This week I had this desire to make a tart. For no other reason than I was craving a tart. I filled it with frozen raspberries and topped it with a brown sugar streusel and chopped almonds. The filling stayed together perfectly, no oozing out the sides.
Focaccia with Rosemary and Grapes
Focaccia is one of the easiest bread to make. You can top it with a variety of ingredients, similar to a pizza. It's fun to play around with flavor combinations. Grape and rosemary are probably one of my favorite focaccia flavor combinations. The grapes mellow in their sweetness after baking and pair really well with the rosemary. Focaccia is best eaten the day of, when its' fresh out of the oven, warm, and soft!
Tomato and Cheddar Tart with a Savory Parmesan Crust
Montreal Style Bagels with Date and Walnut Cream Cheese
cast iron pizza
Add the flour to the yeast mixture and combine with either a wooden spoon, food processor with a dough attachment, or a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Do not knead the dough, just mix until all the ingredients are uniformly moistened with no dry patches. The dough should be moist and sticky.
Cover the bowl with saran wrap and then poke it with tiny holes. Let the dough sit covered for 2 hours in a warm draft free area. The dough should double in size. Once it has doubled place it in the fridge until you are ready to use. It can stay in the fridge for up to 14 days or the freezer for 3 months. Do not punch down the dough, it needs to retain as much gas as possible.
When you are ready to make your pizzas, pre-cut and prepare all of your ingredients. They should be located in an easy to reach spot. You want to top your pizza quickly so the dough doesn't stick to the paddle or counter.
Place your cast iron pan on the stove top and preheat on medium for 10 minutes. Turn the oven to broil and place the oven rack on the highest slot.
Working very quickly, generously sprinkle flour or cornmeal on the pizza paddle to prevent it from sticking. Gather a peach size piece of dough by grabbing, twisting then cutting from the larger batch. Cover your hands and the dough in flour, until it is no longer sticky. Put the dough back in the fridge, it is easier to work with when it's cold.
Gently stretch and flatten the dough into a disk by pulling and rotating with your hands. Place the dough onto the pizza paddle and using a rolling pin dusted with flour, roll the dough into its final shape 1/8 inch think. Quickly top the pizza with sauce, then vegetables, and cheese. Drizzle with olive oil.
Slide the pizza into the cast iron pan (you may need a spatula to help give it a little push) and cover with a lid. Cook the pizza for 4 minutes and do not remove the lid until done. Remove the lid, then place the cast iron pan in the oven on the top rack for 3 minutes to brown the cheese. With a spatula, remove the pizza from the pan and place it onto a cutting board. Slice and serve warm.