Two Ingredient Pizza Dough

- Alex Prichard 4 Comments

2 ingredient pizza dough

The idea of a two ingredient pizza dough recipe has been floating around the internet for a while. This hit my inbox at some stage and while I noted it, I never really thought there was anything wrong with my existing pizza dough recipe.

We had pizza a week or so ago and had some mozzarella hanging around in the fridge, so I was determined to use it up before it needed binning.  Unfortunately, inspiration was a bit thin on the ground at the end of last week so … pizza it was. However, given that we always have yoghurt in the fridge I thought maybe it would be worth a bit of an experiment.

I don’t know where the two ingredient dough originated but kidspot seems to stake an early claim. However, by both my standards and those of many of the commenters, the recipe given is really rather deficient.

  • Serving size? 1 pizza base. Because there’s some kind of universal standard for pizza bases …
  • Greek or natural yoghurt is given in the list of ingredients … but the recipe creator says in the comments she hasn’t tried with natural yoghurt …
  • There are a ton of complaints about the ratios
  • There’s no cooking temperature
  • There’s no cooking time

And that’s before I complain about the fact that the flour quantity is given in cups, rather than grams.

I’m all for playing fast and loose with recipes but I suspect that had you never made pizza dough before you’d be facing an uphill battle with this one!

The following recipe makes a thin crust for a 30cm diameter pizza tray. We find that this is perfect for dinner for the two of us (the small child won’t touch pizza on account of the bread component).

Of course, the really important part of all of this is … how did it taste? While it was OK it was … just OK. While it was a thin and crispy base it had a slight but discernible taste of raw flour and the texture was slightly too crumbly (for want of a better word). The dough is also very soft which makes it difficult to work with.

I can see the appeal in this dough – no yeast and no rising time. But with dried yeast so readily available and the rising time for pizza dough less crucial (and, indeed, for ease of dinner prep I made this dough in the afternoon so there was no advantage to me at all there) I’m not sure that the compromise in taste, texture and easily workable dough is worth it.

We’ll be returning to our standard recipe.  Yes, it’s 4 ingredients but so worth it!

 

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Two Ingredient Pizza Dough

Ingredients

  • 200g self raising flour + extra for kneading
  • ¾ cup plain yoghurt (I used Paris Creek B-D Yoghurt)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 250°C fan (or as hot as it will go).
  2. Mix the flour and yoghurt until they come together in a soft dough.
  3. Knead well on well floured board and roll out to fit 30cm pizza pan (greased with olive oil).
  4. Top with your favourite toppings - we use a base of tomato paste, oregano and chilli flakes, topped with mozzarella, bacon, red onion, hot salami and capsicum (for example).
  5. Bake for 10 minutes and serve immediately.
https://eatingadelaide.com/two-ingredient-pizza-dough/

Chocolate Bourbon Biscuit Recipe

- Alex Prichard Leave a comment

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Something of an ongoing discussion in our household is whether the king of biscuits is the chocolate bourbon or the chocolate digestive. Now, obviously, all right thinking people know and understand that it is indeed the chocolate digestive. A quick vox pop on my personal Facebook page (I have plenty of English friends) even confirmed this fact.

But Andy maintains that the bourbon is king and when I saw this recipe I figured it would be worth giving them a crack. Especially as I am yet to spot the ‘real’ deal in shops here in Australia.

This is another recipe that I would definitely call store cupboard. If you’re a regular baker you’ll have everything to hand and even those who make more intermittent efforts will probably find that the only thing that it’s necessary to source is the golden syrup.

The biscuit dough is quick to make (especially if, like me, you throw everything in a food processor!) but actually cutting out the biscuits, cooking them, allowing them to cool and then sandwiching them together takes a little while. This is even more so the case if you have a three and a half year old assistant …

The dough does need to be kept cool. Even on a cold day in our cold kitchen, I found that by the time was on the last lot of biscuits the dough was becoming difficult to handle. If you’re operating in warmer conditions, definitely keep the dough you’re not using wrapped in cling film in the fridge.

Rolling out the biscuit dough between two sheets of cling film is a great idea – it makes turning the dough very easy to do and you don’t have to worry about the mess (either on the bench or on the biscuits) created by flour.

The biscuits keep well but do start to soften a bit once you fill them. If you’re making them ahead, don’t fill them until you need them. The buttercream filling can be made ahead too – you just need to remember to take it out of the fridge to soften a bit. I had quite a bit of filling left over, so obviously I was far too stingy … but it is absolutely delicious on toast!

