KC and I master homemade bread recipe, making pizzas and calzones galore!

KC and I often pop in to say hello at the Doctor’s (Malo) house. KC had their oldest daughter, Atamai, in her eighth grade class at the beginning of the year, and I had their middle child, Jack, as well. Now that their children are homeschooled by their mother, Caroline, we often have to make our way over to the village of Ta’u (just a 15 minute walk over the hill) to say hello to them. I find myself over in Ta’u at least 3-5 times a week after school walking or running for some exercise. Early in January during one of our visits, KC and I spent a Saturday afternoon with Caroline, and she taught us how to make homemade pizza dough. It was awesome! KC and I have attempted a bunch of different variations with this recipe throughout the past two months. We’ve successfully created cinnamon/sugar bread, garlic and basil bread, calzones filled with local vegetables and good ole fashioned American cheese (the only dairy product with enough preservatives to make it all the way out here on a boat and last!) and a delicious, delicious pizza created with a shredded cheese blend that Julia brought out to us when she visited us just last weekend (*see other post for info about those shenanigans!). Here’s the simple recipe for the bread if you’d like to try it in the comfort of your own home J :

Pizza Dough

First get the yeast a fermentin’!

Step 1:

Combine

1 cup and 2 tablespoons of medium warm water (I find the warmer the better)

Add first 1-1/2 tsp of sugar (this feeds the yeast)

And then equal parts (1-1/2 tsp) Active Dry Yeast

Stir this all together and let yeast grow for exactly ten minutes

The yeast should start to flower up on the surface of the water- it’s cool to watch!

Step 2:

While this is happening, mix your dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl:

Flour 3 cups

Salt 1-1/2 tsp

And then stir in 1-1/2 tablespoons of oil (I use olive)

Step 3:

Once your yeast is ready, add it to the flour mixture. Begin mixing immediately, at first mix with a spoon and then as it stiffens, move to kneading it with your hands. You’ll want to knead it until all of the ingredients are mixed together well and the dough has elasticity when you poke it that allows it to inflate back. Cover dough (I cover it with a white undershirt, but those of you with stores can purchase bread cloth somewhere) and let rise for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Once dough is ready, shape to your liking (KC and I have found that both the letter “K” and an awesome fish shape work well when you are creating your dough into a masterpiece).

Enjoy the foodie pics I took of my successful calzone! Not to brush my shoulda off, but it’s the most delicious meal around the island J