Instead, this week I made a cake in honor of my friend Matthew’s birthday, and thought I’d share the recipe and photos in case you were despondent over the fact I didn’t post a bread recipe on Monday. Wipe your tears.

I was in search of a recipe that contained ingredients I had on hand; shouldn’t be too difficult, since my pantry is usually well-stocked. I was also looking for a recipe that wouldn’t take more than a few hours, since I don’t get home until six, and still have to cook dinner and do some other important stuff as part of my evening (screw around on Twitter and watch “Big Bang Theory”).

A quick Google search unearthed a recipe for an Orange Bundt Cake. Simple enough. Bundt cakes don’t require a lot of dressing up, since its shape is really its decoration. All it needs is a beautiful glaze, and you’re good to go.  And this particular recipe was intriguing to me: it calls for two whole oranges, pureed. Skin, pith, and all. I’ve never done that before, so I was naturally drawn to it. I made the Orange Glaze variation, since Matthew is not a “chocolate guy” (whatever *that* means).

After the jump, you’ll find the recipe and photos:

Whole Orange Bundt Cake (you can find a printable version here)

Ingredients

• 2 whole oranges (preferably seedless navel), scrubbed and washed well
• 3 sticks of butter, softened
• 2 cups granulated white sugar
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt

Method

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease and flour a Bundt pan and set aside.

Quarter the oranges, remove any seeds if not using navel, and put in food processor to puree. Set aside.

This is what the puree of two whole oranges looks like.

While the oranges are pureeing, cream the butter and sugar together in the base of an electric mixer for 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, waiting until each is fully combined. Add the orange puree and vanilla extract and mix until combined.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix into the wet ingredients gently, just until fully combined.

Pour the cake batter into the prepared Bundt pan, spreading so that it is evenly distributed. Bake at 350 for about 60 minutes or until a tester inserted in the cake comes out clean.

Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool. When completely cool, pour on your choice of glaze (below) and let set for at least 1 hour before serving. Will keep for 3-5 days under a cake dome or plastic wrap.

Chocolate Ganache Glaze

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Heat the heavy cream over medium heat just until small bubbles begin to form. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate chips and whisk gently until fully melted and combined. Let cool for 10 minutes before glazing cake. May be prepared in advance and gently reheated in a moderate microwave.

Orange Glaze

• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 4 teaspoons orange juice

Mix together and drizzle over cake.

This smells even better than it looks...

Results:

• My kitchen smelled absolutely divine while this was baking.
• It popped very easily out of my Bundt pan; I highly recommend getting yourself a stoneware Bundt pan. Never fails.
• The taste was outstanding – the little bits of orange skin gave the cake a slightly bitter-orange taste, which was extremely pleasant and a nice counterbalance to the sugar. It made the cake seem less sweet than the actual sugar content would lead you to expect.  It was a pound cake texture, creamy and dense. This recipe is a keeper.
• Birthday Boy had a great suggestion – possibly replacing some of the butter with sour cream, to lighten it up a bit. I do think that could be a  worthwhile experiment, because this cake is calorie-laden (though I did not calculate calories or fat because I was frightened at the prospect). Sour cream bundt cakes are a known quantity, and it probably wouldn’t be too difficult to construct a lightened-up version.

Here’s the list of the participating restaurants. You can take a look at all of the special restaurant Week menus by clicking over to www.SaySchenectady.org.

• Alto Grille at The Parker Inn
• Ambition Cafe
• Angelo’s Tavolo
• Aperitivo Bistro
• Bangkok Bistro
• Bombers Burrito Bar (Not sure how you get your money’s worth with this one. Wings, burrito, and a beer? Eh. Not worth it.)
• Brandon’s Steak & Seafood
• Café NOLA
• Cella Bistro
• Clinton’s Ditch
• Cornell’s
• John Riccitello’s Restaurant (best Schenectady restaurant you never knew was there)
• Manhattan Exchange
• Moon & River Café (the vegetarian option)
• More Perreca’s
• Pasqualina’s
• Pentagon Restaurant
• Petta’s
• The Stockade Inn
• Stoney’s Irish Grill (this one makes me laugh, because this used to be a townie bar that my ex-husband’s parents frequented)
• Taj Mahal
• Tara Kitchen
• Tops American Grill
• Turf Tavern
• Union Inn
• Van Dyck Restaurant & Lounge
• Villa Tuscan Grille
• The Water’s Edge Lighthouse

Lots of choices, and there’s really something for everyone. I have to be honest, though: some of these menus are really stretching it to be included, and it seems that you could get a better deal during anytime other than Restaurant Week. I’m looking at you, Bombers.

