Pizza night
Feb. 4th, 2025 02:44 amI was craving pizza, so on the way out the door to give an appointment ride, I asked Belovedest (home sick with something or other) to start a double batch of dough in the bread machine (which I had cleared off so they wouldn't have to think about too much).
Upon arriving back home, I found that the planned dough was an assemblage of dry flour and squodgy bits. I inquired if they'd somehow put in less water than planned. (They hadn't.) I made noises at the "dough", added a small amount of water (possibly 2 tablespoons, ish?) and a little extra yeast and restarted the cycle.![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
norabombay left me to my culinary grumblings.
About an hour later, the thing looked more like dough, slightly, but was still dry and somewhat nasty looking. More water (more like 4 tablespoons this time) and another whack of yeast, and another new cycle.
When I looked in on it another hour later, it had resolved from a Wet Mess to a Bubbling Wet Mess. And Belovedest mentioned that they'd used the cup-for-cup gluten free flour, had that been an error?
I thought about my life, thought about my choices, discarded the idea of trying to turn Bubbling Wet Mess into Pizza, and greased a small baking tray. Gluten free focaccia, here we come. I poured olive oil over it, poked holes, salted it, herbed it, and gave a sprinkle of garlic.
Despite being somewhat under-salted, it was a hit and most of it disappeared instantly after it came out of the oven. New pizza night plan unlocked: gf focaccia for Alex, pizza for the rest of us. I used the residual heat from the oven to grease the pizza pans (plucked 4 pucks of bacon grease out of the freezer and put them on the pans).
Eventually the bread maker made noise. "Now That's What I Call Gluten!" I said in satisfaction, observing the beautiful long shreds of dough on the bread machine basket's sides. I had Belovedest pull down thepastry pizza roller and the pizza spiker from the top shelf before they went to bed.
I listened to audiobook as I stretched the dough, perforated the dough, sauced the dough (one can of tomato sauce split between two pans, plus a sprinkle of Italian Seasoning), and figured out toppings.
Ham and bacon on the one sheet, nice thin sandwich slices laid out, and then bacon bits. Pepperoni and salami on the other one, with stray bacon bits. Salami on the end zone of the other one, for more options. Green olives all over the pepperoni one, and over the salami section of the ham pie. Capers. A small can of mushrooms. Preserved artichokes, with the tough ends cut off and then chopped fine. Grated string cheese, via the stand mixer attachment. The last of the shredded cheddar. Flour on the shopping list.
425 was a little hot, as the top cooked before the bottom had a chance to. The second pie needed more time after the first one came out. And I munched pizza as I went through the remaining offerings for the Feb 3rd romance ebook giveaway. (List in a new browser window, then open about a dozen links in tabs. Go through the dozen books. Close the ones whose sales have expired. Click the correct button(s) on the rest. By the time I'm through all of the tabs, go back to the tab with the sale and close all tabs to the right. Repeat.)
The little squares of pizza are in the fridge now, loaded onto one of the great platters we use for various sorts of feasts, which barely fit into the fridge. Less squishing for the delicate crust of the pepperoni and salami tray, less chance for it to get nasty. And ready for breakfast in the morning.
Upon arriving back home, I found that the planned dough was an assemblage of dry flour and squodgy bits. I inquired if they'd somehow put in less water than planned. (They hadn't.) I made noises at the "dough", added a small amount of water (possibly 2 tablespoons, ish?) and a little extra yeast and restarted the cycle.
norabombay left me to my culinary grumblings. About an hour later, the thing looked more like dough, slightly, but was still dry and somewhat nasty looking. More water (more like 4 tablespoons this time) and another whack of yeast, and another new cycle.
When I looked in on it another hour later, it had resolved from a Wet Mess to a Bubbling Wet Mess. And Belovedest mentioned that they'd used the cup-for-cup gluten free flour, had that been an error?
I thought about my life, thought about my choices, discarded the idea of trying to turn Bubbling Wet Mess into Pizza, and greased a small baking tray. Gluten free focaccia, here we come. I poured olive oil over it, poked holes, salted it, herbed it, and gave a sprinkle of garlic.
Despite being somewhat under-salted, it was a hit and most of it disappeared instantly after it came out of the oven. New pizza night plan unlocked: gf focaccia for Alex, pizza for the rest of us. I used the residual heat from the oven to grease the pizza pans (plucked 4 pucks of bacon grease out of the freezer and put them on the pans).
Eventually the bread maker made noise. "Now That's What I Call Gluten!" I said in satisfaction, observing the beautiful long shreds of dough on the bread machine basket's sides. I had Belovedest pull down the
I listened to audiobook as I stretched the dough, perforated the dough, sauced the dough (one can of tomato sauce split between two pans, plus a sprinkle of Italian Seasoning), and figured out toppings.
Ham and bacon on the one sheet, nice thin sandwich slices laid out, and then bacon bits. Pepperoni and salami on the other one, with stray bacon bits. Salami on the end zone of the other one, for more options. Green olives all over the pepperoni one, and over the salami section of the ham pie. Capers. A small can of mushrooms. Preserved artichokes, with the tough ends cut off and then chopped fine. Grated string cheese, via the stand mixer attachment. The last of the shredded cheddar. Flour on the shopping list.
425 was a little hot, as the top cooked before the bottom had a chance to. The second pie needed more time after the first one came out. And I munched pizza as I went through the remaining offerings for the Feb 3rd romance ebook giveaway. (List in a new browser window, then open about a dozen links in tabs. Go through the dozen books. Close the ones whose sales have expired. Click the correct button(s) on the rest. By the time I'm through all of the tabs, go back to the tab with the sale and close all tabs to the right. Repeat.)
The little squares of pizza are in the fridge now, loaded onto one of the great platters we use for various sorts of feasts, which barely fit into the fridge. Less squishing for the delicate crust of the pepperoni and salami tray, less chance for it to get nasty. And ready for breakfast in the morning.
