Crispy Thin-crust Personal Pizzas

Everybody has days they just want to curl up on their couch in front of old Friends re-runs and finish an entire personal pizza.

While you're at it, why not make this crisp, thin-crust. Full-on-flavor, generous-on-toppings personal pizzas?

They're light and heavenly, and leave room for that tub of Ben and Jerry's as a dessert.

Thin-crust Personal Pizza
Makes: 4 pizzas
Source: Starting Cooking

1/2 cup warm water
1 level tsp active dry yeast
1 level tsp sugar
1 1/2 cup plain white flour (not bread flour!)
1/2 tsp salt

Put 2 tbsp of the water in a small bowl and stir in the yeast and sugar. Leave it in a warm spot for about 15 minutes until mixture becomes frothy on top.

Sift flour and salt into a mixing bowl, make a well in the center and pour the yeast mixture. Add The rest of the warm water and mix until it forms a dough. Make the dough into a ball and knead it for 10 minutes. Cover in a bowl with a damp towel on top for an hour to let it rise.

Heat oven to 425F, after an hour remove dough and knead for five more minutes until smooth. cut into four equal balls and roll each into a thin circle. Place the circles on pizza trays or baking trays lined with cookie sheets.

4 rounded tbsp tomato paste
4 tbsp water
1/2 tsp italian seasoning
Vegetables, sliced. (I used Mushrooms, broccoli, cherry tomatoes, bell peppers)
Pre-cooked toppings (I used Ham, Roasted Kabocha Squash)
Cheese (optional)

Mix tomato paste with water and seasoning, spread evenly on four pizza bases. Top with raw vegetables of choice and cook for 20 minutes, ten minutes on the top shelf and ten on the middle shelf.

Out of the oven, top with pre-cooked ingredients such as ham, as well as cheese and other garnishing.

Homemade Pretzels

The other day I was bored out of my wits. So I googled (with google filter on, mind you) 'Things for girls to do when they are bored'.

Apparently, baking bread is one of them. And since I am one of the few people I know that actually enjoy the smell of dry active yeast, I accepted the challenge.

Except, making a plain loaf is too boring. It lacks... Pazaaz.

So I decided that the bread in question had to have a fantastic, witty shape. It had to be individually portioned to save me the headache (and stomach ache) of eating the whole lot of them in one go. It had to be savory, because I had whacked my weight in macarons the day before.

And it had to make me look good.

Pretzels, it was.

Miniature soft pretzels
Source: Smitten Kitchen
Makes 16 full-sized or 32 miniature

2 cups warm water (100°F to 110°F)
1 tablespoon + 2 tablespoons sugar
1 packet active dry yeast
5 to 6 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons canola or other neutral oil
1/4 cup baking soda
1 large egg white
Coarse or pretzel salt
Vegetable-oil cooking spray

1. Pour warm water and 1 tablespoon sugar into bowl of electric mixer fitted with a dough hook* and stir to combine. Sprinkle with yeast, and let sit 10 minutes; yeast should be foamy.

2. Add 1 cup flour to yeast, and mix on low until combined. Add salt and 4 cups more flour, and mix until combined, about 30 seconds. Beat on medium-low until dough pulls away from sides of bowl, about 1 1/2 minutes. Add another 1/2 cup flour, and knead on low 1 minute more. If dough is still wet and sticky, add 1/2 cup more flour (this will depend on weather conditions); knead until combined, about 30 seconds. Transfer to a lightly floured board, and knead about ten times, or until smooth.

3. Pour oil into a large bowl; swirl to coat sides. Transfer dough to bowl, turning dough to completely cover all sides. Cover with a kitchen towel, and leave in a warm spot for 1 hour, or until dough has doubled in size.

4. Heat oven to 450°F. Lightly spray two baking sheets with cooking spray (parchment paper, ungreased, also works). Set aside. Punch down dough to remove bubbles. Transfer to a lightly floured board. Knead once or twice, divide into 16 pieces (about 2 1/2 ounces each) or 32 if making miniature pretzels, and wrap in plastic.

5. Roll one piece of dough at a time into an 18-inch-long strip. [I find the pretzels much easier to roll on an unfloured board, oddly enough, but see what works for you.] Twist into pretzel shape; transfer to prepared baking sheet. Cover with a kitchen towel. Continue to form pretzels; eight will fit on each sheet (you may need a third sheet if making miniatures). Let pretzels rest until they rise slightly, about 15 minutes.

