pizza of the year 2020 ( cast iron pizza )

this amazing , easy , delicious  recipe  come from king Arthur flour  website ... they called it recipe of the year and it live up  to  the name 

I love pizza and there is no pizza I don't like ... I tried new recipes all the time although thick crust pizza not my go to type this one is crispy from outside and airy from inside 

my favourite part "no kneading needed" 

it need to rest one day in the fridge  so plan ahead if you want to make this one

recipe for 1 pizza 

 ingredients :

• Crust

• 2 cups (240g)  Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast or active dry yeast
• 3/4 cup (170g) lukewarm water
• 1 tablespoon (13g) olive oil + 1 1/2 tablespoons (18g) olive oil for the pan

• Topping

• 170g mozzarella, grated or any kind of mixed cheese (about 1 1/4 cups, loosely packed)
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup (74g to 113g) tomato sauce or pizza sauce, homemade or store-boughtfreshly
• any kind of preferred  vegetable 
•  grated hard cheese and fresh herbs for sprinkling on top after baking, optional

Instructions

Place the flour, salt, yeast, water, and 1 tablespoon (13g) of the olive oil in the bowl of a stand mixer or other medium-large mixing bowl.

Stir everything together to make a shaggy, sticky mass of dough with no dry patches of flour. This should take 30 to 45 seconds in a mixer using the beater paddle; or about 1 minute by hand, using a spoon or spatula. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to gather the dough into a rough ball; cover the bowl.

After 5 minutes, uncover the bowl and reach a bowl scraper or your wet hand down between the side of the bowl and the dough, as though you were going to lift the dough out. Instead of lifting, stretch the bottom of the dough up and over its top. Repeat three more times, turning the bowl 90° each time. This process of four stretches, which takes the place of kneading, is called a fold. 

Re-cover the bowl, and after 5 minutes do another fold. Wait 5 minutes and repeat; then another 5 minutes, and do a fourth and final fold. Cover the bowl and let the dough rest, undisturbed, for 40 minutes. Then refrigerate it for a minimum of 12 hours, or up to 72 hours. It'll rise slowly as it chills, developing flavor; this long rise will also add flexibility to your schedule.

About 3 hours before you want to serve your pizza, prepare your pan. Pour 1 1/2 tablespoons (18g) olive oil into a well-seasoned cast iron skillet that’s 10” to 11” diameter across the top, and about 9” across the bottom. Heavy, dark cast iron will give you a superb crust; but if you don’t have it, use another oven-safe heavy-bottomed skillet of similar size, or a 10” round cake pan or 9” square pan. Tilt the pan to spread the oil across the bottom, and use your fingers or a paper towel to spread some oil up the edges, as well.  

Transfer the dough to the pan and turn it once to coat both sides with the oil. After coating the dough in oil, press the dough to the edges of the pan, dimpling it using the tips of your fingers in the process. The dough may start to resist and shrink back; that’s OK, just cover it and let it rest for about 15 minutes, then repeat the dimpling/pressing. At this point the dough should reach the edges of the pan; if it doesn’t, give it one more 15-minute rest before dimpling/pressing a third and final time. 

Cover the crust and let it rise for 2 hours at room temperature. The fully risen dough will look soft and pillowy and will jiggle when you gently shake the pan.

About 30 minutes before baking, place one rack at the bottom of the oven and one toward the top (about 4" to 5" from the top heating element). Preheat the oven to 450°F.

When you’re ready to bake the pizza, sprinkle about three-quarters of the mozzarella (a scant 1 cup) evenly over the crust. Cover the entire crust, no bare dough showing; this will yield caramelized edges. Dollop small spoonfuls of the sauce over the cheese; laying the cheese down first like this will prevent the sauce from seeping into the crust and making it soggy. Sprinkle on the remaining mozzarella and vegetables 

Bake the pizza on the bottom rack of the oven for 18 to 20 minutes, until the cheese is bubbling and the bottom and edges of the crust are a rich golden brown (use a spatula to check the bottom). If the bottom is brown but the top still seems pale, transfer the pizza to the top rack and bake for 2 to 4 minutes longer. On the other hand, if the top seems fine but the bottom's not browned to your liking, leave the pizza on the bottom rack for another 2 to 4 minutes. Home ovens can vary a lot, so use the visual cues and your own preferences to gauge when you’ve achieved the perfect bake.

