Pizza Crust

I've been thinking about posting this recipe for awhile, but have had a fire lit under me by a friend who lives in Tucson.  Thanks, Amy!  I don't remember exactly where I got this recipe (somewhere back in the deep, dark days just after the birth of the internet), but it says it's a knock-off of Pizza Hut's crust recipe.  I happen to think it's much, much better.  I've tweaked it a bit and we divide the dough into 12ths for individual pizzas.  [Edit: I miscounted - I split the dough into 16ths.  Those of us with smaller appetites have one, and we have extra for those of us (teen-aged boys) who have huge appetites.)  We also like them thin and crispy, so I roll them out thin with my marble rolling pin.  Since we like it thin, I've cut the yeast in half and we're planning to cut it again (possibly even eliminate it) to see if it makes any difference in the final product.  I'll post the recipe as written with my tweaks in italics.

2 packages dry yeast (I used 2 T instant yeast, but have recently cut back to 1 T and will try 1/2 T tonight)

2/3 C warm water

2 T and 2 tsp sugar, divided

2 C cold water

3 T corn oil (I use olive oil)

1/4 tsp garlic salt (I use fresh chopped garlic.)

1 tsp salt (I like sea salt.)

1/2 tsp oregano (We're big basil fans, so we skip the oregano and use fresh basil if we have enough, or dried basil if we don't.)

6 1/2-7 C all-purpose flour (I don't measure in the Bosch and tonight I'll be using fresh flour, finely-ground from Prairie Gold wheat)

In a large bowl, add 2 tsp sugar to the warm water, then stir yeast into the sugar solution.  Let stand until bubbly (about 5 minutes).  Add the rest of the liquid ingredients.  Add the garlic, salt, and herbs to the liquids.  Slowly add in the flour, mixing well with a wooden spoon after each addition, until you can no longer stir the dough.

Empty dough into a floured counter and begin to knead, adding more flour as necessary.  Knead until the dough is elastic.  Place the dough into a greased or oiled bowl, flip it over so the oil coats the top and cover with a tea towel; let it rise until about doubled in size.  The bowl (if it's heat-proof) can be placed in a warm oven: heat the oven to 150˚, turn it off, then place the dough in the oven.

When dough has doubled in size, oil your fist and punch it down (from here on out, you don't want to add more flour to the dough, so use oil, but a little goes a long way).  Split the dough in two and roll out on oiled counter into two 15" round crusts.  Let rise for 20 minutes.  Bake at 450˚ for 20-25 minutes on oiled pizza pans or stones that have been sprinkled with cornmeal to prevent sticking.

Top your pizza and bake until cheese is melted and toppings look just the way you like them.

The way I do it: place all ingredients except the flour into the bowl of the Bosch with the dough hook.  Mix together and begin adding flour, until it cleans the sides of the bowl.  Knead until the dough is elastic and stretches without breaking (about 10 minutes).  

Divide dough into 12 pieces (some of mine are larger and some are smaller, but my kids are also larger and smaller, so it works).  Roll out each piece very thin; poke holes with a fork to allow steam to escape.  If the dough doesn't want to roll, let it rest for 10-20 minutes, then roll it out.  Grill or bake on pizza stones at 500˚ for about 5 minutes each.  Allow each person to 'decorate' his pizza and place back in the oven (at 400˚) or onto the grill until cheese is melted.  Using a pizza peel, we put the pizzas directly on the oven racks for this second baking or directly on the grill.

Slice and enjoy.

This is a great dish to make when having people over.  Our favorite times of hospitality have been when we've invited new friends over and we put them to work in the kitchen.  It's so fun to cook together.  Working together seems to break down barriers to relationship better than almost anything we know.

SDG!

Resources for Hand Work

Life's been crazy-busy lately, mostly with making Christmas presents and keeping up with school.

The girls and I found a couple of really cool websites that I thought I'd share.

We're learning how to knit. Well, actually Judith and Rebekah are already pretty good at it, but Melody and Eliza are learning and I'm re-learning (my Mémère Bert taught me to cast on, knit, and purl, but I'd forgotten how - it's been so long). This website has been so helpful!  It includes free video instruction for both English style and Continental style.  My mem taught me English style, and when I first tried Continental, I made a big mess.  But there was a scene in an indie movie we watched the other night (review coming soon) that included a woman knitting Continental style and it finally clicked.  I tried it again the next morning and took off.  It's faster than English, so I've been using it for my current, very basic, project with its Christmas deadline.

The other website is also a gem.  More videos, but this time about hand embroidery.  I love my embroidery machine and am using it lots, but there's something about hand embroidery that is just stunning and a lot of stitches just can't be recreated on a machine.  Sometimes you just need a break from the machinery, time to sit with a needle and thread.  I love technology, but there's there's room in the world for both hand and machine work.  Hand work is good for the soul; it slows you down, gives you time to contemplate, and requires a greater time investment - all antidotes to a hurried modern world.  I also think we must work purposely and intentionally to maintain those old skills.  If we lose them, they'll be gone for good.

Last night, Drew and I were chatting with the man who runs the local Viking Sewing Center.  After purchasing some machine embroidery supplies, I asked him if Joann's carried hand embroidery threads (I wasn't expecting beautiful silks, but was hoping for something besides run of the mill floss, and was pleased to find that they did carry some nicer pearl cotton and a tiny bit of very expensive silk - the silk stayed at the store, but I brought home some of the cotton).  He didn't quite understand the attraction of doing it by hand, but told me that he was working on his embroidery software to make it look more like hand work.  But then he shared how astonished he'd been when he was the recipient of a hand-embroidered gift.  He said of the giver, 'It took her three months to embroider it.  She must really care a lot.'  There is something about an investment of time and effort that speaks deeply to the heart.

