Recipe Reimagining – Pineapple Clafoutis
I have a pineapple sitting on my counter. Languishing. Probably wondering if it’ll just get tossed into the compost pile without a second thought.
It’s not that I don’t like pineapple. I do. Quite a bit.
But there’s that frustratingly sneaky sugar thing that I can’t have.
I was thinking though, on the coattails of my apple clafoutis, that perhaps I could make a pineapple clafoutis. A pineapple clafoutis with half the almond milk subbed out for coconut milk.
Maybe I went too far. Perhaps the coconut milk would be too much.
Maybe not.
So, I ponder. Below is the recipe I’m thinking of heavily revising (nicked from the cached version of this page). Creating some combination of it and my apple clafoutis. Since the recipe is so simple (well, the apple one was), perhaps I’ll try it this week. I’ll be sure to report back (with more alacrity than recently!) with my (hopefully tasty) results. (additionally, here’s a bit of a write up from that same place above, nicked from the cache (as the site’s a pay/registration site)). It looks a bit rough with my notes, but hopefully this’ll be a work in progress.
1/2 large pineapple (14 to 16 oz., peeled)
4 Tbs. unsalted butter (I seem to be tolerating butter all right these days, so I’ll probably use it)
1/4 cup light brown sugar (eliminate this)
3 large eggs
1/3 cup granulated sugar (eliminate this, maybe add a very little bit of molasses)
1/3 cup all-purpose flour (use the rice flour sub from the apple recipe)
2/3 cup heavy or whipping cream (sub with coconut milk)
Seeds from 1/2 split vanilla bean (or 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract)
1 Tbs. rum
Heat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-inch cake pan or pie pan. (a deep cast iron pan would work great for this, I think, but I don’t have one. It’ll either be the brownie pan again, or my springform pan)
Cut the half pineapple lengthwise into four wedges. Cut the core from each wedge, cut each wedge lengthwise again to make wedges about 1 inch wide, and then cut each of these crosswise into 1/2-inch slices.
Put the butter in a large frying pan over medium-high heat (ideally large enough to hold the pineapple in one layer). When it sizzles, add the pineapple. Give the pan a shake and then let the pineapple release its juices without stirring. Let the liquid bubble and evaporate, giving the pineapple only the occasional shake and stir. When most of the liquid has evaporated (after about 5 min.), add the brown sugar and stir again. Let the sugar bubble for about 30 seconds and then remove the pan from the heat. With a slotted spoon, transfer the pineapple to the prepared cake pan; reserve the juices in the pan.
Brown sugar adds a mellow sweetness to the pineapple, giving the clafoutis a complex blend of flavors.
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and granulated sugar until lightly frothy and the sugar is dissolved. Sprinkle or sift in the flour and whisk until smooth. Add the cream, vanilla, and rum; whisk again. Finally, add the juices from the pineapple and give the mixture one last stir. A whisk works best to gently blend the floour and eggs.
Pour the batter over the pineapple. Bake until the clafoutis is evenly puffed and golden and a skewer comes out clean, about 50 min. Serve warm.
photo: Martha Holmberg
From Fine Cooking 37, pp. 52
February 1, 2000
Recipe – Apple Clafoutis
I subscribe to the Living Without recipe newsletter and it graces my inbox with an assortment of recipes, some of which I can’t even look at, some I can adapt to my nefarious uses, some that are just brilliant.
The most recent sending falls somewhere between the last two.
Apple Clafoutis.
I’d never even heard of it. I guessed it was French. Seems it comes from the Limoges region of France and is traditionally made with cherries. It’s kind of like the lovechild of a Dutch pancake and a quiche. Someone else described it as a fruity Yorkshire pudding.
As I read through the ingredients, I began to get excited. Apples, natch. We’d just bought a 40 lb box of Pink Lady apples from my veg co-op, mostly for juicing for the husband, but apples are one of the safer fruits for me, so it was a win all around. It had only one half cup of sugar, which I felt quite confident I could omit with no ill effect (for the recipe. If I didn’t omit it, I’d certainly have an ill effect…). I even had all the required ingredients. So, Sunday, I set to makin’ me a dessert.
It didn’t disappoint.
Sugar-free Apple Clafoutis (adapted from the Living Without recipe)
- 3 cups sliced apples (the original recipe called for tossing with 2 tablespoons sugar, but sugar ain’t my friend. Additionally, I seem to think 3 cups ended up being 3-ish medium sized apples, cored, but unpeeled.)
