You need to be hungry when you make this Cheesy Stuffed Sourdough Loaf. And you need to have other people around to help you eat it up, because you won’t be able to stop eating it, it’s so good! It’s meaty and cheesy and totally delicious!
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There’s a brand-new book that has just come out by the bestselling authors of Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day and Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day. Have you seen it?
It’s called Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in Five Minutes a Day, and I had the opportunity to review and try a recipe from it! Jeff Hertzberg, M.D. and Zoe Francois have created 100 new easy-to-make recipes for not only pizzas and flatbreads, but also soups, salads, sauces, and spreads, which make great meals with all those pizzas and flatbreads! And for a special finishing touch to your meal, you’ll find some recipes for dessert pizzas and hand pies. The Banana Cream Hand Pie sounds really good and I’m intrigued by the recipe for Chocolate Dough, being the chocolate-lover that I am. I will definitely need to try that out! 🙂
When I received the book in the mail, I immediately started flipping through it to look at the full-color photos of many of the recipes. I decided to try a focaccia recipe because I really love focaccia and have never made it. It was kind of a challenge for me. Not being an experienced bread-maker, I was wondering if I could really make a delicious focaccia flatbread. Well I’m happy to tell you, “Yes!” I thought the recipe was easy to make and tasted as good or better than any I have ever bought. And it was fun making it!
I definitely will be trying out the pizza recipes, too, especially after watching a pizza-making video on Zoe’s site, Zoe Bakes, and seeing this photo of incredibly tasty-looking pizzas taken by her friends.
Photo by Todd Porter and Diane Cu of White on Rice CoupleAs you can see, there are plenty of delicious pizza options to choose from! 🙂
And so I chose to make focaccia, specifically the Leek, Herbes de Provence, and Garlic Focaccia. It was delicious! You can choose from a variety of dough recipes in the book, and I chose the 100% Whole Wheat Dough, making it with white whole wheat flour. That was another first for me, using white whole wheat flour (which has a less “wheaty” taste than regular whole wheat). This is such a good recipe…I hope you get a chance to try it soon!
LEEK, HERBES DE PROVENCE, AND GARLIC FOCACCIA from Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in Five Minutes a Day
100% Whole Wheat Dough:
Makes enough dough for at least eight flatbreads. The recipe is easily doubled or halved. This dough can be used for pizzas, too!
- 3 1/2 cups lukewarm water
- 1 Tablespoon granulated yeast
- 1 to 1 1/2 Tablespoons Kosher salt
- 2 Tablespoons sugar, honey, malt powder, or agave syrup (I used honey)
- 1/8 cup olive oil
- 7 cups white whole wheat flour (or traditional whole wheat flour)
Mixing and Storing the Dough…
- Mix the yeast, salt, sweetener, and olive oil with the water in a 5-quart bowl or a lidded (not airtight) food container.
- Mix in the remaining dry ingredients without kneading, using a spoon, a 14-cup capacity food processor with dough attachment, or a heavy-duty stand mixer with paddle. If you’re not using a machine, you may need to use wet hands to incorporate the last bit of flour.
- Cover (not airtight), and allow it to rest at room temperature until the dough rises and collapses (or flattens on top), approximately 2 hours.
- The dough can be used immediately after its initial rise, though it is easier to handle when cold. Refrigerate in a lidded (not airtight) container and use for flatbread (or pizza) over the next 7 days. Or store the dough for up to 3 weeks in the freezer in 1/2 pound portions. When using frozen dough, thaw it in the refrigerator overnight before use.
The Focaccia Recipe (makes one 10-inch focaccia):
- 3/4 pound (large orange-size portion) of your homemade dough (refrigerate beforehand for easier handling if desired)
- 5 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 leek (white part only), halved lengthwise, well rinsed, and thinly sliced crosswise
- 2 Tablespoons herbes de Provence
- 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon capers
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup white wine (I used white cooking wine)
Prepare the leeks: In a skilled over medium low heat, add 2 Tablespoons of the olive oil, leeks, herbs, garlic, capers, salt, pepper, and white wine. Cook slowly until the leeks are soft, but not brown. Allow to cool slightly.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Rub 2 Tablespoons of the olive oil in the bottom of a pie tin and set aside (I just had a glass pie plate, so I used that and it worked fine). Dust the surface of the dough with flour and cut off a 3/4-pound (large orange-size) piece. Dust with more flour and quickly shape it into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter turn as you go (the pizza-making video on Zoe’s site that I mentioned earlier illustrates this technique).
