We had zeppoli at Olive Garden a few weeks ago. I told the kids we can replicate it at home. They said, “Probably not, but we can try it.” Thanks for your confidence, kids! I looked for a recipe online.
Zeppole – Italian doughnuts
It turns out, the real name is “zeppole,” not “zeppoli.” Now I realize that Italian doughnuts do not exactly a loaf of bread represent. Hey, it’s dough raised with yeast. That counts for something. Continue reading
The kids cannot get enough of focaccia bread. Finally, they were ready to sprinkle cheese, rosemary, and Italian seasoning on their focaccia dough before baking it. This is their third time making it. Third time’s a charm indeed.
Focaccia with sharp cheddar cheese, rosemary, and Italian seasoning
I also suggested that, when the bread is ready, they dip it in marinara sauce, warm or cold. They loved it. See? Taste buds can be trained and educated. When we hear so many parents complain their children will not eat vegetables or whole wheat bread or fruit, it’s a matter of patient education. Continue reading
The kids cannot get enough of focaccia bread, so they decided to make another one this week. However, we had run out of all-purpose flour. What to do? We still had whole wheat flour and bread flour, both organic. I suggested they make it using the two flours, half and half.
Focaccia with marinara
This is a great exercise in “real life” for the kids. Many times the pantry can miss an item and, as a parent, you have to improvise to put food on the table. Plus I wanted them to see the difference in texture when using different types of flours. Last but not least, whole wheat flour gives you extra nutrition. Continue reading
The kids made focaccia bread by using the pizza crust recipe from last week. They used the bread machine, as usual. The dough cycle takes one hour and 20 minutes, so you set it and go do some homeschooling. But don’t forget it. The dough will keep on rising in the machine and it makes a mess, sticking to the lid and the sides. You don’t want that.
Focaccia Bread
To avoid having to clean more than I want to, I usually set an alarm on my phone. The kitchen is pretty far from the school room and I cannot hear the beep on the machine when it announces it is done. Continue reading
This week, we made pizza. Is there a better skill in the kitchen than knowing how to make pizza crust? I think not.
They are proud of their pizza.
We used the bread machine, because it is easy. Why complicate things? The recipe came in the book that accompanied the bread machine. Remember, this is my $5 bread machine, which I purchased from a neighbor at a yard sale. He said he had used it maybe five times.
1 1/2 c warm water
2 Tbl. olive oil
1 1/2 tsp. salt
4 1/4 c all-purpose flour
2 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. yeast
Select Dough-Only on your bread machine and watch it work for you. Well, you might not want to watch it for the full 90 minutes it takes for it to do its thing. This will produce a double crust. We roll it out on two different pans, because we do not want it to get too thick (like deep-dish pizza crust).
We shaped one as a heart because why not?
The kids learned that “floured board” means just a little flour, not a whole lot of flour. The edges of their crusts got a little too tough, because they kept adding flour to the crust as they “played” with it. But those are the edges they do not usually eat anyway, so it worked out.
Measuring flour
We added marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese. They did not want any veggie toppings for their very first pizzas. We made salad and decided this counted as a healthy enough meal.
The pizza was delicious, by the way. I have not tried it, because of gluten intolerance, but they said they loved it. We had some leftovers for the next day, too.
As you know, our weekly bread features a new bread-making experience every week. We chose to make socca this week. If you have never heard of socca, just know that it is a gluten-free flat bread that cooks in 10 minutes. The main ingredient is garbanzo flour. It originated in Provence and Italy.
Making socca
To be clear, I am the only one in my family who must avoid gluten. As such, I will be the only one eating this bread. My children have no interest in even trying it. Like most people, they have a mental block when they hear “gluten-free.” Even though I make gluten-free pasta dishes or gluten-free pancakes and they love them, they have some reticence about other gluten-free recipes. Continue reading
This week, my son became the baker in the family by himself. My daughter came to watch and inspect. To clarify, that counts, too. We decided to make another easy bread recipe, Dutch-oven bread. Some people call it no-knead bread. I have blogged about this recipe before here: Dutch-oven bread.
Mixing the wet and dry ingredients
My son loved mixing the dough and expressed regret that he was not supposed to knead the bread. I suppose we are gearing up for full-on kneading bread recipes. At least he seems to be eager and ready to do it. Continue reading
On our second week of school, we found 10 minutes on a Thursday to measure some ingredients in the bread pan of our bread machine. I engaged both children this time, and it became clear that this should become a weekly goal.
Honey Banana Wheat Bread – fluffy and moorish
The Lord’s Prayer mentions our daily bread, so this will be our weekly bread. To clarify, we still purchase bread from the store, and I still cannot have gluten. But the children can learn to bake bread this school year. One loaf a week seems like a realistic goal. Continue reading
This school year, we plan to bake one loaf of bread a week. It’s a recent goal, one that happened organically. There are 36 weeks in a school year in the US, so we will have tried 36 different recipes by the end of the school year.
Basic white/French bread – a simple recipe with four ingredients
I find weekly goals easier than daily goals, because life happens. No matter how well you plan, there will never be enough planning to eliminate life’s events. But a weekly goal of break making gives us flexibility. Continue reading