Hi everyone-

Since I am staying at home now I am starting to spend some time in the kitchen. It has been very interesting to say the least. I for some reason have this great interest in baking things (with out using those premade mixes at the store) and have looked through the archives and have found some great recipes for bread and also corn bread. Does anyone have a recipe to make pizza dough, cakes and muffins?

Also, I am almost to embarrassed to ask this but what is kneading? I have never really baked anything before and don't have a clue what I am doing. My wife is getting a big kick out of this.

Thanks, Sean

-- Sean (sparker@sprintmail.com), February 15, 2001

Answers

Here is my pizza dough recipe.

6 cups flour 1 tsp. salt

1/4 cup olive oil 1 packet yeast disolved in 2 cups lukewarm water

mix together in large bowl with a wooden spoon until dough form a ball. cover with a cloth and let rise in a warm place for one hour.

Sprinkle corn meal on pizza pans. Pre-heat oven to 400*

With well floured hands, press pizza dough out on pizza pans.

Let set and rise for 10 minutes. Brush lightly with olive oil and pre-bake crust for 10 minutes before adding sauce and toppings.

After toppings, bake for 20 minutes at 400*

-- Laura (gsend@hotmail.com), February 15, 2001.

Sean, please don't be embarrassed to ask questions, that's what this forum is all about; a group of friends sharing our experiences, and supporting each other.

Kneading evenly distributes the fermenting yeast through the dough. Lightly flour your work surface. Sprinkle flour on your ball of dough. Now, start pushing down on the half nearest you with the heels of your hands. Kinda fold it over, and turn it about 1/4 of a turn. Now push down, fold on itself again, and turn again. Just keep doing it for about 8-10 minutes. After you've made bread a few times, you'll be able to do the whole process with your eyes closed, because you can to it all by "feel". Now, let the dough rise. Put it in a large bowl that you have oiled, and flip it over so it's oiled on top, too. It needs a toasty warm place to rise, cover with a small towel, and check in about 45 mins. to an hour. (Rising allows the fermenting yeast to produce tiny air bubbles, which stretches the gluten, and leavens the bread.) When it is about double in size, punch it down. Knead again, form into a loaf, let it rise again, (it won't take as long this time), and bake.

Do a search for SOAR-it's got about a zillion recipes, and is easy to understand. I admire you and your wife for what you're doing. Remember, we're here to help!!

-- Cathy in NY (hrnofplnty@yahoo.com), February 15, 2001.

Hi Sean -- here is my favourite recipe for muffins, it is the famous basic Twin Mountain recipe. If you want very tender muffins, use pastry flour and avoid overbeating.

Sift into a mixing bowl -- 2 C. Pastry flour or 1 7/8 C all-purpose flour, 3 Teasp. baking powder, 1/2 teasp. salt, 2 Tablespoons sugar (or up to 1/2 cup if you like them sweeter).

Mix in another bowl -- 1 or 2 eggs,slightly beaten, 1 cup milk, 1/4 cup melted butter.

Pour over the flour mixture. Stir only enough to dampen the flour (batter should not be smooth). Spoon into buttered muffin tins, having the tins about 2/3 full. Bake at 400 F. about 15 minutes, makes 12.

Bacon muffins -- use bacon fat as the shortening instead. Add 3 T. cooked crumbled bacon.

Berry muffins -- reserve 1/4 cup of the flour. Sprinkle over 1 Cup blueberries or huckleberries. Stir into the batter last. Use 1/2 cup sugar.

Date or Raisin muffins -- add 1/2 cup sliced pitted dates or 1/4 cup raisins. (nuts too if you like!!)

Orange Muffins -- add 3/4 cup candied orange peel, cut in small pieces. (or add in with the dates or raisins!)

Peach muffins -- ad to the milk 3/4 cup fresh peaches, peeled and cut small, or drained and chopped canned peaches.

Pecan muffins -- use 1/4 cup sugar. Add 1/2 cup chopped pecans. After filling the cups, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and more nuts.

Whole Wheat muffins -- substitute 3/4 cup coarse whole wheat flour for 1 cup of the flour. Do not sift it. Add it after sifting the other dry ingredients.

-- Julie Froelich (firefly1@nnex.net), February 15, 2001.

This is a favourite cake this time of year around here...

Sour Cream Gingerbread

Butter a shallow pan, 8 or 9 inches square. Set oven for 350 F.

Beat 2 eggs. Add 1/2 cup sour cream, 1/2 cup molasses, 1/2 cup brown sugar. Beat well.