Stretch the focaccia dough: Flatten the dough with your hands and/or a rolling pin on a work surface to produce a 1/2-inch-thick round. Dust with flour to keep the dough from adhering to the surface. Use a dough scraper to unstick the dough as needed, and transfer to the prepared pie plate. Drizzle with 1 Tablespoon olive oil and dimple the surface so the oil won’t run off the top.
Add the toppings: Spread the leek mixture over the dough and allow to rest for 20 minutes. Just before baking, press your fingers into the dough to dimple it throughout; this prevents the toppings from popping off when baking.
Here’s what my focaccia looked like before I put it in the oven:
Place the pie plate in the oven on the middle rack: Check for doneness in 15 minutes, then turn the focaccia around in the oven if one side is browning faster than the other. It may take up to 5 minutes more in the oven (my total baking time was about 18 minutes).
Remove the focaccia from the pan and allow to cool slightly, preferably on a wire cooling rack. Cut into wedges and serve.
Recipe reprinted with permission from the publisher.
Here’s the fresh-baked focaccia…
I tasted it while it was still a little warm. Here’s a picture of the first slice…
All the topping ingredients are so good together. The leek, the herbs, and the garlic cooked in the olive oil and white wine make a wonderful savory topping for this bread!
Have you made focaccia? What do you like to put on yours?
Linked to Foodie Friday.
There are some foods I never seem to get tired of and Hummus is one of them! I like using hummus as a veggie dip and also like to make sandwiches with it, spreading it on bread or a toasted bagel and topping it with lettuce and tomato slices. It tastes great and it’s so healthy, too!
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I have a confession to make…I have never made homemade pizza! I’ve been wanting to make some, though, and very recently I had the opportunity to review a cookbook/guide to pizza-making called Thursday Night Pizza, written by Fr. Dominic Garramone, and published by Reedy Press. So this was the perfect time for me to attempt making pizza from scratch.
Father Dominic hosted a popular PBS show, Breaking Bread with Father Dominic, for several years and has tested his pizza recipes for the past twenty years on his fellow monks at the Saint Bede Abbey. After all that testing, I figured I couldn’t go wrong with any of his recipes! The book includes instructions for making 3 different pizza doughs, 8 sauces, 2 pestos, and several dozen recipes for pizzas (including some pizza appetizers and a few dessert pizzas).
The hardest thing was deciding which recipe to try first…there’s the the Four Cheese Tomato-Top Pizza, Italian Beef Pizza, Carbonara Pizza, Spicy Thai Peanut Chicken Pizza, Spinach Pesto Pizza, and Muffaletta Pizza, to name a few. I finally decided on the Pizza Margherita, because all the ingredients–fresh basil, tomato, mozzarella, and garlic–are favorites of mine. In the cookbook, it’s described as “A classic pie that is both rustic and elegant in its simplicity.” I like rustic and simple! 🙂
Now as far as the pizza crust goes, Father Dominic says homemade dough is always the best, so I used his recipe for Italian style dough (for a thick crust) on page 32 of his cookbook. It’s not that hard to make, and the crust was really good! However, when you make homemade dough, it does add a few hours to your pizza-making process; if you don’t have the time, you can use pre-made pizza crust, like the Boboli brand, or whatever type of crust you prefer. For the Pizza Margherita, a thick crust works best. Father Dominic also recommends using a pizza stone instead of a pan if you have one, and I did have a round pizza stone. But if you don’t, just use a pizza pan.
