Pizza Dough

Breakfast Pizza and a hungry Gizmo

We like to bake our own pizzas (ok, they are called pizze in plural). But to bake your own pizza, you need a good pizza dough. I have tried several through the years, but no one has given me a better crust than the one from kvalimad.dk

Kvalimad, has different options depending on how good you are to plan ahead, but I really like his start in the morning dough. 

10 hour pizza dough

Makes 4 thin crust pizze.

Ingredients:

• 625-650 g all-purpose flour
• 450 ml (17/8 cups) water 
• 50 ml olive oil
• 2 teaspoons (14 g) salt
• 3 g live yeast or about ¼ teaspoon dry yeast

Directions:

Dissolve the yeast in the water, if using dry yeast sprinkle a few pinches sugar in the water too. Add the rest of the ingredients and knead the dough for about 5 minutes in a stand mixer. (Knead a little longer if kneading by hand). The dough should now be somewhat sticky and elastic. 

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for about 8 hours on the kitchen counter.

Pour the dough onto a lightly floured workspace, fold the dough over 3-4 times and divide the dough into 4 rounds 

Sprinkle the rounds with flour and let them rise for another 2 hours, covered.

Now the dough is ready to use. 

The One Hour Dough

Makes 4 thin crust pizze.

This dough works, but it won't have the same crust and flavor, but it's still better than a frozen pizza from the grocery store.

Ingredients:

• 625-650 g all-purpose flour
• 450 ml (17/8 cups) water 
• 50 ml olive oil
• 2 teaspoons (14 g) salt
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• 12 g live yeast or about 3 g dry yeast

Directions:

Dissolve the yeast in half of the water in the bowl of the stand mixer. If using dry yeast sprinkle a few pinches sugar in the water too.

Bring the rest of the water to a boil. Add oil, salt and vinegar to the bowl with half of the flour. Mix in half of the hot water. Add the rest of the flour and knead the dough for about 10 minutes in the stand mixer. Put the hot water into the mixing bowl for the stand mixer. (Knead a little longer if kneading by hand). The dough should now be somewhat sticky and elastic. 

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for about 30 minutes on the kitchen counter.

Pour the dough onto a lightly floured workspace, fold the dough over 3-4 times and divide the dough into 4 rounds 

Sprinkle the rounds with flour and let them rise for another 30 minutes, covered.

Now the dough is ready to use. 

Source: Kvalimad.dk

Koldskål - Cold Sweet Buttermilk Soup

Strawberry Koldskål - Cold Sweet Strawberry Buttermilk Soup

Koldskål, or kærnemælkskoldskål, is a sweet cold soup made from buttermilk. Koldskål is mostly eaten in the summer months. It's normally a dessert, but is also served as a light and fast dinner on a hot day.

My mom made koldskål with eggs, sugar, vanilla and buttermilk, but I make mine without eggs, and I think it's just as good. Sometimes I add some whipping cream to make it more creamy. Serve the koldskål the traditional way with lemon juice, kammerjunker and an iceberg (raw meringue), or with a sprinkle of granola. Koldskål is easy to change up by adding your favorite fruit, I used Strawberries here.

This is my first time making koldskål in my vitamix, and I think I got way to much air incorporated this time, Next time, I'll mix the koldskål at a lower speed, to avoid all the bubbles. 

Ingredients:

• 1 quart buttermilk

• 170 ml (6 fl oz) yogurt with vanilla

• 1 dl whipping cream (optional)

• 1 lemon, the juice of, (I used the juice of 2 meyer lemons)

• 85 g sugar (start with a little less, and add more if needed)

• 1 vanilla pod, the seeds from, or 1 teaspoon vanilla paste

For Strawberry koldskål, add 6-12 strawberries.

Directions:

Put all the ingredients into a blender, and blend until you have a homogenous mixture. Add more sugar and/or lemon juice if needed.

Serve the koldskål cold and with the topping of your liking.

Enjoy!

Koldskål - Cold Sweet Buttermilk Soup

Kammerjunker - Twice-Baked Cookies

Kammerjunker - Twice-Baked Cookies

Kammerjunker, or twice-baked cookies, is a summer treat. Danes love to eat koldskål (cold buttermilk soup) on hot summer days. And we eat these kammerjunker with the koldskål. 

Here is my recipe for kammerjunker.

Ingredients: 

• 250 g all-purpose flour 
• 75 g sugar 
• 1 teaspoon baking powder 
•  115 g butter, salted and cold 
• 1 vanilla pod (2 teaspoons vanilla paste) 
• 1 egg
• 1 lemon, the zest of
• ½ teaspoon cardamom
• ½ dl milk
• A pinch of salt 

Directions: 

Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and mix them with about 1 teaspoon of the sugar to help separate the seeds in the mixture.

Mix all the dry ingredients including vanilla and lemon zest in a bowl. Add the cold cubed butter and mix it in with a pastry cutter until it's all combined, resembling grated cheese.

Add the egg and mix using hands, to make the dough come together. Add the milk and mix the dough until it's just combined smooth. Let the dough rest in the refrigerator for about an hour.

Preheat the oven to 350℉ (175℃).

Roll the dough into small balls (2 cm or 0.8 inch diameter) and put them on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake them for 10 minutes. 

Lower the heat to 215℉ (100℃).

Take the cookies out of the oven and immediately slice them into halves with a serrated knife. Bake the cookies again, this time with the cut-side up for another 45 min. until they are dry, like you would do with biscotti’s.

Let the cookies cool completely on a wire rack before storing in an airtight container. 

Eat the kammerjunker with "koldskål" or as a snack.