Here are my picks for Schenectady Restaurant Week, based on their special menus:

• Best Bang for Your Buck: Looks like Brandon’s is offering the best overall menu. Lobster tail!
• Close second: Cella Bistro. Homemade gnocchi!
• Best Ethnic Choice: Tara Kitchen. The special menu is very limited, but the food is great (had lunch there last week). Harissa Marinated Olives!
• Best Dessert: Café NOLA. Beignets!
• Biggest Dessert: More Perreca’s Famous ½ lb. All Buttercream Cupcake.
• Best Bonus on Menu: Ambition Cafe. Free wine tasting for guests over 21!
• Most Delicious-Sounding Menu Item: Tops American Grill. Bruschetta El Greco: Homemade focaccia bread, grilled and topped with a mixture of virgin olive oil, garlic, cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives, sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, artichokes and crumbled Feta cheese. You had me at sun-dried tomatoes…
• Best Choice if You Like Beef: Turf Tavern. A Prime Rib (plus appetizer & dessert) for $20? Great deal, if you like Prime Rib.
• Best Menu Item That Reminds Me of the Brady Bunch: Manhattan Exchange. Pork Chops and Applesauce.

Bon Appétit à Schenectady!

I found this one in Cook’s Ilustrated’s weighty tome Baking Illustrated. It’s a recipe for Rosemary Focaccia, with adjustments for Parmesan Focaccia, Olive Focaccia, and Sage Focaccia variations. (I’m really getting tired of typing focaccia).  

I was particularly interested in this one for two reasons: the use of a quick sponge (letting the yeast marinate with flour and water for about 20 minutes), and its use of potato in the dough. I’ve never used either, so I thought it would be fun.  It turned out pretty good, with some notable mistakes on my part (see my Results at the end).

As always, my comments and adjustments are in blue. Recipe and photos after the jump.

Olive Focaccia (you can find a printable version here)

Adapted from Baking Illustrated

Ingredients:

• 1 medium baking potato (about 9 ounces), peeled and quartered
• 1½ teaspoons active dry yeast
• 3½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 cup warm water (110 degrees)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for oiling bowl and pan
• 1¼ tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp fresh thyme (I used Herbes de Provence, again)
• 24 pitted kalamata olives

Directions:

Bring 1 quart water to boil in small saucepan; add potato and simmer until tender. Drain and cool. Put through a ricer (or large holes of a box grater). Reserve 1-1/3 cups lightly packed potato.

Potato, riced

Meanwhile, in large bowl of stand mixer, mix yeast, ½ cup of the flour, and ½ cup of the warm water until combined. Cover tightly with plastic wrap (or bowl cover) and set aside until bubbly, about 20 minutes.

Add remaining dough ingredients, including reserved potato. Mix with paddle attachment on low speed until the dough comes together.

Switch to dough hook attachment and increase speed to medium, continue kneading until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. (you will be tempted to add more flour here. Don’t do it! See my Results below to learn why)

Transfer dough to lightly oiled bowl, turn to coat with oil, and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let rise in warm, draft-free area until dough is puffy and doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

With wet hands (to prevent sticking), press the dough out onto a generously oiled 11×15 rimmed baking sheet. If the dough resists going into the corners (which it will), cover with damp towel and allow to rest for 15 minutes before trying to stretch it again.

Cover dough with lightly oiled plastic wrap; let rise in a warm draft-free area until dough is puffy and doubled in volume, 45 to 60 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425 °F.

With wet fingers, dimple dough at regular intervals (make about 2 dozen). The dimples should be deep enough to hold small pieces of topping, herbs and/or pools of olive oil.

Drizzle the dough with oil and sprinkle evenly with thyme and coarse salt, landing some in pools of oil. Place an olive in each of the dimples.

Ready to go into the oven...

Bake for about 25 minutes or until the bottom is golden brown. Remove from pan and cool slightly on a rack; serve warm.

This is the money shot, my friends.