- 3 eggs
- 1½ cups almond milk (use whatever milk you happen to like or tolerate. I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk, which worked quite well)
- Pinch salt
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¾ cup rice flour
- ¼ cup sweet rice flour (I thought I’d had some in my pantry, but I was out. I substituted tapioca starch, which seemed to work just fine)
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients sans the apples and blitz until smooth. Grease the pan of your choice (the original called for a 9-inch pie pan. I used a 9×9 square baking dish (my brownie pan!). You could easily use some sort of corning ware dish. I bet this would be fantastic in a deep cast iron pan, too, kind of a la pineapple upside down cake, or the Dutch pancake I alluded to earlier) and line it with the apple slices. I kept my slices regular, between 1/4 – 1/8 inch, and layered them prettily (kind of like those apple tart things you see with the circular apples slices). Give your wet mixture a good mix, then pour one-third of the batter over the apples. Bake this for 15 minutes, until the fruit sets. Remove from oven and pour over the remaining batter. Place back in oven for another 45 minutes. The top will be a light golden brown when done. Let cool on a rack for at least 15 minutes. Then dig in!
* The original recipe called for 1/2 cup of sugar as well. I omitted this one, too. For me, the fruit provides enough sweetness. Because of this, I can have a normal-sized piece of the stuff for dessert (or breakfast!) and not have to worry about the sugar content. I’m up to tolerating 2-3 pieces of fruit a day (though not all together), so I felt this dessert to be well within my tolerances.
Recipes – Wheat-free Passover
I want to tell you about the glorious, tasty, safe and non-pain-inducing food I made for Passover.
Really, I do.
However, I know (some of) my limitations. If I plotz over documenting all the recipes right here, right now, I’ll never get past it. And there is this devastatingly delicious dessert that I MUST tell you about…
So, in the interest of brevity and updatingness, I’m going to simply list off the wonderful things I made, as preparation for the eventual documentation and linkage.
Never fear (well, at least, not often anyway), I will provide recipes for these tasty items. I need to, as I promised my cousin I’d send her a recipe for the kugelettes.
- Brisket
- Potato kugelettes
- Chocolate flourless cake
- Wheat-free matzo
- Wheat-free matzo ball soup
Recipe – Millet Flatbread
Recently, the Ginger Lemon Girl featured a millet flatbread recipe on her site. As I’d recently bought some millet flour (got to love the Indian section of my favorite Asian grocery store… a two-pound bag for less than two bucks), it seemed intriguing. With some revision for what’s in my kitchen, and my tastes, I’d say it turned out pretty well.
I have thus far used it for the base a of pizza and a sandwichy thing (pretty much same ingredients, too… though the “pizza” featured Italian sausage and a smattering of sheep’s milk feta).
It provides a slightly more delicate “bread” than my go-to bread stuff. Though admittedly, I haven’t tried my bread in a flat venue. I probably should.
Here’s my revised version of Ginger Lemon Girl’s Millet Flatbread (mostly lifted straight from her site, until my body and brain cooperate with me to write up my own version… body is rebelling against me today).
Dry Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups millet flour
- 1/2 cup tapioca flour
- 1 tsp xanthan gum
- 1 tsp almond meal
- 1/2 tsp salt
Wet Ingredients:
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup warm water (start with 1/2 cup. I ended up needing about a cup of water, which was a smidge too much. I suspect it has something to do with the kind of millet flour I have)
For yeast proofing:
- 2 tsp yeast (one packet)
- 1 tsp honey
- 1/4 cup warm water
In a small bowl mix yeast, honey, and 1/4 cup warm water together. Set aside. Mixture should become bubbly and creamy in appearance. In your bowl, whisk together all dry ingredients. In a medium sized bowl mix together all wet ingredients. Add proofed yeast to wet ingredients. With a whisk and a strong arm, slowly pour in wet ingredients. Beat for 3-5 minutes until mixture is fully incorporated. Batter will be rather thin and pour-able, like thick pancake batter. If it’s not, add more water very slowly, until you get the right consistency. Heat oven to 200 degrees and cut off immediately. Grease the bottom of a jelly roll pan, or use parchment paper (or silpat?) or whatever takes your fancy. Pour batter into pan and evenly spread over whole pan. Let rise in warmed oven for 40-50 minutes until bread is puffed up and risen. Remove from oven. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Once oven is preheated, place pan of risen batter back into oven. Bake 11-15 minutes until bread is crispy and lightly browned on top — see top picture! Let bread cool for 15-30 minutes before using for sandwiches or pizza (if making pizza, consider toasting the bread just a bit (perhaps brushed w/ olive oil?).