Remove the pizza from the oven and place the pan on a heatproof surface. Carefully run a table knife or spatula between the edge of the pizza and side of the pan to prevent the cheese from sticking as it cools. Let the pizza cool very briefly; as soon as you feel comfortable doing so, carefully transfer it from the pan to a cooling rack or cutting surface. This will prevent the crust from becoming soggy.

Serve the pizza anywhere from medium-hot to warm. Kitchen shears or a large pair of household scissors are both good tools for cutting this thick pizza into wedges.  

Pistachio shortbread cookies .. Kuwaiti Ghoriba

You can found this particular recipe all over the world with different names shortbread, sable, khataye , kourabiethes,sum more, Polvorones, ghoriba, ghraybe or qurabiya ( depend on your accent )

In Kuwaiti way we liked to dry roast the flour in a pan or skillet and let it cool before adding it to the ingredients .. this way it bring out nuttier flavor of cookies other recipes called for chickpea flour for the same reason

Recipe adapted from

https://www.instagram.com/p/CAfawjdAonS/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Ingredients:

·       1 – 1 ¼  cups roasted flour ( all purpose . or whole wheat pastry flour )

·       1 cup ground pistachio ( I found freshly grind works better)

·       ½  cup butter or clarified butter (ghee)

·       ½ cup powdered sugar

·       1 tablespoon of ground cardamom

Direction:

 - mix the dry ingredients together, then add the ghee and knead with hand or kneader until it mixes well and forms a soft dough.

- Form into small balls, let it cool in baking tray in the fridge for 30 min

- Bake in a hot oven at 160 ° C for 10-12 minutes, then leave the cookies until completely cooled, store in airtight container

Egyptian dukka

ingredient :
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds 

1/2 cup peeled hazelnuts 

1/4 cup peeled almonds 

1 teaspoon fennel seeds 

1 tablespoon cumin seeds 

4 tablespoons coriander seeds 

4 tablespoons sesame 

1/2 tablespoon black peppercorns

 1 tablespoon of dried rose 

1/2 teaspoon chili flakes

1 teaspoon paprika 

1 tablespoon salt  

direction :

start by roasting all the ingredient separately( except last 4 ingredients)  until golden color and set them aside 

then put the previous ingredients in an electric mixer or spice mill and add the rest of the ingredients

store in a sealed glass container as spices mix for use or dip it with olive oil and bread

Kuwaiti date bread

I'd like to share this amazing sweet flat bread made with date paste  

This Kuwaiti bread can found in so many counties like Saudi Arabia , Bahrain , Qatar and Iraq 

The dough should be sticky while kneading but it will firm up after proofing 

You can make it as small or as big you like 

This recipe will yield 10 pieces 

I got this recipe from a famous cookbook author in Kuwait

 

Ingredients: 

2 ½ cups brown flour/ whole wheat flour  

1/2 cup white flour/ all purpose flour 

2 tablespoons of milk powder 

2 tablespoons of sugar 

1 tablespoon dry yeast 

1/2 teaspoon anise powder spice 

1/4 teaspoon salt 

1/4 cup corn oil 

4 tablespoons of water 

2-3 tablespoons of date molasses 

1 cup date pate made of  (1/4 cup dates soaked in 1 1/4 cup hot water, then mashed well ) 

On top :nigella seed , sesame seed, fennel seed, or anise 

  

Direction: 

- Mix the dry ingredients , then add the liquid and knead it well by hand for 5 minutes, then cover it well and let it ferment for two hours or more until it doubles in size 

- Divide the dough  into 10 pieces and then rolled - spread each ball on its surface sprinkled with flour and put a little sesame or anise on it, then spread it in the form of a circular disk with a thickness of 1/2 cm 

Bake in a very hot oven or on cast iron skillet rotate in both side  

Serve with cup of tea , honey for extra sweetness or feta cheese