Delicious Multi-Grain Sourdough Pizza Dough

Homemade pizza makes a regular rotation at our house. The kids love to top their own. They put the pepperoni on so that it makes a smiley face and they can put as little or as much sauce on as they like. I usually like to top my pizza with healthier toppings like roasted red peppers and mushrooms and other vegetables. Sometimes I use basil pesto in place of traditional pizza sauce. The possibilities are endless when you make your own pizza.

When I came across this recipe for multi-grain pizza dough, I thought I'd try it and see if I could make the kids' pepperoni pizza a little bit healthier too. It's a gamble - you just never know if the kids will go for it, or if they'll turn their noses up at a healthier version of the original, push their plates aside, and promptly ask for ice cream for dessert.

This time the gamble was worth it, because we all loved this pizza dough.  The flavor was wonderful and it baked up beautifully. I like it too, because it creates a use for the unfed sourdough starter in my fridge that would otherwise be thrown away. {Find the all-white-flour sourdough pizza dough recipe here at King Arthur Flour.}

Tips for making pizza:

• Pizza dough should be soft and not too stiff. Only add as much flour as you need to keep it from sticking to your hands while kneading. You can always use a little more flour when shaping the pizza if it's a little sticky.
• If you have a clear plastic straight-sided canister like this one from Rubbermaid or this one from King Arthur Flour, place the unrisen dough in the canister and mark the level with a piece of tape. It's easier to see when the dough has doubled.
• Use a preheated pizza stone for best results - allow at least 45 minutes for the stone to heat up. Alternately, use a preheated cookie sheet. The cookie sheet will be preheated whenever the oven comes to temperature.
• You can shape, top and bake the pizza directly on parchment paper - just slide the paper right onto the pizza stone from a cookie sheet or pizza peel
• For traditional pizzas like pepperoni, I prefer a mixture of shredded provolone and mozzarella cheeses. I also prefer to use part-skim mozzarella - it's drier than whole-milk mozzarella or fresh mozzarella so it doesn't get as liquidy when baked. Fresh mozzarella, however, is great on a Margherita Pizza with fresh tomatoes and basil.
• Lightly saute any vegetables to desired tenderness before placing on the pizza and sprinkle the cheese on top.

Multigrain Sourdough Pizza Crust


adapted from Jen at My Kitchen Addiction

Makes 2 medium pizzas

• 3/4 cup warm water
• 1/2 teaspoon dry active yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 1 cup unfed sourdough starter
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 heaping tablespoon pizza dough flavor (optional- I omitted)
• 2 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour (or use white whole wheat flour)
• 1/2 cup whole rye (pumpernickel) flour
• 1/2 cup milled golden flax seed
• About 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

Whisk together the warm water, yeast, and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add in the sourdough starter, olive oil, pizza dough flavor, and Kosher salt. Mix until well combined.

Add the whole wheat flour, rye flour, and flax seed to the bowl, and beat vigorously (with a dough whisk or a wooden spoon) to combine. The mixture will be thick and sticky. Gradually add in the all purpose flour, stirring to incorporate the flour. When the dough pulls from the sides of the bowl, use your hands to knead in the remaining flour until smooth (about 5 minutes). Use just enough flour to keep the dough from sticking to your hands and the bowl.

Shape the dough into a ball, and transfer it to an oiled bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size (this could take 2 - 4 hours). At this point, the dough may be divided, lightly oiled, and refrigerated for 2 days or frozen for one month in a zip top plastic bag. Remove the dough from the plastic baggie while still cold, then bring the dough to room temperature before shaping and baking.

When you are ready to bake the pizzas, preheat a pizza stone in the oven to 475°F. Split the dough in half and shape each half on a piece of parchment paper. Top with your favorite toppings and bake on the pizza stone for about 10 – 12 minutes, until the crust is golden.

Homemade Play-Dough Wraps

These lettuce wraps look good, don't they? They were expertly constructed by talented hands.

Kids of all ages love playdough. But don't fret if you don't have any on hand. The kids can make their own playdough and it can be ready in 10 minutes or less. Instant gratification for them, and hours of happy, creative kids for you.

Depending on their ages, the kids might need you to help vigorously stir the mixture over the stove. As soon as it can be handled, the kids can start to play with it. They love the feel of warm playdough in their hands.

Even though all the ingredients are edible, the dough should not be eaten.

So invite your best friend to stay overnight and in the morning you can make playdough in your pajamas! Life is good.

Homemade Play-Dough

1 cup flour

1/2 cup table salt

1 cup water

food coloring

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

2 tablespoons cooking oil

Stir all ingredients together in a medium saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until it becomes rubbery, about 2-3 minutes. It will be lumpy before it becomes rubbery. It can be used as soon as it is cool enough to handle (kids love warm playdough). Allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

Baking with Kids: Monkey Bread

Last week I posted a recipe for white sandwich bread. It was very good, but not very exciting.

