Thin Whole Wheat Pizza

Thin and crisp, it's the pizza that you asked for ^^.

Tiramisu (No cheese version): Easy happy treat!

I have a mood for Tiramisu, and you may know that mine have to loaded with Coffee liqueur, haha.

Rice Pizza: Super quick, and easy pizza

 You don't have to knead to make this pizza, plus it doesn't need yeast, or oven too ^^.

FOCACCIA BREAD

 My sister loves eating bread more than cake ^^, and this one is a request from her. 

Red curry Lasagne

 Even I love to eat mild flavour food, curry is one of my favourite dish too.

Spaghetti carbonara: easy comfort food

 This is one of my niece's favourite (actually everything with cheese in the ingredient list is OK, for her, haha).

Easy Stove top Pizza: no Oven needed!

 This recipe is one of many (many, many) recipes that I want to make a long time ago.

Cold Pasta with fresh tomatoes and Mozzarella cheese

 I come to stay with my sister in UK for 10 days by now, and yes the most important activity that I do is eating, haha

Baking powder Pizza: Easy to make comfort food

Pizza is comfort food for many people ^^ included me. Flour and cheese, you don't need anything much to make it delicious.

Sunday Sabayon with Strawberries

I went to Hilton Sukumvit Hotel with my sister for Italian cooking class on August 26th. ^^

Spaghetti with Pesto Sauce: Today's quick and delicious lunch

 After I told my brother a long time ago that I want him to grow sweet basil for me, finally I got it in my backyard ^^.

Happy Cooking with LG SolarDom: Spaghetti meat sauce

Baking and cooking always make me happy, I love to try new recipes and new method for cooking too.

Easy Minestrone Soup

Simple food is not only good for saving time, but it makes you feel relaxing too. You don't need to prepared anything much, something in your fridge and your cupboard is enough.

Super Creamy and Comfy Courgette Carbonara

I can't remember the first time that I ate Creamy spaghetti Carbonara, well, it must be a long time ago, ^^. I don't know the time, but one thing that I'm sure, I like the taste of it.

Happy Cooking with LG SolarDom: Sausage Doria

After having a cup of cooked rice, it will be good to turn it into something more delicious ^^.

Nutty Biscotti: Keep it or give it!

 Biscotti, the cookie that's so dry and hard ^^, but dip it into your coffee and let it soak, it will be soft and become so delicious that you might want more and more. 

Double delicious, Rich but light with Italian style cake

How can this cake is so delicious? This is the question that my friend asked me, well, how could I know because she told me after she baking it but I still don't have a chance to bake it!

When I told her that I never made this before, she just ordered me "Bake it now!, and you will understand what I say". So, I baked it (well, I was curious, ^ ^), and I found it's very delicious too.
The cake consists of the delicious ingredients, chocolate and hazelnut and this cake is good for the people who can't eat the gluten too, because there is no flour in the cake.
You might think that the cake will be heavy because there are a lot of nut and butter in the cake but the result is astonishing, it's light and you can finish one piece without feeling heavy at all. It's very easy to make too, start by grinding the hazelnut with the chocolate and butter and mix with the egg yolks, then the whipped egg white will lighten the texture of the cake.
The skin of the hazelnut can be the secret, because the little bitterness of it make the flavor of the cake more balance.
The recipe comes from one of my favorite book this book is very good for anyone who love to bake (haha, the name already said it all). Most of the recipe are reliable, and easy to follow too.
After reading this you might feel a bit curious about the deliciousness of this cake too, so I think it will be good if you just feed your curiosity by baking it! You will love it too.

Italian Hazelnut Cake
Serve 6-8

200g (7oz) hazelnuts(with skins on)
1 tsp baking powder
50g dark chocolate
100g (3½ oz) butter,softened
5 eggs, separated
175g (6oz) caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

20cm (8 inch) diameter spring-form/loose-bottomed tin or 16 heart pan(6x5cm / pieces)
Preheat the oven to 170°C (325°F), Gas mark 3. Butter and line the sides and base of the cake tin with greaseproof paper.