Sift together 1 1/2 cup pastry or cake flour, 1 teasp. baking soda, 1 teasp ground ginger, 1/4 salt, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, 1/4 tsp. ground cloves. Stir into the first mixture.

Add 1/2 cup melted butter. Beat well and pour into the pan. Bake about 30 minutes.

This is a very easy cake to make, and it can be served with fruit, whipped cream, applesauce, or all by itself with a cup of tea. It keeps very well without refrigeration, but usually doesn't last long!!

-- Julie Froelich (firefly1@nnex.net), February 15, 2001.

Hi Sean, Here is my pizza dough recipe. It makes one cookie sheet size pizza.( with a thick crust )

4 1/2 tsp yeast 3 1/2 flour 2 T oil 1 cup + 4 T water

Mix the yeast with the water and let sit for about 5 minutes. Put all the ohter ingredients into a bowl. Add the water/yeast mixture and mix it/ knead it until it becomes a ball that is soft yet not sticky. You can add more water of flour if needed. Cover and let rise for 3 hours. Roll it out, you might rub some oil on the crust if you want, cover with pizza sacue and you favorite toppings. Bake in a 400 oven for 15- 20 minutes. Length depends on how many goodies you have on the top! My kids love pizza and with 5 of them we can not be calling Dominoes all the time so we make Saturday our pizza day and everyone gets in on the making action. Good luck!

-- Robin (frontzfarm@1st.net), February 15, 2001.

Hi Sean,

Kneading also "develops" the gluten in the dough, making it elastic. That's the primary reason bread dough is different than biscuit dough. The elasticity captures the bubbles formed by the yeast as it's working, making the bread rise. No elasticity, and your bread is a brick. Don't add too much flour too soon, because the bread will be tougher. When you have kneaded enough, and have added enough flour, the bread dough will be smooth and tender, satiny like a baby's behind. It will not stick to your hands. If it's a little sticky at first, just hang in there. If it's a lot sticky, add some more flour. Good luck! There's nothing like good, homemade bread!

-- Laura Jensen (lrjensen@nwlink.com), February 16, 2001.

Try this spong cake... you will need:

3 eggs 1/3 cup of milk or water 1 1/3 cup of all purpose flour 1/4 teas spoon salt 1 cup of white sugar 1 1/2 tea spoon baking powder

before you do anything, turn on you oven to 350 c.. because you need to put the cake dough in a hot oven.

then set 2 bowl aside, the first bowl, put in the white part (not sure what is called, sorry) of the eggs in one bowl, and add only 1/2 cup of the sugar with it and mix with machine mixer clock wise only. dont go in both direction. mix until it becomes white and looking like a whip cream. in the other bowl but the yellow part of the eggs, and add the rest on the sugar on it... and mix it as well, then combine the 2 bowls and mix. then add the baking powder and the salt to the mix and keep on mixing, then add the milk or water, and keep on mixing, then last add the flour and keep on mixing . now, grease your pan and leave it in for 1/2 hour,

TIPS: 1)when u put your cake, make sure that the oven is hot

2) and do not open the oven door unlit at least 1/2 hr has past by. if you want to look at the cake, it is best to look though the window, if your oven light does not work, bring a hand light and use it to light through that window...

NOW, if you are interested in making a chocolate fidge, or chocolate topping for you cake, here is how to do it....

you will need,

1/2 unsweetend chocolate mix (like nesquick mix, but unsweated) 1 1/2 cup of sugar 1 cup of milk 1 egg 2 table spoons of margrines, or butter first mix the egg and the milk in a bowl with a electric mixer

the in a seperate bowl put the sugar and the chocolate mix, and make sure that there are no big chunks of chocolate powder pupples.

then mix them both and put them on a stove, heat and mix with a spoon, do not leave unattended, at the end, put 2 table spoons of butter or margrine... let it cool, then put it in the fridge, and add to your cake after fridged

if you want a home-made whip cream...

it is as the same steps in baking your cake....

you will need 3 eggs, but use only the white of it, not the yellow part of eggs...

put in the white part of the eggs in one bowl, and add only 1/2 cup of the sugar with it and mix with machine mixer clock wise only. dont go in both direction. mix until it becomes white and looking like a whip cream.

and you are done.... put it on you cream...this one...you dont need to heat, just mix and you are done......

i did my best decribing this, i hope you got my words,... thank u

-- Avan (avan@usa.com), January 13, 2002.