Behind the curve…
I have been sadly remiss in my updating duties here. So much glorious (and not so glorious) food have I made, and I haven’t told the world a thing.
Hopefully within the next few weeks, I’ll put in some time here, updating with recipes, food experiments, reports of dining out, and new product reviews.
Until then, my faithful…
Recipe – Crispy Roasted Kale
In my recent produce basket from my co-op (which will be getting its own post, soon), we got two large bunches of kale. Organic kale, to boot. (We were out of town for the last normal/conventional distribution date, so I got the organic baskets, which is distributed on opposite weekends (from the conventional).) I’ve never even had kale, so I did what I always do… did a bunch of google searching on recipes. I often do this, and then create my own recipe from all the things I see other people doing. I saw recipes for sauteed kale, stir-fried kale, kale with chicken, kale with bacon and onions… and then I saw it. Roasted kale. Crispy roasted kale. Oh really.
Directions were very simple. Wash, dry, chop, toss with olive oil, bake for 15-20 minutes, take out of oven, sprinkle with salt, nosh to your heart’s content.
In practice, it wasn’t quite so simple. There were a few lessons I learned, so I’m actually going to give you a recipe and instructions, so you can avoid the pitfalls I found. 
Also, there are many permutations of this recipe, which I’ll relate below.
Crispy Roasted Kale
- 1 bunch kale
- 1-2 Tb olive oil (or any other oil you prefer. Adding a little sesame oil to the olive oil could be nice, as could something like hazelnut oil)
- 1-2 tsp lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, or something acidic and mild-flavored (if you’re doing an Asian-themed dinner, you could use unseasoned rice wine vinegar. Italian-themed, use red wine vinegar. I would avoid things like balsamic because of the high sugar content (comparatively) and the strong flavor.)
- 1-2 Tb flavor-some bits of stuff like chopped garlic or crushed red pepper or herbs or whatever takes your fancy
Preheat your oven to 375 F. Before you cut it up, wash your kale and pat it dry (if you have a salad spinner, you can dry after you chop). Chop up kale horizontally in to one-inch bits. If you’re feeling extra-perky and actually care, you can remove the tough, fibrous ribs of the kale before you chop it into bits – you’ll end up with only crispy kale fluff. If you don’t mind a bit of bite to your munchies, don’t remove the center rib. I didn’t, and it was still fine.
Mix your oil and vinegar/lemon juice/whatever in a very large bowl. If adding flavor-y bits, add them here. I think the garlic would make an entirely lovely addition. Add your dry, chopped kale to to the bowl and toss well to coat. I did this step on the baking pan, and really should have done it in the bowl. Work in batches if you need to.
Spread the kale on a large baking sheet, as close to one layer as possible. Because you will be stirring throughout the cooking process, it doesn’t have to be a super thin layer, but you definitely don’t want a mound of oily, mushy kale in the middle of the baking sheet.
DO NOT ADD SALT NOW. If you do, it’ll pull the moisture from the kale leaves, and the stuff will probably steam-cook, rather than crisp up.
Put your kale-laden pan in the oven for 15-20 minutes. Every five minutes or so, stir the kale around to ensure each bit gets equal top-cooking time. If at the end of 15 minutes, you’ve still got some mush, keep cooking. The kale will begin to brown around the edges, and that’s fine. Brown isn’t burnt. Usually.
When everything is happily crisp, remove from oven and immediately give a good dusting of salt. By preference, use a good salt like a celtic sea salt or maladon (which I’ve never used, but is generally highly recommended). Table salt will work in a pinch, though. Remember, you can always add more salt, but it’s damned difficult to remove too much salt.
Commence the nibbling and enjoy.
*Word to the wise – even this method of cooking releases the slightly manky smells common to dark leafy greens. Open a few windows.
