat bread

I think these loaves of bread were trying to send me a message: the giant bag of yeast from Costco that expired two years ago has given up the ghost.  It worked well until the past 2 loaves of bread I’ve made, but it seems to be over.  Too bad.  It’s usually a really nice recipe that makes a really soft whole wheat bread, but it just didn’t rise. this time.

Whole Wheat Bread, from Williams Sonoma Bread.  Pg 13.