"Homemade" Bread

One thing I've recently gotten myself reacquainted with are frozen bread dough loaves. A couple of weeks ago I bought the Rhodes brand at my local grocery store. I paid $4 for the package.

At 5 loaves for $4, how could you possibly go wrong?!

Growing up, my mother would also use the bread dough to make our pizza. I've even used it to make cinnamon rolls a time or two before. The directions for preparation couldn't be simpler!

Last week during one of our especially cold and windy days, I wanted nothing more than to smell the delicious, comforting aroma of fresh bread baking in the oven. So, I pulled a loaf out of the freezer in the morning, let it thaw and rise, and popped it into the oven at 350 degrees. In about 20 minutes I was rewarded with the most amazingly tasty, soft, fresh loaf of bread!

Mmmm, Mmmm, Good! This bread was still slightly warm from the oven....The butter just melted right onto it.

If you haven't tried frozen bread dough loaves before, or you're like me and haven't thought to use them in a while, grab a bag next time you're out shopping. You won't be disappointed!

Mmmm, Mmmm, Good!

Wonderfully delicious cinnamon rolls. 

Anyone can do these!

You can make your own dough, or buy it at the store.

Then follow these very simple steps:

Gently knead the dough. Turn out onto floured surface.

Roll dough out into a long oval.

Brush melted butter over entire dough's surface.

Sprinkle on a generous amount of cinnamon.

Cover with a generous amount of brown sugar.

Begin to roll dough (tightly) toward you from the top to the bottom.

Pinch dough together at seam, then turn seam to underside of the roll.

Slice into rolls with a very sharp knife. Place on greased cookie sheet.

Let rise in a warm place for 45 minutes.

Bake at 375 for approximately 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Frost with confectionery sugar frosting.

Serve and enjoy!

Homemade Pizza

A simple dinner tonight.....Not a lot of fuss, not a lot of clean-up!

Here's my recipe for pizza dough that you can mix up and use right away, or you can choose to let it rise for about an hour or so. I've made it both ways and either one is good.

Easy Pizza Dough

3 c. flour

2 T. sugar

1 1/4 c. lukewarm (not too hot!) water + 2 T. oil

2 1/2 t. yeast (or 1 of the square packets that comes in a group of 3)

2 t. sugar

pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Pour yeast into water/oil and add the 2 t. of sugar. Stir gently and let set about 15 minutes, or until yeast dissolves and looks a bit foamy. Measure 3 c. of flour into a mixing bowl. Add the 2 T. of sugar and pinch of sugar. Stir. Pour water with yeast into the mixing bowl and stir with a wooden spoon to combine the wet and dry ingredients. Then, use your hand to gather and squish any residual flour into dough ball, kneading and squishing until it has formed into a nice ball. 

If letting dough rise, lightly oil a glass mixing bowl. Set dough in bowl, turning to coat all with oil. Cover with wax paper, and let set on counter for approx 1 - 1 1/2 hours. Then punch down, knead several times and prepare for pizza as directed in the paragraph below.

If using immediately, put onto lightly greased baking sheet and spread out until even and uniform. A small rolling pin is great to use for this. Cover with all toppings except shredded cheese. Bake for 15 minutes, or until bottom is slightly golden brown. Top with shredded cheese and return to oven for another 5-8 minutes. Serve and enjoy.

Simple Pizza

By using a small ball of regular dough, about 3" in diameter, you can make a very delicious, personal size pizza. First, start by crisping up a piece of bacon or two (Do not drain drippings. They'll be used later.) 

Mmmmm! I absolutely love bacon!

 Then, once the dough has come to room temperature, lightly dust it with flour and begin flattening it by pressing it between your palms. Using your fingers, work the thickness of the dough out from the center to the edges, rotating the dough in a clockwise motion between your fingers. Continue this until the dough is relatively thin, and fairly circular. But it doesn't have to be perfect! Using the same non-stick skillet with bacon drippings, heat pan to a medium heat, being careful not to let it get too hot and smoke. Reshape your dough if necessary, then lay it out flat into the pan. Watch it closely as it will turn golden brown on bottom, and puff nicely in a short amount of time. Flip dough to brown the second side and cook completely through.

The dough is golden brown, so soft, and nearly done.

Turn off your burner and move the pan from the heat temporarily. Flip the dough to turn its hot side up, and sprinkle any type of shredded cheese you desire over the pizza. Cover and return the skillet to the burner (still keeping it off) for residual heat to help melt the cheese.

Never can have enough cheese on a pizza!

It should only take a minute or two for the cheese to completely melt.

 Finally, break the bacon into pieces and gently push them into the melted cheese. Now your delicious pizza is ready to enjoy!

This is the softest, freshest tasting homemade pizza I've had in a while. Using the skillet turned out to be an excellent method for making pizza. You should definitely try it for yourself and let me know what you think!