Recipe – Bitty (Almond) Butter Brownies
Sometime last week, I stumbled across a recipe for “Gluten Free, Dairy Free Chocolate Chip Brownies” on Elana’s Pantry. Featuring no wheat, no dairy, and a whole lot of almond butter, I had to admit they sounded interesting.
Especially in light of the fact my doctor told me I could have maltitol1 in small quantities (as a result of my recent trip to Sweets Candies). I figured, what better way to give it a shot, and satisfy my poor, neglected chocolate craving?
Friday afternoon, I decided to stop by Whole Foods and pick up a few things. I recently got turned on to Bragg’s Liquid Amino Acids and so picked up a bottle of that. Restocked my wheat-free tamari, picked up a new kind of calendula gel (hopefully minus the yucky chemicals that were in the stuff I used before), found a bar of sugar-free, dairy-free dark chocolate (using maltitol again), and a bottle of faux maple syrup and a bottle of maltitol.
While the original recipe calls for agave syrup, I know that has too much sugar for me at this point. I figured I would substitute in as little maltitol as possible, tasting as I went.
So here’s my take on Elana’s Brownies
- 1 16 oz jar almond butter, smooth roasted and at room temperature (Elana calls for salted, but I’ve never been able to find any)
- 2 eggs
2/3 Cup maltitol (or use whatever sweetener you like/tolerate best) - 1 Tb vanilla extract
- ½ Cup cocoa powder (I used Ghiradelli)
- 1 tsp sea salt (if you have salted almond butter, use 1/2 tsp)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ Cup chocolate bits (chips, or chopped up bar, or whatever you fancy. Use more or less as you like)
(Note – if you are graced with a stand mixer, this is a damned simple operation. If you’re not, like me, there are a few different ways of doing things. The original recipe called for just adding one thing after another. I’m a bit quirky and like adding things in slightly different orders. To be fair, I did it the original way first. Didn’t really care for it. So. I give you my way. )
If it’s a fresh jar, open your almond butter and do a good job of mixing. Most likely, there will be some oil separation (which is completely normal). You want a cohesive butter for this.
In a bowl large enough for everything, beat the eggs until it’s all one nice creamy yellow. Add about half of the almond butter. Mix well. Add the other half. Mix well2 (yes, this is a running theme). Add the vanilla and mix. Add half the sweetener, mix, then add the other half and mix mix mix.
Add your cocoa, baking soda and salt. If you’re really twitchy, you can pre-mix these ingredients before hand to make sure everything is homogenous. You know, if you care. In a normal recipe, I would, but with gluten-free recipes, it doesn’t seem to matter if you beat the heck out of batters – there’s no gluten to get rock hard and turn your biscuits into bricks.
You know what’s next. Mix a whole lot. You want no lumps, no errant color striations, no puddles of mysterious liquid. You want one cohesive batter.
At this point, if you’re not a-feared of salmonella, give the batter a little taste. Remember that baked goods will taste slightly less sweet than their batter. If you need more sweetener, go for it3. If not, proceed to the chocolatization.
Fold in your chocolate chips. If you’re feeling spunky and can handle it, you can find little teeny tiny peanut butter cups (I know Trader Joe’s has them) instead. I used the chocolate bar I’d bought on Friday and chopped it into bits.
Now for the baking. The original recipe calls for a well-greased 9″ x 13″ pan at 325 for 35-40 minutes. I, however, thought I’d be clever. I thought I’d use my mini-muffin tin and have individual brownie bites. Cute, wee, and not nearly as tempting as a whole pan full of brownies. It’s teflon, nothing’s ever stuck to it… until now. I’ve got two dozen bitty brownies languishing, quite stuck, in the pan. And a ziptop bag4 full of brownie batter, waiting to be baked. At this point, I’m letting them cool, at which point they will hopefully contract some and be easier to remove. I hope.
Anyhow, the baking. 325 for 10-15 minutes, if you’re using the mini-muffin tin. 10 if you like the fudgy kind of brownies, 15 if you like them more cakey. The first batch I did at 15, and they’re a little dry. I’m trying 13 11.5 mins for this second batch (also lubed up the pan with some grapeseed oil (the most innocuous oil in the house)).5
(Note – Right, so 11.5 minutes didn’t work out. Too gooey on the bottom. Fudgy doesn’t quite work for this, since there’s nothing holding it together. So it just crumbles like… well, almond butter mixed with a bunch of other stuff. Perhaps next time I will add 1/2 tsp of xanthan gum. I’m putting the pan back in the still-warm oven for 6 minutes. Hopefully they will improve.)