Results:

• Overall, pretty good. Taste was good, but the texture was not perfect.  The finished bread was a bit tougher than I expected, and didn’t have much in the way of oven spring.  It still tasted great, but I was hoping for a fluffier finished product. What happened? Operator error. I learned something while making this one: if you’re using a Cook’s Illustrated recipe, you NEED to fully read the text that comes before the recipe.  If you read the magazine (as I do), you ‘ll know that CI’s standard operating procedure is to tell you – in excruciating detail – why the recipe is exactly the way it is. There’s never a mistake. There’s a reason for everything. I forgot this, and plowed right into the recipe without reading the backstory. After adding the prescribed amount of flour, I was totally annoyed with the dough – it was sticky and slightly loose. So I added more flour until it got to what I thought was the right consistency. Mistake! Afterwards, I went back and read the story:

A [note] about working with this dough: the moisture from the potatoes helps keep the crumb soft but also makes the dough very sticky. Adding extra flour makes the dough easier to handle, but the results are not as good because the wet dough helps produce bread with air pockets and chewiness.

Dammit. Me and my kitchen confidence. Foiled again.

• Another reason it didn’t bake right: my range is dying a slow death. On Thanksgiving 2010, the back right burner exploded a little bit, causing a teensy fire that created a short in the range’s electrical system. So, that burner’s been out since then, and the left front burner died a couple weeks ago. And now the oven is going through its death throes: temperature on the dial is about 50-100° off from the internal temp, and even when I think I’ve got it set, the oven won’t maintain a consistent temperature (it’s like a sine wave of temperature fluctuation in there, with a standard deviation of about 50°). So, not an ideal situation for baking, to say the very least. The focaccia thus did not bake the way it should have.
• I just remembered I forgot to sprinkle the top of the bread with salt. No wonder it didn’t taste seasoned enough. Man, I gotta start paying more attention. I just get so wrapped up in baking, I sometimes forget stuff. So, don’t forget the salt on yours, okay?
• Is it weird that my internal Kitchen OCD Alarm went off when there wasn’t a perfectly formed grid of olives? The only reason I didn’t make it a perfect grid was that I ran out of olives. And using green olives would just have made the whole thing worse, really.
• I’m also ticked off that I accidentally deleted the photo I took of the dough as it was done kneading. It’s not critical, but I’m annoyed with myself. I hope you forgive my carelessness.

I’m excited about this, and I know customers of the Troy Farmers Market and Schenectady Greenmarket will be as well – Tara Kitchen (purveyors of Moroccan cuisine at both markets) will be launching their own restaurant in Schenectady, scheduled to open on Tuesday, January 31.

The restaurant – Tara Kitchen, natch – will be located at 431 Liberty Street in Schenectady, just a stone’s throw from City Hall and the Post Office. Their website is listed as “coming soon”, so I don’t have any details on the menu. All I’m saying is that their incredible chicken harira better be on there (I’m sure it will – it’s gained kind of a cult following at the markets and the recipe made it into Metroland’s 2011 Holiday Entertaining issue).

I’m not very familiar with Moroccan cuisine, other than an occasional tagine and some couscous, so I’m looking forward to a new experience. And, it doesn’t hurt that it’s only a few blocks from my office.

Another thing to look forward to: owner Aneesa Waheed has promised a podcast interview with me in the near future, after opening week.

(for fans of their store on State Street, they have closed it in order to focus their efforts on the new restaurant and the farmers markets.)

Herbes de Provence can actually be a blend of many herbs: savory, fennel, thyme, basil, rosemary, lavender – or really just whatever is on hand (if you’re Provençal). The spice industry doesn’t even have a standardized blend:

• McCormick’s helpfully lists its blend’s ingredients as “SPICES (INCLUDING ROSEMARY, MARJORAM, THYME, AND SAVORY)”.
• Penzey’s blend is rosemary, cracked fennel, thyme, savory, basil, tarragon, dill weed, Turkish oregano, lavender, chervil and marjoram.

And I have no clue what was in the bag my father-in-law bought me. Frankly, I’m surprised he was able to make it past security with it – it was a zip-top bag with a bunch of dried green herbs and a scribbled note in French stapled to the top. French security must be très laxiste.