Here’s the recipe…
PIZZA MARGHERITA (from Thursday Night Pizza)
- Recommended crust: 8-12 oz. of Italian style dough (from page 32) OR pre-made thick pizza crust
- 4 large plum tomatoes, diced and drained
- 1 garlic clove, mashed and minced
- 3 or 4 large leaves of fresh basil, cut into strips (I found some fresh basil at my grocery store; even in winter, more stores are carrying fresh herbs now and you definitely want fresh basil for this)
- 1/2 pound fresh mozzarella, torn into pieces (I bought an 8-oz. block of mozzarella and shredded it with a grater)
- some cornmeal, for dusting your pizza stone or pan
Using your fingertips, hand-stretch the pizza dough to 12″ to 14″ and place on a pre-heated cornmeal-dusted baking stone or pizza pan. Toss diced tomatoes with garlic. Top the dough with the diced tomatoes and fresh mozzarella. Bake at 500 degrees until the crust is lightly browned and the mozzarella is fully melted (about 10-12 minutes). Remove from oven and top with strips of basil before serving.
If you like adding extra seasoning to your pizza, you might want to add a dash of salt or pepper to suit your taste.
This is a really nice and thick, cheesy pizza. And if I can make homemade pizza, I know you can, too! The recipes in Thursday Night Pizza are easy to follow, so don’t feel intimidated about trying any of them out!
The first time I had a hot artichoke dip was up in Kansas City at a friend’s home. She had a dinner party and served it as her appetizer. I had never had anything like it and it was so good! Since then, I’ve seen several variations of hot artichoke dips. I found this first recipe at Kraft Foods. I’m also including other versions that I’ve found in a few cookbooks. The recipes are all pretty similar, so you can take your pick…the Kraft recipe has both spinach and artichokes in it and most of the others just have artichokes mixed with the other ingredients.
This is a great appetizer for dinner and a tasty snack if you’re watching a football game with a group of friends. You can serve it with crackers and/or veggies and it also goes well with those large scoop corn chips. Here’s the Kraft recipe I made…it smells so good when you take it out of the oven, you’re going to want to eat it up right away!
CHEESY SPINACH AND ARTICHOKE DIP adapted from Kraft FoodsMakes 2 3/4 cup or 22 (2 Tbsp.) servings
- 1 can (14 oz.) artichoke hearts, drained, finely chopped
- 1 (10 oz.) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained
- 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 3/4 cup light or regular mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
- 1/2–1 tsp. garlic powder (I used 1 tsp. because I like a stronger garlic flavor)
- additional 1/2 cup Mozzarella cheese for sprinkling on top (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together in a medium-size bowl. Spoon into a 9-inch quiche dish or pie plate. Bake for 20 minutes or until heated through. If you want to sprinkle additional Mozzarella cheese on top, add that the last 3 to 5 minutes of baking). Serve with crackers, assorted cut-up fresh veggies, or large scooping corn chips.VARIATIONS ON THIS DIP: You can substitute 1 envelope (0.7 oz.) GOOD SEASONS Italian Salad Dressing Mix for the garlic powder.To make a SPINACH AND MUSHROOM DIP, substitute 1 cup chopped mushrooms for the artichokes.
If you want to try some other Artichoke Dip recipes, here they are…enjoy!
In large bowl, mash artichokes with a fork. Add mayonnaise and cheese. Spread the mixture in a small baking pan and bake in a 350-degree oven for 20-30 minutes or until top is slightly browned. Serve warm or at room temperature. Makes about 3 1/2 cups.
Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan and cook over very low heat for about 30 minutes. Transfer to a medium serving bowl and serve warm.
Makes about 2 1/2 cups.
Combine the ingredients in a microwave safe dish. Microwave on high for about 3 minutes. Serve warm. Makes about 2 1/2 cups.
The next two recipes are from By Special Request: Old Recipes for a New Generation.
ARTICHOKE PARTY DIP (this one’s not a hot dip, but it sounded good)
Squeeze liquid from artichoke hearts and chop into small pieces. Mix all ingredients and chill. Serve with chips or crackers.
Drain artichokes well. Chop and combine with all ingredients. Spoon into a greased 1-quart casserole dish. Bake at 350-degrees for 20 minutes. Garnish with parsley and serve hot with melba rounds or crackers.
Hope you enjoy trying some of these recipes out!
NancyC 