Recipes

No Yeast Pizza for Young Chefs

April 7, 2020 by Deborah

This is an incredibly easy recipe to make when you either don’t have yeast on hand or don’t have time for a yeasted dough. It is one of my favorites for after school baking classes because of the speed and ease. It is a can’t fail kid pleasing afternoon activity!

Magical Pizza Crust

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Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

30 mins

Super easy pizza crust for young chefs that requires no rising time!

Author: Deborah LeMoine

Recipe type: Kids Whole Grains

Cuisine: Casual

Serves: 2 personal pizzas

Ingredients

1.5 cups King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour or Bob's Red Mill Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
1.5 tsp baking powder
¾ tsp salt
1 cup whole fat Greek yogurt
pizza toppings

Instructions

Create a whole grain crust mix by blending the flour, baking powder, and salt. This can be stored in the refrigerator for several weeks.
Preheat oven to 450 with a pizza stone if available.
Mix 1.5 cups of the flour mixture with 1 cup of full fat Greek yogurt and stir just to blend.
Dump the dough out onto a clean counter and knead a few times to make a cohesive dough ball.
Divide the dough ball in half.
Press each half onto a sheet of parchment paper into the pizza shape of your choice.
Top lightly with olive oil, pesto, tomato sauce, fresh veggies (kale, peppers, broccolini, squash), meat, cheese, etc.
Slide the parchment paper onto the hot stone and bake about ten minutes until crust is brown and crispy at the edges and toppings are melted.

Community Pizza

October 20, 2017 by Deborah

When I first began dreaming of the School of Cooking and Sharing, I knew that our first offering would be a community pizza night. Pizza is the perfect way to begin baking. It is a relatively easy yeasted dough, has a very flexible timeline, and is incredibly forgiving. After all, at the end of the day there is melted cheese on hot bread so you can’t go wrong. Better yet, it is a bread meant for sharing. Anytime there is pizza, there is a party. It is food for gathering around the table, eating with your hands, telling stories and laughing. Teaching people to make pizza at home isn’t just about building a dough – it’s about building a community. I’ve seen this over and over again when I have taught private “pizza for happy hour” classes in the homes of donors, led after-school healthy pizza baking programs for hungry kids, hosted pizza baking parties at the local drop-in center for homeless teens, or grilled pizza in my own backyard with friends and family. One of my favorite things that happens after I’ve taught a class on pizza baking is when my phone lights up the next weekend with pictures of people baking pizza at home for the first time – they are never alone! That’s why over time I have come to think of this recipe as a recipe not just for pizza, but for “community pizza.” I’ve had requests for step by step directions with photos to show what the dough “should” look like at each stage. This past weekend I had some very special pizza chef hand models in town and I can assure you that their results were as delicious as they are beautiful! Each step is important, but as you will see below the timeline is incredibly flexible. You can make crust this afternoon to bake this evening, or you can make crust this evening to bake next week. It’s up to you and your schedule. Just don’t forget that community pizza is as much about the people eating your pizza as it is the pizza itself!

STEP ONE: GATHER

Ingredients for pizza dough are simple so quality matters. I use King Arthur Flour in all my classes because the quality of the flour is consistent and because I know that the company and the people that work there are committed to using their resources to help end childhood hunger. Many of our kid’s baking programs here in St. Louis are possible because of King Arthur’s generous donations of flour, recipe books, and resources. For this recipe you will want their White Whole Wheat Flour (a great way to incorporate more healthy whole grains into all your baked goods) and their higher protein Bread Flour. You will also want yeast (my favorite is SAF), salt and a little bit of olive oil. That’s it! Infused oils like garlic, basil or rosemary can make your dough even more delicious. Play around with the flavor and develop your own “signature” recipe!

While you are gathering your ingredients, don’t forget to gather your friends as well. Call your community and let them know there is a pizza party in the works. One of my favorite things to do is make a few batches of dough in advance and then top and bake the pizzas with friends on a Friday night, but you can make your own pizza community any time of the week.

STEP TWO: BLOOM

Because yeast is alive we want to make sure that it is warm, well-fed, and happy so that it can do what it’s meant to do. Isn’t that what we want for everything that’s alive? When we buy dry yeast it is in a dormant state and we need to wake it up gently. Start by putting 1 3/4 cups of warm water into a bowl. People always ask, how warm? Remember that yeast is alive, so make it a comfortable temperature, like a warm bath. Too cold and it won’t grow, too hot and you can kill it.