At any rate, this is a nice little recipe – a perfect bread for just snacking out of hand, and would probably be fantastic lightly toasted and served as canapé bread. I hope you enjoy it!

As always, my comments and adjustments are in blue. Recipe and photos after the jump.

*********************

Pain des Herbes de Provence (you can find a printable version here)

Yield: 2 loaves

 Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 cup warm water (105°-110°F)
• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons Herbes de Provence
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (I used half oregano and half basil)
• 3 cups bread flour (I used 1 cup white whole wheat flour in place of 1 cup bread flour)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 egg, beaten (optional)

Directions

• Dissolve the sugar in warm water in a medium bowl, and mix in the yeast. When yeast is bubbly, mix in salt, butter, 1 tablespoon Herbes de Provence, and Italian seasoning.
• Mix in 2 cups flour. Gradually add remaining flour to form a workable dough, and knead 10 to 12 minutes.

The dough is smooth and elastic after about 10 minutes of machine-kneading

• Coat the inside of a large bowl with olive oil. Place dough in bowl, cover, and allow to rise 1 hour in a warm location.
• Punch down dough, and divide in half.

The dough has risen enough if indentations remain in the dough after being poked

• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Lightly grease paper. (I simply used a large oiled nonstick cookie sheet. No parchment)
• Shape dough into 2 round loaves, and place on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with remaining herbs.

Sprinkled with rosemary, prior to the second rise

• Cover, and allow to rise 1 hour, or until doubled in size
• Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C)
• Brush loaves with egg. Bake 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.

Recipe makes two medium-sized loaves

Results:

• Quite good overall. Easy to assemble, and doing free-form loaves is nice for a change. It was also nice to have such a short baking time.
• The loaves are on the smallish side (unbaked loaves weighed about 11 ounces each)
• This recipe would likely lend itself to the addition of any herb/spice combination you could imagine. Really, the possibilities are endless. It’s a nice basic recipe.
• The taste: fantastic. Wonderfully aromatic, with a moist and chewy crumb. The herbs infuse every bite without overpowering the bread itself.
• I believe the bread would make a wonderful accompaniment to some sundried tomato-olive tapenade. In fact, I know it does. Because I made some tapenade and tried it out! Tapenade recipe coming tomorrow.

It’ll only take a few minutes of your time, it’s fun, and your answers will help me put together some fun new features on the blog this spring. Click the orange button below to get started.  Pretty please?

Since my challenge did not specify what *kinds* of breads I’d be making – this was deliberate – I felt I was free to dabble in quick breads almost right away. I’m partial to banana bread especially, for personal reasons. And finding one that includes walnuts and chocolate, too – well, you had me at hello.

This is a pretty easy recipe, and yields great results. As always, my comments and adjustments are in blue. Recipe and photos after the jump.

***************

Banana Chocolate Walnut Bread (you can find a printable version here)

• 1 ½ cups mashed ripe banana
• 1/3 cup plain fat-free yogurt (Greek yogurt works!)
• 5 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• 6 3/4 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 ½ cups, but weighing is more accurate)
• ¼ cup ground flaxseed
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
• 2/3 cup semisweet chocolate minichips, divided
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
• Cooking spray (I don’t use cooking spray; I greased the pan with good old fashioned butter)
• 2 tablespoons fat-free milk (I had vanilla almondmilk on hand; it worked fine)

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 350°
• Combine first 4 ingredients in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until blended. Add sugars; beat until blended

This is what the wet mixture looks like, before adding dry ingredients

• Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients (through allspice) in a small bowl; stir well with a whisk. Add flour mixture to banana mixture; beat just until blended
• Fold 1/3 cup minichips and nuts into batter; pour batter into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray.

In the pan...

• Bake at 350° for 55 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven; cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack. Remove bread from pan; cool completely on wire rack
• Combine remaining 1/3 cup minichips and milk in a microwave-safe bowl; microwave at HIGH for 30 seconds, stirring until smooth. Drizzle over bread.

Everything is better with chocolate. Yes, it is.

Results:

• Pretty much perfect. My only issue was with the chocolate glaze – it’s pretty thin, and didn’t harden up like I’d hoped. Its stickiness makes it adhere to the plastic wrap, and then it peels off when you unwrap it. It might be better to thin the chocolate with a teaspoon of shortening instead of milk.
• A very easy, one-bowl recipe. Unless, like me, you decide to set up your mise en place by dirtying every prep bowl you own.
• Oh, and did I mention it was absolutely delicious? I will be bringing it to work, because it’s really too dangerous to keep around the house.