SDG!

The Amazing Race

The Amazing Race is one of those television shows that the actors' unions hate because it uses real people instead of employing actors.  I'm not a big fan of reality television, but we watched this the other day, for the first time, and I found it fascinating to watch the different teams and their greatly different relationships.

One team, 'The Frat Boys', were an object lesson in how not to work toward a goal with someone else.  I wanted to slap one of them upside the head.  All he did was to complain, complain, and complain some more, especially when his partner tried to push him to greater heights.  His self-centeredness blazed out in neon color.  His partner did his best to encourage him to give of himself, but he would have none of it.  He had entered this contest to try to win a million dollars, but viewed the challenges as inconveniences and burdens. He wasn't focused on the goal, but was distracted by how he felt and 'how a team is supposed to work' - meaning how a team is supposed to feel and that he wasn't feeling the right way (obviously his partner's fault).  

Another team stood out in sharp contrast.  A brother and sister team who were single-minded in pursuing their goal.  When one sacrificed, the other was full of encouragement and willingness to sacrifice alongside.  They didn't make excuses, but worked shoulder-to-shoulder to achieve their goal.  They were truly comrades in arms, pushing each other on toward the goal.  Because they weren't fixating on feeling like a team, they achieved the unity and likemindedness that the other team only dreamed of.

The second team 'ran toward the roar' of battle.  Instead of holding back, hesitating, allowing themselves to become distracted by irrelevancies, they pressed on boldly.  

Oh, and by the way, they won that leg of the race.

SDG!

Home...from the CiRCE/ClassEd Conference!

Well, it's not officially called the "CiRCE/Classed Conference", but it might as well have been. It was officially CiRCE's "A Celebration of Knowledge". Let me 'splain...no, there is too much, let me sum up. As I sit and simply let the memories wash over me, this is what comes to mind:

• meeting old friends for the first time
• the nervousness of first meeting melting away in a heartbeat, a smile, or a hug
• finally understanding what it would have been like to have come from a large family of sisters
• adjoining rooms ("the suite")
• The Wild Bunch
• being on vacation at a business conference
• "Oh!"
• life-changing pork chops
• "I didn't know Elvis sold Mary Kay!"
• asking Vigen Guroian how to pronounce "Vigen Guroian"
• Miss Rhode Island, the Patron Saint of the ??? family
• a 1-pound ferret named Jamie
• finishing each other's sentences
• throwing out a one-liner and not killing the conversation while everyone stops to think about what I meant and decide if it requires some sort of thoughtful response
• laughing so much I now have a bit of a sore throat and my diaphragm hurts
• discovering what being a moderator means in real life
• chocolate raspberry brownies
• missing my good camera (I'm taking it next year!)
• seeing the hotel, but not being able to figure out how to actually get there and driving into a construction site instead
• bump-bump ... bump-bump ... bump-bump ... "Oh, those are speed bumps. I should probably slow down."
• after having met face to face only 48 hours before: "Let me have your purse." "Sure!"
• wine-tasting
• taking over Martin's colloquy and the look on his face when he walked into the room
• reading each other's faces across the table
• The Pseudo-Monthly Meditation
• A Celebration of Chocolate
• deep conversations with Jenny in the bathroom while putting makeup on
• 4 to 5 hours' sleep each night
• pajama party - hey, at least I had my jammies on!
• shattering my Adagio mug on the bathroom floor
• fooling everyone into thinking my felt blanket was really a shawl
• sharing passions, not just talking at someone about my passion
• discussing rashes, school, kids, literature, philosophy, theology, ideas, and everything under the sun - all with the same people and at the same time
• a whole flock of odd ducks
• amazing food
• books, books, books!!!!
• trying to lug all the books through two airports
• trading my bags for sweet, 4 month old Lily and getting the much better end of the deal
• the Andrew Kern action figure
• several "threads" going on at the same time in the hotel lobby
• "If a session wasn't recorded, did it happen?"
• volunteering to be the laugh-track for Martin's re-recorded non-session
• colloquies at the hotel: in the lobby, the hallways, the elevator, the rooms - but they weren't recorded, so did they really happen?
• Martin's own phone ringing in the middle of his non-session (We think Andrew was calling him.)
• what CiRCE really means
• coaching Sheri as she birthed our arrival at the airport
• being called "young ladies"!!!
• actually having loved ones see me off at the gate
• arriving at the airport here at home and gradually realizing that not only did Drew come as expected, but my whole family was there, including Gillian
• giving Gill her mom's hug while it was still fresh
• flowers, perfume, and a card awaiting me on my nightstand
• burdens lifted
• inspiration and challenge
• refreshment: spiritual, intellectual, emotional, and physical
• leisure
• joy
• training my affections to love that which is objectively good

I can't really describe all that happened. I feel so full right now in every way. God is too good to me to give me such precious friends and these last few days with them.

It will take weeks or months or years or a whole lifetime to digest all that I heard, and I'm looking forward to many conversations over the next year about the nature of our students and how to teach to that nature, what "underwritten" in Martin's quote really means, reminders that schola means "learned leisure", and that I ate a life-changing pork chop.