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Chocolate Bourbon Biscuit Recipe

Ingredients

  • 110g unsalted butter
  • 110g light brown sugar
  • 200g plain flour
  • 1 tsp bicarb
  • 40g cocoa
  • pinch of salt
  • ~ 3 tbsp golden syrup
  • 150g icing sugar
  • 5 tsp cocoa
  • 75g unsalted butter
  • ½ tsp vanilla extract
  • 3 tsp boiling water

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 170°C (convention) and line a couple of baking sheets with baking paper.
  2. To make the biscuits, cream the butter and light brown sugar. Add the flour, cocoa, bicarb and salt. Then add 2 tbsp of the golden syrup. If the dough does not come together then add another teaspoon or so. Process well between any extra additions as you don't want to add too much. The exact amount you need will depend on weather conditions and your flour so it is likely to change every time you make the biscuits.
  3. Tip the dough out onto the bench and bring it together in a ball. Divide the ball into four and, if it's warm, refrigerate 3 pieces, wrapped in cling film.
  4. Roll each ball into a long sausage and place between two sheets of cling film and roll out until 2-3 mm thick. Cut into biscuits (apparently a bourbon is 6 cm x 3 cm so that's the size you're aiming for) and transfer onto the baking sheets. You'll probably need the help of a palette knife (or other broad bladed knife). Allow space between the biscuits.
  5. A bourbon has 10 indents in it - use the blunt end of a bamboo skewer to create two rows of five impressions and then bake for 10-12 minutes. The biscuits will still be soft on top but will move on the baking paper.
  6. Sprinkle a little caster sugar on each biscuit while hot and gently press in with the back of a spoon.
  7. Allow the biscuits 10-15 minutes cooling on the tray before transferring to a wire rack.
  8. To make the buttercream filling, sieve the icing sugar and cocoa (or process well in a food processor). This is important: failure to do this will result in gritty buttercream. Even if you're using a food processor you need to process the icing sugar and cocoa really well BEFORE you add the butter.
  9. Add the butter, vanilla extract and water and process until you have a smooth, fluffy cream.
  10. Sandwich the biscuits with the cream and serve.
  11. They keep perfectly well filled for a couple of days. After that they do go a little soft but still taste spot on!
https://eatingadelaide.com/chocolate-bourbon-biscuit-recipe/

Coopers Vintage Ale Launch 2014

- Alex Prichard Leave a comment

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Disclaimer: I was a guest of Coopers at the lunch.

If you’re South Australian you’ll know that every winter Coopers launches its Extra Strong Vintage Ale. This is a beer that’s produced to age and every year Coopers’ head brewer, Dr Jon Meneses, plays around with the formula so no two years are the same.

Of course, any new product is always launched with fanfare and each year Coopers hosts a big wintery beer themed lunch to wet the new baby’s head. I’ve been lucky enough to go along the last couple of years and the lunch is always a generous treat, with the dishes matched to the current and back vintages of the beer.

This year, lunch was held at the Edinburgh Hotel in the Pavilion – a large room with floor to ceiling windows which overlooks the verandah and garden. Even though it was a pretty miserable day the room looked amazing: light filled, warm and inviting.

We started with five spice duck spring rolls served with a Pale Ale and lemongrass dipping sauce – and a Celebration Ale, of course. This was a lovely canapé but gave us no idea of what was to come.

Our first glimpse of the full menu came when we sat down. It was a hearty menu and each of the courses made use of a Coopers beer. We also had a tasting mat set out for our beers – this year comparing the current release with the 2012 and 2010 vintages.

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We started with the new release 2014 Vintage Ale, paired with a huge bowl of Sparkling Ale seafood chowder. This was served with the most enormous chunks of bread I have ever seen (and given how much bread I eat, that is saying something!). The seafood chowder was incredible: tons of seafood (South Australian Spencer Gulf prawns, Kinkawooka mussels and squid), a rich, thick chowder and plenty of black pepper. It was no surprise that, at the end of the meal, the Ed’s chef said they were considering making it a permanent fixture on the menu.

A slight pause, a palate cleanser of pear sorbet served with a shot of Celebration Ale and then we were headlong into the main course. A huge (beef and Vintage Ale, of course!) pie with plenty of sides. The pie was lovely: the beef was soft and tender and the caramelised shallots added both sweetness and the most subtle crunch. I managed to polish off the pie but I was economical with my choice of sides … opting for just some broccolini and asparagus.

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By this point, I’d realised it was extremely important to save some space for dessert. No beer this time – just an amazing Haigh’s chocolate tart.

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Oh, but wait … I’m supposed to be talking about the beer! The 2014 differs from previous years in that this year Dr Meneses has upped the hops content to create a more bitter beer. The bitterness drops off with age and, as more people are keeping their Vintage Ales longer, the balance between bitterness and the fruit sweetness changes. That lack of bitterness is why the older vintages start to appear almost sherry like. Of course, the team at Coopers does have to produce a beer which is also drinkable NOW (not everyone is patient …). As someone who really likes more bitter beers anyway, I found the 2014 really enjoyable. In the short term the hoppy character balances out the alcohol and keeps the beer refreshing and I think it will be really interesting to see how this beer ages. It is very drinkable now so I wonder how many people will have some left in future years?

I’ve been lucky enough to attend three Coopers Vintage Ale lunches now and the 2014 has set the bar very high. The lunch was amazing but this year’s Vintage Ale is also pretty special too.

The Coopers Extra Strong Vintage Ale is available now for around $75 a carton.  Quantities are limited.