Grind the hazelnuts with the baking powder and dark chocolate in a food processor until fine. Add the butter and combine.

Place the egg yolks in the bowl of an electric food mixer or use a hand-held electric beater. Add the sugar and whisk until the mixture become slightly ‘moussey’ and the mix holds a trail when you lift the beater. Add the hazelnut mixture and the vanilla extract and whisk until combined.

Whisk the egg whites and salt together in a large, spotlessly clean bowl until stiff peaks form, then gently fold into the nut mixture in three stages so as not to deflate the whites. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin, smooth the surface and bake in the oven for 55-70 minutes (if using small pan baking for 35-40 minutes)or until the cake feels firm and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.The mixture is quite delicate so don’t be tempted to open the oven until close to the end of the cooking time. Allow to cool in the tin for 15 minutes, then very gently ease the sides of the cake out of the tin using a palette knife. Remove the base after another 15 minutes and leave to cool before cutting into slices.

Double delicious, Rich but light with Italian style cake

Tiramisu, I fall in love with it, again and again ^ ^

After I posted the lady finger recipe, many people told me, they wanted the Tiramisu recipe. Actually I already posted it in my blog (it's a long time ago, you can see here), but there a little problem with the last recipe, it uses only 125g of mascarpone cheese, when most of the package come in 250g.

So, it will be better if you can use all the cheese at once, haha, and the other benefit is this Tiramisu has a longer life in the fridge. The last recipe uses many eggs (5 of it) and has a very light texture, that is very good if you can finish the dish in 1-2 days otherwise the lightness will gone.

This recipe use only 2 egg, and a lot of cheese, ^ ^, so the texture is a bit denser but the taste is more intense too.
But as a tiramisu follower, I love this recipe too (or, you can say that I love tiramisu anyway, haha), the cream is not too sweet, most of the sweetness comes from the cheese itself.
You can use any kind of the glasses or if you feel a bit lazy, just use one 15X24cm pan. As always I don't use cocoa powder to sprinkle over the top of the tiramisu, but if you like, it's up to you ^ ^.
This time because I got the Savoiardi biscuit at home, so I use it without baking the lady finger by myself, but if you don't have (or don't want to go out to buy it), you can bake by yourself, just follow the recipe here.

I can't promise you that it is the last recipe for the Tiramisu in my blog, as I say, I fall in love with this dessert over and over again.

the Savoiardi biscuit

Tiramisu
Serves 5-6 people
(depend on the glasses that you use)

250g	Mascarpone Cheese
2	Egg yolks
2	Egg Whites
50g	sugar
50ml + 1tsp	Kahlua® or other brand coffee liqueur
150ml	Strong black coffee
	Sponge fingers
	Dark chocolate for grating

Beat egg yolks and 25g of the sugar in a large bowl. Add the mascarpone and 1 tsp of coffee liqueur, mixing gently until just combined.
Note from dailydelicious: When mixing the cheese and egg, folding by using the spatula is the better way to smoothen the cheese without breaking down the fat.

Beat egg whites with 25g of the sugar in a medium bowl until medium stiff peaks form.

Using a large metal spoon or rubber spatula, gently fold egg whites into the mascarpone mixture.

Pour coffee into a cup with 50ml of coffee liqueur. Soak the sponge fingers into the coffee mixture.

Add a layer of soaked sponge fingers; Add a layer of mascarpone mixture to cover the soaked sponge fingers. Add another layer of soaked sponge fingers; Cover the top with the rest of the mascarpone mixture.
Dust generously with grated chocolate. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Tiramisu, I fall in love with it, again and again ^ ^

Tortano: Italian Bread with Ham, Cheese and Olive Filling!

Ham and cheese again ^ ^, couldn't help if I have a lot of this combination in my blog haha! Because they are so good together, right?

