I made turkey burgers the other night.

They were great- but I didn’t have any good buns

in the freezer and I didn’t want to run out and buy

any- so I decided to make some.

I had about a cup of tempura batter that I had made up

the night before- and I’d used skim milk and an egg in the

batter, so I refrigerated it and decided to use it in the buns.

PLUS- my starter was really in need of being used.  I had neglected

it lately and was just starting to feed it up, but I had a LOT of starter

and didn’t want to throw it away so I decided to make sourdough

ham/turkey burger buns!

They really turned out delicious!

Here’s the recipe.

1 cup sourdough starter (recently fed 1 cup water/1 cup flour)

4 cups AP or plain flour

1 tsp rapid rise yeast

4 Tbs. melted butter

1/2 cup milk, scalded then cooled

small egg, beaten

1/2 cup HOT water

2 tsp salt ( I like a salty bread- you could cut this down if you don’t)

The milk and egg were the base of the tempura batter.  So if you have

some left over- feel free to use it in their place!

I made a sponge with the starter, 1 cup flour and the milk.

I mixed it up and left it for a couple of hours.

It was bubbly when I came back, so I added everything else and mixed

it all up, oiled the bowl and left it to raise/rest for a bit.   About 10 minutes

later, I came back and folded it about 5 times, covered it and left it again-

this time for 20 minutes.  Then I folded it again for 5 or 6 times- it was smooth

and pliant- I placed it back in the bowl and let it raise for 45 minutes.

Then I shaped the dough into balls about the size of my fist, flattened them

down with the palm of my hand and using a bread press made slits across the tops.

I used parchment paper to bake on and sprinkled semolina flour on the paper before

placing the buns on top.

I let this raise for about 25 minutes ( suppertime was drawing near) and then baked in

a preheated oven 375 F for about 30 minutes.

They are so good.

And so were the turkey burgers!

The beauty of pizza is that you can make it the way you like it.

The problem is that I haven’t found a way I DON’T like it, yet!

I’ve been making a lot of thin crust pizzas because all of that bread is just an extra load of

carbohydrates that I don’t really need.  But last night I made a thick crust or deep dish pizza

that was loaded with toppings.  Sausage, onions, green peppers, mushrooms and three kinds

of cheese ( provolone,mozzarella, and parmesan) so I needed a thicker crust to stand up to

the weight of the toppings!  It was so very good.  I really like thick crusted pizza so much

and because it was so filling I only had one piece. 

So – goodbye thin crust – at least for a while.  I’m making my pizzas THICK!!!

Here’s my recipe for pizza dough- it is also the recipe for knotty Italian rolls.

Ingredients:
5 cups bread flour
2 tsp sea salt( or less- I like the salty yeasty,EVOO flavor)
1 1/2 cups warm water (105 F)
1 1/2 TBS yeast
1/4 cup good quality olive oil
Method:
Proof yeast in half cup of water- you can add 1/2 tsp sugar to expedite this step.
In large bowl stir salt and 4 1/2 cups flour together and make a small well at the bottom of the bowl.

Add warm water, olive oil and stir the flour just enough to moisten it, then add the foamy yeast

and mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon . You may need to add a little more liquid at this point-

the dough should be soft and slightly sticky.
Dust surface of counter with remaining flour and dump dough out. Knead for at least 10 minutes

until dough is smooth and pliable. You may need to add a handful of flour – but not enough to dry out dough.

Smooth , pliable,and slightly sticky is the description of what you want at this point.

Then form a ball and place in bowl that has been oiled, cover with plastic and let raise at least an hour until double in size.

Now! Punch the dough down, knead gently for at least 5 minutes and let raise a second time until doubled again

(around 45 minutes) this second raise is what gives the dough that stretchy, yeasty, Italian flavor. Don’t skip it!
At the end of second raising, shape into desired bread or roll out (or toss) for pizza. Allow to raise about 1/2 hour

add toppings of your choice and bake at 350F until golden brown.

I’ve been roasting up my Roma tomatoes from the garden with garlic, basil , and olive oil- and I used that

in a paste form with a little Italian tomato sauce to use on the base of this pizza.  It added an extra dimension

to the flavor and a very nice texture to the sauce.  All in all- this is my best pizza, yet!

My son and grandson read me a story about a baker who baked a bread that lit up her kitchen.

I have made sun shaped bread before- and I wanted to make one

for Aidan to see!

So here is the recipe!

1 cup scalded milk

4 oz. margarine or butter

1 tsp saffron, crushed into powder in your mortar

1/4 cup honey

2 tsps rapid rise yeast ( or you could use regular yeast- just put it into the water

with a 1/2 tsp sugar to proof)

1 cup HOT water

5 1/2 to 6 cups bread flour

3/4 cup rye flour

1 tsp salt

Scald the milk, add the saffron and honey, and butter and stir- let the margarine melt,

and give the saffron a chance to turn the milk yellow.

Mix the flours, salt, and yeast in a large bowl, make a well in the center of the flour

mix and pour both the milk mixture and hot water into the well and stir into the flour.

The dough should be a little sticky- if it is too dry add a little more water.

You don’t need to knead this dough- just mix all the flour into the dough and

put a smear of butter in the bowl.  Flour your hand, pick up the dough and fold it

back into the bowl.  Fold several times smearing the butter around the surface of the

dough and then cover and let it sit for about 10 minutes.  Fold again, at least four times.

Cover and leave it alone for another 10-20 minutes.  Fold again- it should be rather smooth

by now, wipe a little butter across the top of the dough and cover  and leave alone for

about 90 minutes, until doubled in size.

Now shape 9 small oblong pieces and place in a circular shape.

Make a large dough ball and fit it over the ends of the pieces.

Pinch the ends of the pieces so they look like a sun’s rays.

Roll out small ropes of dough and build a face and attach with  the sharp end of a

bamboo skewer- pushing the ropes into place and securing them by going under

the surface lightly.  Brush the top with an egg wash and cover- let raise for about 45

minutes, until it is almost double- and puffy looking and then bake at 375 F until

golden brown- around 35 minutes.

You can shape this dough easily into any form you want-

I also made some star bursts, rolls and a small loaf.

And they turned out quite deliciously beautiful, as well