Sunday, July 13, 2008

Recipe: Pizza Crust / Bread Sticks

I'm planning a series of posts on bread making. Since I'm making bread sticks for dinner tonight, I'll start with that recipe. Actually, it's my favorite recipe for pizza crust that I'm converting to bread sticks. Thank you to my friend Julie who first shared this recipe with me.

1 pkg. yeast (2 1/4 tsp.)
1 1/2 c. warm milk ( 105 to 110 degrees)
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. butter (melted)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 c. cornmeal
3 to 4 c. flour

Combine ingredients, kneading in the last of the flour. Knead until smooth. Cover and allow to rise until double. Roll into 2 crusts or bread sticks. Bake at 400 until dough is golden brown.

Notes:
-- I like to use bread flour but all-purpose is okay.
-- I use a Kitchen Aid mixer. I slowly add the last cup of flour until the dough stops sticking to the sides of the bowl. The amount of flour used will depend on the humidity. Then I knead on low for 3 minutes.
-- You can replace 1/3 of the flour with whole wheat flour for a healthier crust.
-- For bread sticks, I like to roll them long and thin, then brush them with garlic butter.

1 comment:

Adam said...

if you don't have time OR a stand mixer a food processor does this pretty well. Keep adding a little flour untill it forms up in a ball. Oh--we do this on a gas grill to avoid the oven in summer--try it it works!