So Annie and I were "monkeying around" and made that dough into something sweet and delicious - monkey bread. The dough was just finishing the first rise when she came home from school. We broke the dough into little balls, and dipped them in melted butter, and then cinnamon sugar...

...then dropped the buttery, sugary, cinnamony balls in a loaf pan and let them rise for a while.

The whole house smelled wonderful as they were baking. I couldn't even get a picture before we all started digging into the pan. They were gone in record time.

Wanna bite?

Monkey Bread
from The Art and Soul of Baking by Cindy Mushet

For the dough:
¼ cup warm water (110 to 115F)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon active dry yeast, or 2 ¼ teaspoons instant yeast
1 cup warm whole milk (110 to 115F)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3 cups bread flour or unbleached all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons salt

For the cinnamon-sugar coating:

1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups sugar

4 teaspoons cinnamon

Place the water, sugar, and yeast in the small bowl and whisk to blend. Allow the mixture to sit for 10 minutes, or until the yeast is activated and foamy. In the medium bowl, whisk together the warm milk and melted butter.

Place the flour and salt in the bowl of the stand mixer. Mix briefly to blend. Add the yeast mixture and milk mixture and mix on medium speed just until the dough comes together, 2 to 3 minutes. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp lint-free cotton towel and let the dough rest for 20 minutes to allow it to fully hydrate before further kneading. Turn the speed to medium-low and continue to knead until the dough is firm, elastic, and smooth, 3 to 6 minutes. Finish by kneading by hand for another minute or two.

Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl or tub and coat the surface of the dough with a little oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp lint-free cotton towel and let the dough rise until doubled, 45 to 60 minutes (longer if the room is cold).

After 45 minutes, leave the dough covered, and start working on the cinnamon- sugar coating. Melt the butter in a bowl in the microwave. Allow to cool until still liquid, but not too hot for little fingers to dip in. In a separate bowl, mix together the sugar and cinnamon. Lightly butter a loaf pan.

After the dough has doubled, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Press down the dough firmly to expel some of the air bubbles, but don’t knead the dough again or it will be too springy and difficult to shape (if this happens, simply cover the dough with plastic wrap or a damp lint-free cotton towel and let it rest for 10 to 15 minutes to give the gluten some time to relax.) Flatten the dough into a rough rectangle and using a bench scraper, cut the dough into small pieces about the size of cherries.

Dip the dough pieces in the melted butter, and then roll them in the cinnamon sugar. Place the pieces side by side in the loaf pan. Fill the whole bottom layer evenly, and then move onto the next layer, arranging the pieces the same way, until all of the dough has been used up. Press down lightly on the top, and then cover the pan with the damp towel. Let the dough proof (or rise) for another 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 375 degrees. When the dough is ready, uncover the dough, and transfer to the oven. Bake for 40 minutes, or until golden brown and instant-read thermometer registers 200 degrees.

Transfer pan to wire rack to cool. When cool enough to handle, turn monkey bread out onto a dish or serving platter. (We just ate the pieces right out of the pan.)

Cooking with Kids Episode 4 - Strawberry Banana Smoothie

Here's our family's favorite smoothie. The kids love them and they're good for their growing bodies. I usually make more than I think I'll need so I can make smoothie popsicles. I don't even mind if they eat one of the popsicles for breakfast! This recipe is great for the kids to make because the amounts do not need to be precise. In fact, I never measure the ingredients. I just eyball it and throw the ingredients in the blender. I've guessed at the amounts for the purpose of writing this recipe, but feel free to add a little more of this or a little less of that. Substitute any berry or fruit for the strawberries if it sounds good to you. Here's a tip: if you ever have overripe bananas sitting on your counter, peel them and break them into chunks and freeze them in a ziploc freezer bag. Then you'll have them whenever you're in the mood for a smoothie (or use them for banana espresso chocolate chip muffins).

Strawberry Banana Smoothies
Serves about 4

3/4 cup vanilla or plain yogurt
1 cup milk
3/4 cup orange juice
1 or 2 frozen bananas, broken into chunks
3 handfuls of frozen strawberries

Throw all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Add more milk or orange juice to reach desired thickness.

Cooking with Kids Episode Three - Puppy Chow

Forgot about this recipe? The kids love it! This little snack is so easy and so good, it doesn't last through the day at our house. So grab the Crispix and whip up a batch of Puppy Chow with the kids...and then make something really healthy for dinner!



Summertime tea party with pizza, nectarines, and puppy chow.

One year ago: Wild Alaskan Halibut with Zucchini, Tomato and Onion

Puppy Chow

1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 tsp vanilla
9 cups Crispix cereal
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Combine peanut butter, butter, and chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl.
Microwave for one minute then stir to blend all ingredients thoroughly. Add 1/2 tsp vanilla. Stir well.
Place the Crispix cereal in a very large bowl.
Pour the peanut butter mixture over the cereal and toss evenly.
Coat with powdered sugar, sprinkling evenly over the mixture as you toss to coat each piece. (A fine mesh sieve might work well to do this.)