This time, the dough is the Italian bread that uses durum flour which gives the bread a golden color and good crumb. The filling is the combination of ham, mozzarella cheese, olive and basil (actually, I think there could be a lot of possibility, sauté onion can be great too, or fill it up with whatever your heart desired ^ ^. But beware of the saltiness of the filling, as the dough is a bit salty, or you can reduce the salt from 1 tbsp to 2 tsp, and your bread will raise a bit faster than the giving time.)

If you don't have the durum flour, you can use all bread flour, but the texture of the bread will be more like foccacia.

Anyway, this bread is really great esp. when you going to a picnic, because the dough cover all the filling inside, just slice it when you ready to eat, and enjoy the freshness and deliciousness of this bread.

Tortano: Italian Bread with Ham, Cheese and Olive Filling
Makes 1 loaf

7g	Instant yeast
300 ml (1/2 pint)	Tepid water
2 tablespoons	Olive oil
1 tablespoon	Honey
1 tablespoon	Flaked salt
150 g (5 oz)	Durum wheat flour
270 g (9 1/2 oz)	Bread flour
FILLING
200 g (7 oz)	Mozzarella cheese
200 g (7 oz)	Ham
	1 handful of pitted olives
	1 bunch of fresh basil

Put the bread flour, durum flour and yeast in a bowl, whisk to combine, add and salt whisk again. Pour the liquids mixture into the bowl.

Use large spoon (or pastry scraper) to mix everything together, and knead briefly to bring all the ingredients together.
Take the dough out of the bowl and knead.

Knead by using the heel of your hands to compress and push the dough away from you, then fold it back over itself (see the picture here). Give the dough a little turn and repeat. Put the weight of your body into the motion and get into a rhythm. Keep folding over and compressing the dough.

Knead for 10-15 minutes or until the dough is soft, pliable, smooth and slightly shiny, almost satiny, the dough will stop sticking to your hand but it will be a bit blister from the grain of the durum flour.

Cover the bowl with a tea towel and leave the dough to prove for about 30 minutes.

Press the dough into a rectangle about 1 cm (1/2 in) thick. Don’t roll it as then the air trapped in the dough wilt be squeezed out.

Place the mozzarella cheese and put in layers with the hams, olives and basil on top of the dough.
Brush the edges with water and roll up the dough as you would a Swiss roll. Shape it into a circle.

Preheat the oven to 250°C/500°F/9as 10.

Put the loaf onto a baking sheet lined with greaseproof paper, and leave to prove under a tea towel for about 30 minutes.

Put the bread in the oven, then reduce the temperature to 200°C/400°F/gas 6 and bake for 20—25 minutes or until golden brown.

Tortano: Italian Bread with Ham, Cheese and Olive Filling!

October 2008 Daring Bakers Challenge #23: Bake Your Pizzas Like A Real Pizzaiolo

I made this recipe many times before, and I really love this recipe. So, when I see the challenge for this month, I feel happy.
I rarely buy pizza from the store lately (except for the very lazy days ^ ^"). Home made pizza is very pleasing, the crust is up to your taste and the topping is excellence. You can choose everything that you like, any kinds of ham and cheese, even the book suggests less topping is more delicious, I still believe it's up to your taste.
For this time I made full recipe, but I kept the other half for simple foccacia (I didn't take the photograph). The topping for my pizza is so easy, it's a tomato pasata with a bit of Italian seasoning, then top up with pepperoni and cheese. But as I always say I love creation, so I don't think you have to follow me. There are many variation which you can make, just try and taste, but I believe that you will find it easy to make and you will do it again.
This recipe is very easy esp. when you use the stand mixer, because all you have to do is mix and put it in the fridge, and the next day you will have a tasty pizza dough waiting for you.

~ BASIC PIZZA DOUGH ~
Original recipe taken from
The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread by Peter Reinhart
Makes 6 pizza crusts (about 9-12 inches/23-30 cm in diameter)

BASIC PIZZA DOUGH -Ingredients:

4 1/2 Cups (20 1/4 ounces/574 g)	bread flour
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

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 about 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.

October 2008 Daring Bakers Challenge #23:
Bake Your Pizzas Like A Real Pizzaiolo