Enjoy!

Triple-Smoke Burger

Triple-smoke Burger

We are heading into the BBQ season, and this is one of my all-time favorite homemade burgers. The sweet onion, creamy avocado, salty bacon, the spicy chipotle sauce and patty, makes this burger perfect. This is a must try recipe for the summer BBQ's.

The 3 smokey elements in this burger is bacon, smoked paprika and chipotle. 

Serves 3

Ingredients:

Chipotle Sauce:

• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 1 tablespoons minced chipotle in adobo, including some sauce

Burger Patty:

• 450 g (1 pound) ground beef chuck, not lean
• 2 teaspoons sweet smoked paprika
• 1 tablespoons minced chipotle in adobo, including some sauce
• 1 egg
• ¾ teaspoon salt 

Accompaniment:

• 6 bacon slices
• 1 large red onion
• 1 firm-ripe avocado
• olive oil, for brushing on onion 
• 3 hamburger buns (this time I used a store bought bun)
• lettuce 
• cilantro sprigs

Directions:

Working in batches cook bacon in a skillet over medium heat, turning occasionally, until crisp; transfer to paper towels to drain. (Or cook the bacon the way you are accustomed to.)

Cut the onion into ½-inch thick rounds, pierce them stuck with a metal skewer to keep the onion round together when you are grilling it. Brush both sides of the onion slices with olive oil, set aside.

Chipotle Sauce: 

Purée the chipotle in adobo sauce in a food processor or blender. Mix 1 tablespoon of the puréed chipotle with mayonnaise and sour cream in a small bowl, set aside.

Burger Patty:

Gently mix beef with 1 tablespoon chipotle, paprika, egg and salt until combined. Form into 3 patties, set aside. 

Peel and slice the avocado, rinse the lettuce and cilantro and toast the hamburger buns, so you are ready to put the burgers together.

Preheat the grill to medium heat. (Grill the onions and patties over direct heat.)

Oil grill rack before grilling the onions, turning over once, until softened and slightly charred, about 2 to 3 minutes total. Grill patties, covered only if using a gas grill, until they are well-done, about 5-6 minutes on each side.

Spread chipotle sauce on buns, and make burgers with lettuce, avocado, bacon, onion, and cilantro.

Enjoy!

And now the Danish version:

Triple-Smoke Burger

Ingredients:

Chipotle Sauce:

• 2 spsk mayonnaise
• 2 spsk creme fraiche
• 1 spsk chipotle in adobo sauce, husk at bruge saucen

Bøffen:

• 450 g hakket oksekød (ikke fedtfattigt) 
• 2 tsk røget paprika
• 1 spsk chipotle i adobo, husk at bruge saucen
• 1 æg
• ¾ tsk salt 

Diverse:

• 6 skiver bacon 
• 1 stort rødløg 
• 1 moden avocado
• oliven olie, til at pensle løget med 
• 3 burgerboller (Jeg brugte købe boller her)
• salat
• et par kviste frisk koriander

Fremgangsmåde:

Steg baconen til den er sprød, læg den stegte bacon på noget køkkenrulle for at suge det overskydende fedt. 

Skær løget i ca 1,25 cm tykke skiver. Spid løgskiverne med et grillspyd, læg skiven fladt på skærebrættet og pres forsigtigt spydet igennem alle ringene, så løget holder formen under stegningen. Pensel begge sider med olie.

Chipotle Sauce: 

Purer chipotle i adobo sauce'en i en mini blender og bland 1 spsk af det med mayonnaise og creme fraicheen i en lille skål.

Bøffen:

Bland kødet med chipotle, paprika, æg og salt sammen i en skål. Lav tre bøffer af kødet.

Skræl avocadoen, vask salaten og korianderen og varm eller rist bollerne, så du har alt klart, når du skal samle burgeren. 

Opvarm grillen til medium varme. Bøf og løg skal steges over direkte varme.

Kom olie på grillen og grill løgene, vend dem én gang. Grill dem til de bliver klare og lidt brunede, ca 2-3 minutter ialt.  Grill bøfferne, med lukket låg hvis du bruger en gasgrill, indtil de er gennemstegte, ca 5-6 minutter på hver side.

Smør chipotle saucen på bollerne, og saml burgeren med salat, bøf, løg, avocado og koriander.

Velbekommen.

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

This is my first take on this classic American cake, but it definitely won't be my last time making it. I now understand why this moist cake has been a favorite here in the US for years. I like that is not overly sweet and still have the caramelized topping.

Ingredients 

• 115 g (1 stick) salted butter 
• 75 g sugar 
• 75 g brown sugar 
• 2 eggs 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla paste
• 225 g all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder 
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• 120 ml milk
• 50 ml plain yogurt

Topping:

• 60 g butter 
• 100 g Brown sugar 
• 7 pineapple slices 
• 7 cherries, pitted

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350℉ (180℃).

Melt the butter for the topping in a saucepan, and pour it into a 9 inch baking pan. Sprinkle with the brown sugar . Lay the pineapples and cherries on top. Set aside.

Batter:

Mix the dry ingredients in a medium bowl and set aside. Melt the butter in saucepan and whisk in both sugars, making sure there are no lumps. Whisk in yogurt, milk, vanilla and pineapple juice. Start mixing the dry ingredients and mix until it's just incorporated. 

Pour the batter over the pineapples in the pan and bake the cake for about 20 minutes, then cover the cake with some aluminum foil and bake for another 25 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean. 

Let the cake cool for a few minutes before inverting it onto cake stand.

You can serve the cake warm or wait until it cools down. 

Enjoy.