Homemade Butter

I had this idea a year ago to learn how to make my own butter. Don't ask me why -- I was on a huge homemade kick, and I had a lot of heavy cream that was about to go sour, so I came up with making my own butter. With modern technology, making your own butter is a snap, and it's much tastier than the storebought sticks. Homemade butter can also be customized: you can make herbed butters and honey butters easily, adding the ingredients (chives, parsley, sugar, garlic, etc.) while the butter is being worked, so the flavors will meld and be more pronounced. It really is the perfect accompaniment to homemade bread.

Note: You will need a food processor to make homemade butter, or there will be a lot of mixing/shaking. 

Ingredients:

Recipe makes about 1/2 cup of butter, but can be easily doubled or tripled.

 

1 cup heavy whipping cream

sea salt (optional)

Optional mix-ins:

1 tsp powdered garlic

1 tsp parsley

1/2 tbsp honey

1 tsp sugar

Pour the whipping cream into the food processor, and turn on high, running until the liquid becomes nice and thick. 

The liquid will become solid, and will separate, leaving a liquid substance. It usually takes about 8 minutes to mix enough to separate. 

Drain the buttermilk, and reserve, if desired, for buttermilk recipes. Scrape the solid butter out, and place in a bowl for rinsing and working. 

Pour about a cup of water over the butter, and using a potato masher or two large forks, press the butter, working out any excess liquid. Drain the liquid, and repeat this step until the water is clear (should take about 3 rinses). 

After the butter has been worked, mix in a 1/2 tablespoon of the sea salt, if desired. Without the salt, the butter will have a sweet, light taste. Using the forks, work in the salt, and place in a container. Butter will keep for about two weeks in the fridge, or 6 months in the freezer. Can also be placed in a butter bell to remain soft. 

Easy Pizza Dough

Pizza is one of my favorite foods -- it's inexpensive, easy, and incredibly versatile. It's a great party food: you can load it up with any assortment of toppings to please anyone's preferences. While I love delivery and adore chomping on big slices from a pizza parlor, there is just something extra-special about the homemade variety. You can customize it with toppings without breaking the bank (it's incredible to me how much the shops charge to do half pepperoni and half mushroom!), and you can control the ingredients to keep it as healthy or not (!) as you'd like.

The biggest challenge to making homemade pizza is the crust. I know that supermarkets sell many choices for pre-made pizza crusts, but these can be costly and can contain a lot of preservatives and oils that are not so healthy. Another great thing about making your own crust is that you can truly make it your own. You can substitute wheat flour for white, add herbs, garlic, cheese, whatever your taste. This crust is flavorful, versatile, and most importantly, insanely easy. This crust is also awesome for making strombolis, calzones, and breadsticks at home!

Makes 1 15-inch crust:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup warm water
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp yeast
2 tbsp granulated garlic (optional, but recommended)

**OPTIONAL**
Substitute 2 cups of wheat flour for the AP flour for a hardier, healthier crust
Substitute 2 cups of bread flour for the AP flour for an even puffier crust
Add 1 tsp oregano, basil, or Italian seasoning to the mix for a little extra flavor
Add 2 tbsp of grated parmesean cheese to the mix for more salty, cheesy flavor
Press 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella into the crust when shaping it for more gooey cheese and the "stuffed crust" effect

Combine the yeast and warm water in a small bowl and let sit for 10 minutes to wake up. Mix the remaining dry ingredients in a large bowl. When the yeast mixture has sat for the allotted time, use a spoon to mix with the dry ingredients and olive oil until the dough is well mixed and pulls from the sides of the bowl. Shape it into a ball, spray a clean bowl with cooking spray. Place the dough into the bowl, flip once. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let rise for 30 minutes.

While the dough is rising, heat the oven to 425 degrees.

When dough has risen, spray a pizza sheet or stone with cooking spray, then work the dough into a flat circle (or square, if you prefer). Bake for 5 minutes.

Pull out the dough and top with desired toppings, placing the toppings first, then cheese. Return to the oven. When cheese is melted and beginning to brown, it is ready!

Country Buttermilk Biscuits

I know, I know! More biscuits? I promise this recipe is easier than the previous recipe -- it only has three ingredients! These biscuits are a bit more sturdy, however; they're not rock-solid or anything, but are more like the biscuits that you'd get a a Bob Evans. These can be made as drop biscuits or rolled out and cut for a uniform shape. These are great to use in egg sandwiches!