Due to their stuck-in-the-pan problem (quite different from stuck in the mud), I ripped off a few tops and figured I’d have a nibble.
I’m ambivilent. On one hand – OMG YAY CHOCOLATE! On the other hand – the texture is… strange. You must remember that these are not the brownies you know. They are a completely different creature that just happens to look like those coveted, ooey gooey, sinfully delicious dark chocolate truffle brownies you’ve had to give up. In retrospect, I would probably add more cocoa (perhaps 3/4 cup), a little more chocolate chip-ness (2/3 cup?) and a teeny tiny smidgen more salt. One problem I find with all these sugar substitutes is that they ALL lack the depth of flavor that you find in good sugar. They all taste flat and one dimensional. That’s part of what’s missing from this recipe. More depth.
Anyhow, I expect these would do well in regular muffin tins, too. Since they’re a little not-quite-brownie, you could perhaps frost them (I don’t know of any frostings yet that are safe for me) or a glaze or… something.
I did actually take pictures this time, but am feeling lazy (and dear monkeys, it’s gotten late), so will hopefully add them soon-ish.
All in all, I’d make these again, with some more tweaks as I go.
But really, when you haven’t had brownies in six months, these aren’t too bad.
1 I’ve heard some not-good things about maltitol, but that seems like it’s really coming from the “I’m eating sugar free, using this stuff, and I’m still not losing weight, wah wah wah” side. I’m not in this to watch my calories. I’m in this to eat something that won’t cause my body to revolt against me. Counting my calories is not a concern right now. Additionally, be aware that maltitol (as with most sugar alcohols) is a mild laxative. Be careful.
2 and 3; I wish I could tell you what I wanted to footnote. For the life of me, I can’t remember. It’ll come back to me in the middle of the night, I’m sure.
4 You know this trick, right? Use a ziptop bag as an impromptu piping bag. Stuff all your stuff in, snip off a corner (just a small snip), and bloop away. Good for mini muffins, filling anything, gooey cookie batter, pancake/waffle batter, anything. Basically, if it’s a pain in the butt to portion/deal with using spoons and it’s wee-ish? Consider a ziptop bag.
5 Word to the wise – muffin liners would make life -ever- so much easier.
ETA – I think next time I make them, I’ll use hazelnut butter. Cashew butter could probably make nice creamy brownies, too. Oh, the possibilities!
ETA2 – They get better as they age. I’m nibbling on them today, and they’re -much- better than when I first pulled ‘em out of the oven.
ETA3 – When I make these next, I will halve the recipe, but keep the two eggs, for cohesion.
Shopping – Sweets Handmade Candies
I’ve been going to Sweets for a very long time, now. They have some of the best chocolates I’ve found – anywhere. They have two stores, to my knowledge – one in Truckee, CA (their flagship store) and one in Reno, NV.
I had mentioned to my Dad that he should get some of their chocolates for Mom for Valentine’s Day. He ended up getting something somewhere else (probably just a box from the grocery store), but it stuck in my head. So as I was heading up to Reno recently, I figured I’d stop in. Get some tasty, tasty chocolates for my parents and maybe some for our friends Keith and Kristi. Sadly, I forgot the chocolate for K&K, but I’ll remember next time! Anyhow, I got a few Haystacks for my dad (finely shredded and toasted coconut, covered in milk chocolate) and some assorted truffles for them to share. They’ve recently (December 2008) redesigned their truffles from the old, hand-rolled spherical truffles to more art-deco and modern-looking square/cube truffles topped with laquered-looking design pieces. Quite sharp.
It’s not cheap stuff – I’d say I got two Haystacks and ten-ish truffles, for which the bill was about $26. However, it’s always well worth it.
I also got myself a sugar-free dark chocolate truffle. Oh. My. Gods. After being off sugar and chocolates for so long, this was divine. It’s made with malitol, a sugar alcohol, as the sugar substitute. Entirely delicious. My only mistake? Getting only one. Junian said I should go back and get more, but I didn’t want to push my luck. I should have!
I didn’t, however, check the other ingredients, so I’m not sure if they’re wheat/gluten-free, but I suspect they are. Next time I go up, I’ll ask. I also didn’t ask about the dairy content, but at that point in time, I was happy to not know. Bad of me, I know, but I’ve been a little more tolerant of some things, so I thought I’d be all right.
