By Toby Bellhouse

I’ve used this pizza recipe and added to it for a while now, it’s one of my favorite recipes for pizza. Enjoy!

INFORMATION:

This pizza recipe makes 2, 10in pizzas

Leave 1  1/2 hours to make the pizza for the dough to rise (if your in a hurry use option 1 in the instructions, if not I recommend to leave it for the time option 2 says)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1 teaspoon of active dry yeast 

100ml of lukewarm water (not hot)

265grams of all purpose flour 

1  1/2 teaspoons of salt 

EQUIPMENT:

Electric mixer with dough hook attachment, or a medium bowl and muscle power.

Stiff spatula

Cling film.

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Dissolve the yeast in the water. Pour the water into the bowl of a stand mixer or a medium bowl. Sprinkle the yeast over the water, and let stand until the yeast has dissolved, about 5 minutes.

2. Stir in the flour and salt to form a shaggy dough. Add the flour and salt. Stir with a stiff spatula until you’ve formed a floury, shaggy dough.

3. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes. Using the dough hook on the stand mixer, or kneading by hand against the counter, knead the dough on medium speed until it forms a smooth, slightly tacky ball that springs back when you poke it, 5 to 8 minutes. If the dough sticks to the bowl or your hands like bubblegum, add a tablespoon of flour at a time until it’s easier to work with; avoid adding too much flour if possible.

4. Option 1 — Use the dough right away. If you're in a hurry, skip the rise and make the pizza right now. It will make a thin-crusted pizza with a cracker-like flavor. Option 2 — Let the dough rise for 1 to 1  1/2 hours. If you're planning to make pizza today, then give the dough a rise. Clean out the mixing bowl, coat it with a little oil, and transfer the dough back inside. Cover the bowl with cling film or a kitchen towel and let the dough rise until doubled in size, 1 to 1  1/2 hours. Option 3 — Store the dough in the fridge. If you're planning to make pizza in the next few days, cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and refrigerate. If you have time, let it rise for about a half an hour before you refrigerate it to get things going, but it will also be fine if you need to store it right away.

5. Prepare the oven for baking. If your dough is refrigerated, take it out and let it warm on the counter while the oven heats or preferably 2 hours to come completely to room temperature. Arrange a rack in the bottom third of the oven. Place a baking stone, or upside-down heavy baking tray on the rack. Heat the oven as hot as it will go.

6. Prepare the pizzas. Divide the dough in half, and pat or roll one of the pieces into a 10-inch round. Transfer the round of dough to a floured baking peel, the back of a sheet pan, or a piece of parchment paper. Top with personal choice amount of sauce, some cheese and any other toppings.

7. Bake the pizza for 5 to 10 minutes. Slide the pizza into the oven on top of the baking stone or baking sheet. Bake until the cheese is melted, the crust golden, and you see a some charred bits on the top and edges, 5 to 10 minutes. Baking time will vary depending on the heat of your oven and how thick or thin you rolled your pizza.

8. Cool (briefly!) and eat. Transfer the pizza to a cutting board. Let the pizza cool just enough so it won't burn your mouth when you take a bite before cutting. Meanwhile, top the remaining round of dough and bake it.

RECIPE NOTES

Freezing pizza dough: The pizza dough can also be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw it in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours before you plan to bake it.

 

175g/6oz Odlums Cream Plain Flour

225g/8oz Butter or Margarine (room temperature)

125g/4oz Chocolate (good quality, at least 60% cocoa)

325g/12oz Shamrock Golden Caster Sugar

2 teaspoons Goodall's Vanilla Essence

4 Eggs (beaten)

80g Shamrock Chopped Walnuts

Pinch of Salt

½ teaspoon Baking Powder

1How to:

1. Preheat oven to 160°C/320°F/Gas 3. Lightly grease an oblong brownie tin. 25cm/10" x 15cm/6". Small roasting tin would also do.

2. Melt the butter/margarine and chocolate together over a low heat.

3. Remove from heat, add the sugar and mix well.

4. Add vanilla essence, eggs and chopped walnuts.

5. Sieve the flour, salt and baking powder together and gently stir into chocolate mixture.

6. Pour into prepared tin and bake for about 40-50 minutes until crusty on top.

7 . Remove from oven and allow to cool, cut into brownies.

Enjoy!!

Easy to make spider cupcakes with a pumpkin cupcake base and cream cheese frosting! Perfect for Halloween!

This year, I have had a lot of fun making all kinds of cupcakes. Some creamy, some covered with icing and even some with berries inside! But I’ve decided for this blog, to make some Halloween cupcakes, since Halloween is coming up soon. There easy to make and also lots of fun. How bloggy is that?!?!

As the shops did not sell Halloween goodies yet, such as pumpkins and pumpkin purée, I cooked some sweet potato as an alternative and it works really well. 

And here is the recipe. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Cupcakes:

Cream Cheese Icing:

Decoration: 

Directions (makes 20 cupcakes)

Ingredients:

300g blackberries 

300g apples

300g jam sugar

A small amount of water 

1.peel and core the apples ,place blackberries and apples

in a saucepan with some water put a lid on until apples are soft

2.in the saucepan mash up the blackberries and apples until there isn’t any lumps

3.add sugar and let dissolve 

4.heat jam until it reaches setting point 

5.put jam in jars if you want

I hope you enjoy my jam recipe as much as I did. It’s a great ways of to use up blackberries you may have picked over the summer.🍎