As I posted in my cornbread recipe, buttermilk is a critical flavor ingredient to this recipe, so it cannot be substituted.

Ingredients -- makes about 9 large biscuits

2 cups + 2 tbsp self-rising flour
3/4 cup buttermilk
6 tbsp salted butter

Heat the oven to 425 degrees.

Place the flour into a bowl, and slowly cut in the margarine, working in with a dough blender. If you have a KitchenAid mixer, use the dough hook, and slowly cut in the margarine as it mixes. I highly recommend that you invest in a dough blender (pictured below). It is worth the investment if you plan on baking any sort of pastry, scones, biscuits, etc. They are about $12 US. However, you can use a large fork, and I've even used my hands to mash the butter into the flour! The dough (or pastry) blender makes things a little simpler.

After mixing the butter in, add the buttermilk slowly, blending with the flour/margarine mixture as you add.

 

When the dough pulls away from the sides and the ingredients are mixed, place the dough onto a well-floured surface. Flour your hands, and turn the dough a couple of times until it is smooth. Use a rolling pin (or a heavy glass if you don't have one), and roll out the dough. Use a biscuit cutter or glass and cut out the biscuits.Place on a baking sheet.

 If you prefer drop biscuits, do not knead or roll out the dough, simply scoop them from the bowl onto a baking sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes, remove from oven, allowing to cool for a couple of minutes before transferring to a plate. Serve warm. Will keep for 2 days in an airtight container. To warm, pop in the oven for 5 minutes at 350 degrees.

No-knead bread -- Step-by-Step

I make the Mark Bittman recipe for No-Knead bread at least once a week. We use it as our everyday sliced bread for sandwiches, toast -- every dish where sliced bread is a component. The fresh, soft bread makes sandwiches so much better, and the lack of preservatives is much better for us.

The recipe is very easy, and forgiving -- you can let the bread rise for as little as 8 hours or as much as 24 hours -- the bread turns out just fine both ways. One major difference in my method versus the method described in the original recipe is the pan in which the bread is baked -- I use a small glass loaf pan that enables a nice, standard sandwich shape, allowing the bread to be used in an everyday fashion, rather than the round that comes from the original recipe, which is great as a sliced dinner bread, but not so much for other uses.

I'll begin with the recipe, then describe with pictures how I prepare this wonderful recipe.

Makes 1 small loaf.

1 1/2 cup wheat flour
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp yeast
1 5/8 cup water

Mix all dry ingredients together, then add the water. Mix until all dry bits are wet, and a sticky, tattered dough forms.  Leave in the bowl, and cover with plastic wrap. Let sit for 8-24 hours.

Usually, I set this up in the morning, and let it sit all day, or conversely, set it up after dinner, then let it sit all night and bake it up the next day.

When the dough is ready (it will look smooth and bubbly, as shown in the picture), set up a large cutting board and dust it with flour or cornmeal (both work just fine, but cornmeal does leave a coating on the bread). Wet your hands; it will make working with the dough very easy.


Remove the plastic wrap -- do not discard, you will need it for the next step -- and dump the dough onto the cutting board, pulling the leftover bits with your wet hands. Pick up the back of the dough and pull it towards yourself, then turn it over once, coating with flour. Leave it on the board and re-cover with the plastic wrap. Let it sit for 15 minutes.

Flour (or dust with cornmeal) a pillowcase dish cloth (do not use terry, it will make a HUGE mess), and lay out flat on the counter. Wet your hands again, and remove the plastic wrap. Quickly work the dough into a ball (but if you can't, not a big deal) and transfer it onto the floured cloth.

Cover with the fabric, and let it sit for 2 more hours. The bread will get bigger, and will be unsticky to the touch when it is ready.

After about an hour, heat the over to 450 degrees, and when it is ready, place the baking pan into it to preheat for 30 minutes.

Using oven mittens, carefully pull out the pan, and dump the dough into it (it will sizzle!). Spray a piece of aluminum foil with cooking spray, and carefully place on top. Bake for 18 minutes.

Pull out the bread, remove the foil, and bake for another 10 minutes. (I love oven timers!)

While the bread is baking, prepare a cooling rack (I put a towel under mine to catch any crumbs). When the bread is finished, carefully remove it from the oven, and dump it onto the rack for cooling. It will pop out usually, but if it sticks a little, run a dinner knife around the edges to loosen.

Let the bread cool for 30 minutes, then slice and enjoy!