Next add 2 1/4 teaspoons of yeast (that’s a packet if you are using packets) and 2 1/4 teaspoons of brown sugar. Whisk them together and let the yeast get warm and eat the sugar to come to life….

No Yeast Cheesy Biscuits with Fresh Herbs

October 15, 2017 by Deborah

We are so excited to be working on some kid’s baking recipes along with our friends from Operation Food Search here in St. Louis. This week we had a bounty of fresh herbs donated from a local community garden and the kids loved these fantastic biscuits that are loosely based on a recipe from King Arthur’s Flourish blog. Talk about easy, with only three real ingredients in the original recipe: flour, cheese and milk! In keeping with our passion for whole grains we did swap in some great sprouted whole wheat flour, and of course some of the fresh herbs from the garden, but feel free to use 2 cups of any self-rising flour you have on hand or make your own by mixing 2 cups less 2 tablespoons regular or white whole wheat flour, 1 tablespoon baking powder, and 1 teaspoon salt. I hope you enjoy them as much as we did…

Flexible Fruit Crisp

January 24, 2017 by Deborah

I’m so excited to be a guest culinary instructor at Operation Food Search‘s Dining On A Dime event this week. I was invited to make a whole grain dessert that highlights a dish the kids in our Cooking Matters classes enjoy that is healthy, budget friendly and uses only simple tools and methods. This flexible fruit crip is perfect! It showcases whatever fruit is in season (or available frozen) which means it tastes great and the cost stays reasonable. It uses white whole wheat flour only so it is healthy without a long list of expensive grains or flours that aren’t likely to be used in other recipes. And it can be mixed up in one bowl and baked in a toaster oven! Best of all, the girls in my after school baking classes have loved it.

Flexible Fruit Crisp

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Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

40 mins

Total time

1 hour

This kid friendly fruit crisp is made from whole grains and is delicious with any fruit you have available!

Author: Little Flour

Recipe type: Dessert

Serves: 10 servings

Ingredients

Filling:
8 cups sliced apples (or peaches, plums, nectarines, blueberries, blackberries, etc. A mixture of fruits works great, as does frozen fruit)
½ cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons white whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon cinnamon (or baking spice, apple pie spice, etc.)
Topping:
¾ cup brown sugar
¾ cup white whole wheat flour (or any whole grain flour such as oat or barley flour)
½ cup rolled oats
½ cup chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts, etc. or just substitute with rolled oats!)
¼ teaspoon salt
1½ teaspoon cinnamon (or baking spice, apple pie spice, etc.)
½ cup (1 stick) softened butter

Instructions

Preheat oven or toaster oven to 350.
Mix the fruit, ½ cup brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of flour and 1 tablespoon of spice together in a bowl.
Pour the fruit into a deep dish pie plate, or similar sized baking dish of any sort.
In the same bowl, mix together all the topping ingredients except the butter.
Cut the butter into small pieces and drop it into the bowl.
Using your clean fingers (this is the fun part!) work the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture is crumbly with no large chunks of butter remaining.
Pour the topping over the fruit and spread it around. It doesn't need to be perfect.
Bake about forty minutes until the fruit bubbles and the top is golden brown.

Sprouted Whole Wheat Pumpkin Ravioli

October 31, 2016 by Deborah

I always cherish this last month of Farmer’s Markets here in St. Louis, especially when fall has been warm and there are still plenty of herbs growing in my own garden to enjoy alongside the apples and pumpkins from local farmers. The smell of apples and pumpkins roasting in the oven signals the beginning of a cozy time of year in the kitchen. I find myself preserving the bounty of the season by stockpiling apple butter and roasted pumpkin to bake with later in the winter when the market has closed for the year. The earlier it gets dark, the earlier we find ourselves gathered together in the evenings – and I find myself more willing to take some extra time with everyday meals for friends and family. Last week, I roasted half a dozen sugar pie pumpkins from the market to use for pumpkin pies and my favorite sprouted pumpkin oat bread, but I also tried a new strategy and roasted a few of them with cloves of garlic, fresh sage and rosemary in the cavity for a more savory flavor. The results have been fantastic in soups, savory pumpkin sourdough loaves for the bakery, and as a filling for whole grain pastas. I’ve sometimes struggled to get the perfect texture for whole grain pasta but this fall King Arthur Flour released a recipe using their new sprouted whole wheat flour. I’ve been a fan of sprouted whole wheat flour for some time, but had never tried it in pasta. The results are fantastic, and pair wonderfully with savory pumpkin and local goat cheese for ravioli or lasagna. …

