Thursday 29 May 2014

~ BASIC PIZZA DOUGH ~


Original recipe taken from “The Bread Baker’s Apprentice” by Peter Reinhart.
Makes 6 pizza crusts (about 9-12 inches/23-30 cm in diameter).
Ingredients:
4 1/2 Cups (20 1/4 ounces/607.5 g) Unbleached high-gluten (%14) bread flour or all purpose flour, chilled – 
1 3/4 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Instant yeast
1/4 Cup (2 ounces/60g) Olive oil or vegetable oil
1 3/4 Cups (14 ounces/420g or 420ml) Water, ice cold (40° F/4.5° C)
1 Tb sugar
Semolina/durum flour or cornmeal for dusting
~ Day One ~
Method:
1. Mix together the flour, salt and instant yeast in a big bowl (or in the bowl of your stand mixer).
2. Add the oil, sugar and cold water and mix well (with the help of a large wooden spoon or with the paddle attachment, on low speed) in order to form a sticky ball of dough. On a clean surface, knead for about 5-7 minutes, until the dough is smooth and the ingredients are homogeneously distributed. If it is too wet, add a little flour (not too much, though) and if it is too dry add 1 or 2 teaspoons extra water.
NOTE: If you are using an electric mixer, switch to the dough hook and mix on medium speed for the same amount of time.The dough should clear the sides of the bowl but stick to the bottom of the bowl. If the dough is too wet, sprinkle in a little more flour, so that it clears the sides. If, on the contrary, it clears the bottom of the bowl, dribble in a teaspoon or two of cold water. The finished dough should be springy, elastic, and sticky, not just tacky, and register 50°-55° F/10°-13° C.
3. Flour a work surface or counter.  Line a jelly pan with baking paper/parchment. Lightly oil the paper.
4. With the help of a metal or plastic dough scraper, cut the dough into 6 equal pieces (or larger if you want to make larger pizzas).
NOTE: To avoid the dough from sticking to the scraper, dip the scraper into water between cuts.
5. Sprinkle some flour over the dough. Make sure your hands are dry and then flour them.  Gently round each piece into a ball.
NOTE: If the dough sticks to your hands, then dip your hands into the flour again.
6. Transfer the dough balls to the lined jelly pan and mist them generously with spray oil. Slip the pan into plastic bag or enclose in plastic food wrap.
7. Put the pan into the refrigerator and let the dough rest overnight or for up to thee days.
NOTE: You can store the dough balls in a zippered freezer bag if you want to save some of the dough for any future baking. In that case, pour some oil (a few tablespooons only) in a medium bowl and dip each dough ball into the oil, so that it is completely covered in oil. Then put each ball into a separate bag. Store the bags in the freezer for no longer than 3 months. The day before you plan to make pizza, remember to transfer the dough balls from the freezer to the refrigerator.
~ Day Two ~
8. On the day you plan to eat pizza, exactly 2 hours before you make it, remove the desired number of dough balls from the refrigerator. Dust the counter with flour and spray lightly with oil. Place the dough balls on a floured surface and sprinkle them with flour. Dust your hands with flour and delicately press the dough into disks about 1/2 inch/1.3 cm thick and 5 inches/12.7 cm in diameter. Sprinkle with flour and mist with oil. Loosely cover the dough rounds with plastic wrap and then allow to rest for 2 hours.
9. At least 45 minutes before making the pizza, place a baking stone on the lower third of the oven.  Preheat the oven as hot as possible (500° F/260° C).
NOTE: If you do not have a baking stone, then use the back of a jelly pan. Do not preheat the pan.
10. Generously sprinkle the back of a jelly pan with semolina/durum flour or cornmeal. Flour your hands (palms, backs and knuckles). Take 1 piece of dough by lifting it with a pastry scraper. Lay the dough across your fists in a very delicate way and carefully stretch it by bouncing it in a circular motion on your hands, and by giving it a little stretch with each bounce. Once the dough has expanded outward, move to a full toss.
NOTE: Make only one pizza at a time.  During the tossing process, if the dough tends to stick to your hands, lay it down on the floured counter and reflour your hands, then continue the tossing and shaping.
In case you would be having trouble tossing the dough or if the dough never wants to expand and always springs back, let it rest for approximately 5-20 minutes in order for the gluten to relax fully, then try again.
You can also resort to using a rolling pin, although it isn’t as effective as the toss method.
11. When the dough has the shape you want (about 9-12 inches/23-30 cm in diameter – for a 6 ounces/180g piece of dough), place it on the back of the jelly pan, making sure there is enough semolina/durum flour or cornmeal to allow it to slide and not stick to the pan.
12. Lightly top it with sweet or savory toppings of your choice.
NOTE: Remember that the best pizzas are topped not too generously. No more than 3 or 4 toppings (including sauce and cheese) are sufficient.
13. Slide the garnished pizza onto the stone in the oven or bake directly on the jelly pan. Close the door and bake for abour 5-8 minutes.
NOTE: After 2 minutes baking, take a peek. For an even baking, rotate 180°.
If the top gets done before the bottom, you will need to move the stone or jelly pane to a lower shelf before the next round. On the contrary, if the bottom crisps before the cheese caramelizes, then you will need to raise the stone or jelly.
14. Take the pizza out of the oven and transfer it to a cutting board or your plate. In order to allow the cheese to set a little, wait 3-5 minutes before slicing or serving.
So far, I’ve made three of the six pizzas, and they’ve all been really great!  Like I mentioned earlier, I’ve had problems with the dough becoming too thin when I toss it, but the flavor of the crust has really been superb!
I normally bake on parchment paper directly on the baking stone.  I use parchment paper rather than dusting the peel with cornmeal because it just seems less messy!  But since the recipe specified using cornmeal or semolina to dust the the pizza peel, I did use that method for my first pizza:

This dough was hand tossed but it had to be tossed several times because it kept flying off to the side and landing in a crumpled mess.  I eventually got something that resembled the shape of a pizza and quickly transferred it to the cornmeal-dusted pizza peel.  I topped it with a garlic cream sauce, grated mozzarella, goat cheese, artichoke hearts, and toasted pine nuts.  These were ingredients that I just happened to have on hand.
I slid the pizza onto the stone in my oven that had been preheated to 550 degrees.  I’m pretty sure my oven never reached 550 degrees, but it was pretty hot.  Here you can see the pizza on the stone, viewed through the dirty glass on my oven door!
It took only about six minutes to bake, and the result was gorgeous (and delicious)!

Monday 26 May 2014

Bizzy B's Buzz

Bizzy B Header

COMING UP AT THE HIVE
Our June classes and events have been added to the calendar. Click HERE to have a look. Give us a call to sign up at 416-203-0433. We'd love to see you!

Tomorrow, we have our monthly Christmas Club. It's a great opportunity for you to work on seasonal projects such as gifts for next Christmas or scrapbooks about previous Christmases! It's free, too! All you need to do is call to let us know you are coming.

Scroll down to take a peek at next week's schedule.

NEXT WEEK AT BIZZY B'S:


We have lots in store for you! Be sure to sign up at least 3 days in advance for any of our classes or events to secure your spot. See our calendar for details about any of our classes and events HERE. 

Sunday, May 25
Christmas Club
12:30 - 4:30

Thursday, May 29
Just Cards
7:00 - 9:00

Friday, May 30
Advanced Scrapbooking
7:00 - 9:00

Saturday, May 31
We welcome SOS for their playday (this is a private function for members of SOS, but the store will be open as usual during the event)


Tuesday 20 May 2014

Body & Soul Massage Therapy

http://www.bodyandsoultherapy.ca/promotions.html

Body and Soul Therapy

Toronto Location

2195A Bloor Street West

Toronto, ON M6S 1N2

Phone: (416) 761-9000

Fax: (416) 761-9350

info@bodyandsoultherapy.ca


Etobicoke Location

1 The East Mall Cres. #201A

Etobicoke, ON M9B 6G8

Phone: (416) 237-0005

Fax: (416) 237-0006

etobicoke@bodyandsoultherapy.ca

Wednesday 14 May 2014

1-800 RID-OF-IT

Top 10 Reasons Why You Should Get 1-800 RID-OF-IT    Junk Removal For Your Valentine.
   1) "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication" Leonardo Da Vinci;  women
         hate excess baggage
         2) Unlike chocolate it is calorie free; so guilt free
         3) Lasts longer than flowers
         4) Clear The Clutter and Free the Heart
         5) Free and Open Space is liberating
         6) It has no sentimental value; only she is worth keeping
         7) She should be at the top of the pile not your junk
         8) De-Cluttering will reduce house work by 30-40%; leaving more time
             to be with each other.
         9) The price did not go up just for today ; Same great price and
              same great service
10) An Ex Gave it to you!!

MAKE LIFE BETTER
(Wise words to GET 1-800 RID-OF-IT now)
   
 "Less is more." -Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
 "Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful." -William Morris
 You've got to accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative." -Johnny Mercer
"The joy of giving is indeed a pleasure, especially when you get rid of something you don't want." -Frank Butler and Frank Cavett, "Going My Way"
  
   

Monday 12 May 2014

Mother Earth Living

Eating well doesn’t have to cost you a fortune. Make your money go further while boosting your family’s nutrition with our guide to eating healthy on a budget. http://bit.ly/1nx4Cc



Tuesday 6 May 2014

Ooey-gooey goodness returning to Midland

Second annual butter tart festival slated for June 14

Midland Mirror




MIDLAND – Ontario’s Best Butter Tart Festival in downtown Midland next month will be a feast for the senses.
At least 50,000 ooey-gooey tarts will be ready for eating. A barbecue “ribfest” at The Boathouse Eatery will also be held in conjunction with the June 14 event.
In other words, get those wet wipes and elastic-waistband pants ready.







Ooey-gooey goodness returning to Midland

Thursday 1 May 2014

Award Ceremony to Recognize Etobicoke Volunteers





207 Etobicoke residents will receive the Ontario Volunteer Service Award for their dedication and continuous years of service to local organizations.



Date:               Thursday, May 1, 2014

Time:               7:30 p.m

Location:         The Old Mill Inn
                        21 Old Mill Rd
                        Toronto           


Filming and photos are permitted during the ceremony.


A complete list of local volunteers being recognized is available at Ontario.ca/honoursandawards.