Pizza Dough by Jamie Oliver

It's so tempting to just buy frozen pizza or frozen pizza bases. They're so convenient, aren't they? But nothing is better than FRESHLY made pizza dough, with fresh ingredients of your choice. 

A friend recommended that I try out Jamie Oliver's recipe for pizza dough. And having tried and tested it, I can now recommend it to all of you. It's simple and delicious! What more can you ask for?

Pizza Dough, by Jamie Oliver
(Recipe scaled to make a thin 12" base)

130ml lukewarm water

1/2 tsp sugar

1 tsp instant yeast

1 tbs extra virgin olive oil

200g bread flour

1/2 tsp sea salt

Sprinkle sugar and yeast over water. Set aside for about 10 min till frothy.

Pour yeast mixture and oil into flour and salt.

Knead dough till smooth and springy.

Place the ball of dough in a large flour-dusted bowl. Proof for about 30 min till double in size.

Knock back dough and roll out to a 12" circle. 

Place on a greased and floured baking pan or pizza stone. 

Pile on your favourite toppings, and bake at 220*C for 15-20 min till the crust is brown and the cheese is bubbly.

29 bakes for $2498

Remember my post back in mid March about baking to raise funds for Japan?

Response was overwhelming, and within days, I received more than $2000 in pledges.

So as promised, here are (almost) all the bakes that were done for Japan - 23 of 29 - raising a total of $2498 for Red Cross. 

Thank you for your generous donations, and for giving me this amazing opportunity to bake for a good cause.  It has been such a pleasure!

23 done.... 6 more to go...

Cheery Wands

I made these on a lazy Saturday morning a few weeks ago. A close friend of mine always prepares an assortment (cheerios, milo balls, peanut butter balls, honey stars, etc.) whenever she holds little gatherings with friends or family. Usually, she gets the really long sticks, probably around 25cm or so. She buys her long sticks from Market Place and some NTUCs.

For mine, I use the shorter sticks (butter flavoured) from Daiso. They are really easy to make and both kids and adults love them. I used peanut butter to "glue" the frosties to the plain biscuits. You can also use chocolate spread, e.g. Nutella if you prefer.

Salmon & Broccoli Quiche

Nothing beats a freshly baked home-made quiche.  Don't you agree?
The best part is: I can choose the flavours I want and however much I desire.

So I loaded this baby with salmon belly, broccoli, onions, and dill.  (Salmon belly is sweeter than fillet, and much cheaper.)

I had half for my dinner on Friday night, and shared the remaining half with hubs this morning.  Think I'll make a bigger one next time...

Apple Cinnamon Minicakes

What could be a better combination than apple + raisins + cinnamon + maple syrup + brown sugar?  Hahaha... that's pretty much the secret to these soft, fluffy, aromatically perfumed minicakes. 


Oops... no longer a secret.

Apple Cinnamon Minicakes

Makes about 20 minicakes.

210g flour

130g brown sugar

1.5 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 - 1 tsp cinnamon powder (depending on your preference for cinnamon)

120g butter

120ml milk

2 eggs

90ml maple syrup (the best quality you can get)

1 apple, peeled, cored and diced

30g raisins

Dump all ingredients except the diced apples and raisins into your mixing bowl.

Beat till you get a smooth batter.  

Then fold in the diced apples and raisins till evenly distributed.

Spoon batter into muffin cups.

Bake at 160*C for about 20 min till done. 

Cool on a wire rack, and resist the temptation to pop one in your mouth while it's still hot!

My pictures really don't do justice to this recipe.  I assure you that these are one of the best bakes I've come across.  

Now, if any of you know of a better recipe than this, please please please tell me!  

Double Berry Cake

Raisin Cupcakes

These cupcakes were made for a sweet little girl's 5th birthday.

Cupcake: Vanilla cake with raisins
Frosting: Hazelnut Cream Cheese Frosting
Cupcake liners from Ikea.