Pumpkin Oat Bread

November 4, 2015 by Deborah

Here’s the breakfast bread our supporters are eating this month. Each loaf is filled with house made apple butter, roasted pumpkin, and sprouted wheat and oats. These demi-loaves are moist with just enough sweetness for breakfast or a late night snack. They are filled with sprouted whole grain goodness so they are good for you, and around here proceeds from all sales pay for Thanksgiving dinner at our local drop in center. What could be more delicious than that? Try making a batch for the hungry kids in your house or neighborhood!…

Apple Butter

November 4, 2015 by Deborah

It’s ok to give yourself a gift every now and then. For me, loading the freezer with apple butter each fall is a gift to myself for the winter. Apple butter sweetens most of the quick breads we make during the winter for bake sales and cooking classes, and it’s also the key ingredient in a lot of our snowy day pancake recipes at home. Every year on one of these late fall weekends, I’ll head to Tower Grove and buy as many varieties of local apples as I can find. If I can talk the kids into picking the apples at a local orchard, all the better. Then I’ll spend a lazy afternoon peeling apples and listening to great music on the patio. I toss the apples and spices into my big dutch oven and forget about it. The apple butter cooks itself overnight, slowly filling the house with the aroma of happy days ahead. Make enough to eat on pancakes this weekend and freeze the rest in half cup containers for baking. You’ll thank yourself this winter….

Be a Good Cookie!

November 1, 2015 by Deborah

The history of the cookie swap in this country is about sharing more than cookies. It’s about sharing recipes and stories and time as well. It’s about making your best and then giving it away, hoping that someone else will love it as much as you do. That’s why it was so much fun to participate in The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap to raise money for Cookies for Kids’ Cancer this year. This great organization encourages all bakers to “be a good cookie” and raise money to help end childhood cancers. The organization’s founders are fellow believers that a batch of cookies made with love really can change a kid’s life, so it was a joy to bake with them this year. For the big event, I tweaked one of our classic Little Flour cookie recipes by adding sweet dried bing cherries to our dark chocolate and toasted coconut cookie batter. The recipe makes eight dozen cookies so it’s perfect for cookie swaps, teacher thank you gifts, and sharing with friends. The toasted coconut infused dough is delicious and adaptable. You can use milk, dark or semi-sweet chocolate or a blend all three. Little Flour supporters love them with dried bing cherries this time of year, and that’s the way we made them for the swap, but you can also use blueberries or no fruit at all (as my true chocoholic family still prefers). No matter what you choose to add to the dough, the real fun is in giving them away. Enjoy!

…

Birthday Cake

July 15, 2015 by Deborah

Cakes are special. Every birthday, every celebration ends with something sweet, a cake, and people remember. It’s all about the memories. -Buddy Valestro

Around here our birthday cakes tend to be a little less fussy than what you can find in a “real” bakery. I’d rather tackle wild yeast than buttercream any day. The cake in the oven today is the fantastically simple strawberry summer cake from Smitten Kitchen. Loaded with fresh strawberries and barley flour, it smells like a strawberry patch in the oven, just as the recipe promises. But it smells like more than that to me. To me, a cake in the oven is the smell of birthdays. And of children’s wishes being made real. When you ask for strawberry cake, you get strawberry cake. There is no greater joy than being the one who gets to bake the cakes of childhood. My mom made one with peaches for my sister and me growing up. My son prefers chocolate cream “birthday pie” instead of cake, with a double thick graham cracker crust and homemade whipped cream. For my daughter it’s an apple cake loaded with cinnamon, although I once sent a carrot cake through airport security when that was what she craved her first year at college. At the drop in center we bake for, there is a monthly party where kids get to pick their own decorations. But it’s not really about the decorations that go on top, or even so much about what flavors the batter on the inside. The essential ingredient for a good birthday cake is love. Thats what makes the memories sweet.