The owner, Becky Cavender, was in the store that day and actually recognized me, even though it had been many years since I’d seen her last. That’s always a nice feeling.
So, if you’re in the area, be sure to stop by! It’s something you don’t want to miss.
Recipe – Everything-Free Bread
I fully admit this is not one of my recipes. But it is the most versatile, reliable and handy bread recipe I’ve found so far.
Gluten-Free Bread Recipe -Gluten-free Focaccia Rolls and Pizza
Text taken directly from their site, ‘cept for my notes.
The following recipe is one that is adaptable for pizza crust, sandwich bread, biscuits and hamburger buns.
- ¾ Cup Brown Rice Flour (Use the finest flour you can find. The first time I made this, I used Arrowhead Falls’ brown rice flour. Very grainy. Second time, used white rice flour from the Asian grocer, and it was loooovely.)
- ½ Cup Tapioca Flour
- ¼ Cup Potato Starch
- 1 Tablespoon Sugar ( I omitted this without problem)
- 2 Teaspoons G/F Baking Powder
- ½ Teaspoon Salt
- ½ Teaspoon Xanthan Gum
- 2 Large Eggs
- ½ Cup Milk (I subbed almond milk with out problems)
- ¼ Cup Canola Oil (Olive oil is perfect here)
Focaccia
A nice way to begin using this recipe is for focaccia, the delicious Italian bread topped with herbs, chopped onions, cheese, olives, or other delicacy. (Div’s note – I made this as little mini-muffins, topped with herbs and red onion. Delish.)
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Prepare a large baking stone or pan using parchment, cooking spray, or a light brushing of cooking oil.
- Combine dry ingredients in the bowl of a large electric mixer.
- Mix together the eggs, milk and canola oil in a smaller bowl.
- With the mixer paddle on a slow speed, add the wet ingredients to the dry, and gradually increase the mixing speed.
- When all lumps are smoothed, turn off mixer, scrape the paddle and empty the contents onto the prepared baking surface. The dough should be of a stiff batter consistency, but not of a kneadable consistency like wheat bread, and you will want to use a rubber spatula to smooth the batter into a circle about one inch in thickness.
- Sprinkle the top with herbs, garlic, cheese or anything that seems pleasant, and place in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and a pick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Serve warm with pesto, marinara, dipping oil, or eat plain. Wrap leftovers tightly in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator.
Pizza
- Preheat oven to 450 F.
- When using the above recipe for pizza, use the same ingredients, but heat the milk to 95°F. Sprinkle the top with one Tablespoon rapid rise yeast and the sugar.
- Let the yeast “proof” for five minutes. The consistency of this dough is stiffer, but still not like that of regular dough.
- Use the same procedure for the focaccia, this time smoothing it to a one-half inch thickness, and omit using parchment. Prebake the crust for 10 minutes, or until the top begins to brown.
- Remove it from the oven, add toppings and return to oven to heat through.
Hamburger Buns
(Div’s note – I made these and they were fabulous. They were ever so slightly dry and crumbly, but it’s everything-free bread, so who cares? I also think these would work better in a hamburger bun ring or something. I made them free form, and they were okay, but a little extra crunchy at the edges. I made up the leftovers as garlic bread… yum!)
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Use the same dry ingredients, adding one extra egg for a total of three to the wet ingredients, and use one tablespoon rapid-rise yeast.
- As with the pizza crust recipe, heat the milk to 95°F.
- Sprinkle one tablespoon of yeast and the sugar on top and proof for five minutes.
- Combine all ingredients.
- Drop by ¼ cup measurements onto a prepared surface, and smooth the individual buns into a nice round shape approximately one inch in thickness.
- Bake 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Loaf Bread
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Use the same recipe for loaf bread as for pizza dough.
- Place the dough into a prepared loaf pan and bake in a preheated 375°F oven for 35-45 minutes. During the last 15 minutes, cover the top with foil to prevent the crust from over-browning.
- Remove from pan immediately, and cool slightly before slicing. Store any unconsumed bread in the refrigerator or freezer.
Drop Biscuits
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Use the unaltered focaccia recipe above.
- Drop the batter by wooden spoon onto the prepared baking pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.