6. Meanwhile, fill large, shallow pot with 2 inches of water. Bring to a boil. Add baking soda (and step back, it foams up quickly) and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Reduce to a simmer; transfer three to four pretzels to water. Poach 1 minute on each side. Use slotted spoon to transfer pretzels to baking sheet. Continue until all pretzels are poached.

7. Beat egg white with 1 tablespoon water. Brush pretzels with egg glaze. Sprinkle with salt. Bake until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool on wire rack, or eat warm. Pretzels are best when eaten the same day, but will keep at room temperature, uncovered, for two days. Do not store in covered container or they will become soggy.

Isn't she a doll? All twisted in her full pretzel glory.

Question of the day
What is the most time-consuming thing you have ever baked and how did it turn out?
I once baked a local cake called Kuih Lapis which required you to bake a tablespoon of batter at a time in the pan, taking it out every 5 minutes to add the next spoonful. It took me easily three hours to bake. But, dammit, it was delicious.

Eclairs with a mocha pastry cream filling

Once you have perfected the perfect choux recipe, it's only normal to progress from cream puffs to eclairs, in all their cylindrical, chocolate-topped, pastry-cream-filled glory.

And when choosing the flavour of pastry cream, one does not simply choose vanilla, or chocolate. Nay, one chooses espresso! Mocha! For what is an eclair without a touch of caffeine?

Eclairs with a mocha pastry cream filling

For the choux pastry:
Recipe Here

For the pastry cream and chocolate topping:
Source: Annie's Eats

For the mocha pastry cream:
1½ cups half-and-half
6 tbsp. plus
2 tsp. sugar, divided
Pinch salt
1½ tsp. espresso powder
3 large egg yolks
2 tbsp. cornstarch
2 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into 2 pieces
½ tsp. vanilla extract

For the glaze:
3 tbsp. half-and-half
2 oz. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup (4 oz.) confectioners’ sugar, sifted

To make the pastry cream, heat the half-and-half, 5 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon of the sugar, and the salt in a saucepan over medium-high heat until simmering, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar. Once the mixture is warm, whisk in the espresso powder. Meanwhile, combine the egg yolks and remaining 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sugar in a medium bowl and whisk until the sugar has begun to dissolve and the mixture is creamy, about 15 seconds. Whisk in the cornstarch until combined and the mixture is pale yellow and thick, about 30 seconds.

When the half-and-half mixture has reached a simmer, slowly add it to the egg yolk mixture to temper, whisking constantly. Return the mixture to the saucepan, scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula. Return the mixture to a simmer over medium heat, whisking constantly, until a few bubbles burst on the surface and the mixture is thickened and glossy, about 30 seconds. Off the heat, whisk in the butter and vanilla. Strain the pastry cream through a fine mesh sieve set over a medium bowl. Press plastic wrap directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming and refrigerate until cold and set, at least 3 hours and up to 2 days. (Alternatively, place a bowl filled with the warm pastry cream into an ice bath with 2 tbsp of salt added. Stir constantly until set, about 20 minutes.

Using the choux recipe above, adjust an oven rack to middle position and preheat the oven to 425˚ F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone baking mat. Fit a pastry bag with a ½-inch plain tip. Fill the pastry bag with the pâte à choux. Pipe the paste into eight 5 x 1-inch strips, spaced about 1 inch apart. Use the bake of a teaspoon dipped in water to even out the shape and smooth the surface. Bake 15 minutes without opening the oven door, then lower the oven temperature to 375˚ F and continue to bake until golden brown and fairly firm, 8-10 minutes longer.

Remove the baking sheet from the oven and cut a ¾-inch slit into the side of each éclair to release steam. Return the pan to the oven, turn off the oven, and prop the oven door open with the handle of a wooden spoon. Dry the éclairs in the turned-off oven until the centers are just moist and crisp, about 45 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

To make the glaze, place the half-and-half and chocolate in a medium microwave-safe bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and microwave for 20 seconds at a time, until the mixture just begins to steam. Whisk together thoroughly, add the confectioners’ sugar and whisk until completely smooth. To assemble the éclairs, add the pastry cream to a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip. Pipe the pastry cream through the slit in the side of each éclair to fill it completely. Dip the top of each éclair in the chocolate glaze. Transfer to a wire rack and allow the glaze to set. Serve within several hours.

Eclairs can be frozen with the chocolate glaze but only fill with pastry cream when about to serve.

Question of the day
What is the whackiest, weirdest flavor of pastry cream you have ever seen of, heard of, or tried? I tired a pistachio pastry cream a few months back. A shocking shade of green but it was delish!