Again, I’d like to mention that you can find a printable version of this recipe by clicking here. If you decide to make it yourself, please let me know what you think of the recipe and any thoughts you have about improving it.

The Chicago 7 dog from DC-3

If you’ll remember, BFF Sarah and I visited Capitol Hill hotdogggery DC-3 during my November visit to Our Nation’s Capital. And I liked it so much I went back by myself two days later.  Anyway, I just saw that the Food Network show “Heat Seekers” (don’t know it, but whatever) recently stopped by DC-3 to shoot some footage for an upcoming episode.

According to the Huffington Post,

The show, which features mouth-scorching cuisine, was lured by two spicy items: The Q’s Seoul bulgogi and kimchi dog, topped with marinated rib-eye bulgogi, pickled kimchi and hot Sriracha sauce; and the Three-Alarm Cruncher, a take on D.C.’s famous half-smoke wrapped in bacon, split and filled with jalapenos and covered in spicy chili.

Anyway, I thought Sarah might find this interesting, since she lives only a few blocks from the place (and because she’s a fan of the half-smoke). I guess we should be glad we got in there, because it’s going to be a madhouse once that ep airs. Get your dogs now!

• Red Wine May Reduce Risk of Breast Cancer: A new Cedars-Sinai study shows that drinking moderate amounts of red wine may lower the risk of breast cancer. Please define “moderate amounts”. I want to make sure I’m getting enough.
• Newsworthy for those of us in NY’s Capital Region: Mazzone Hospitality has launched its “Angelo’s Preferred” rewards program, which gives customers reward dollars based on purchases. You earn 1 point for every dollar spent at participating locations and every time you reach 500 points you get a $25 gift card automatically added to your Rewards Card (plus, you get a $10 Reward just for registering for the card). Additional benefits include rewards on your birthdays and anniversaries (my birthday is coming up soon – February 3 – in case you’re thinking of getting me a little something), and some other perks.   You can accumulate points at the following Mazzone properties: Angelo’s 677 Prime, Angelo’s Tavolo (Scotia), The Inn at Glen Sanders Mansion, Patron’s Club at the Hall of Springs, Aperitivo Bistro (Schenectady), Prime at Saratoga National, and the New Prime Bar & Grill in Clifton Park.  Go get your card: www.angelospreferred.com.
• If you like Starbucks (which I do – I really really do), then you should head over to your local shop this weekend for a free tasting of their new roasts, and cast your vote for the one you love most. Starbucks even promises a thank you gift. The tastings will be going on in the US this Thursday-Saturday (Jan 12-14). Canadians have to wait til February 9-11 for their tasting. Ha ha, Canucks. That’ll teach you not to live where it’s so damn cold that it takes a whole extra month to get there.
• 

  thaaat's right...bring it right over here....

  Take a look around the office – someone there is bound to be carrying around that blasted Girl Scout Cookie order form. Yes, it’s Girl Scout Cookie Time and I’ve succumbed to the crushing pressure of extra calories to help my friend’s daughter earn a badge (you’re welcome, Joe). And coincidentally, Bob also ordered two boxes from his friend’s daughter. So now we’ve got SIX FREAKING BOXES OF COOKIES coming to our house.  I’m really only half-complaining: one of those boxes will contain my beloved Samoas. Yeah, baby. Also arriving with our order: this year’s new cookie, the Savannah Smiles.  Savannah Smiles are wedge-shaped lemon cookies, dusted with powdered sugar.  They’re named after the place where Girl Scouting began, in honor of the Girl Scouts’ 100th Anniversary. DAMN YOU GIRL SCOUT GOODNESS. Don’t you know I went on a(nother) diet this year???

• Speaking of diets, are you feeling a bit filthy on the inside? Do you feel the need…the need to cleanse? Well, our pal Gwyneth Paltrow is offering readers of goop, her ridiculously awful “lifestyle website”, the opportunity to shell out $425 for the goop cleanse. The cleanse consists of…oh, who the f*** cares. Gwyneth Paltrow, you skinny bitch, you can kiss my ass. I’ve got an idea – how about a 99¢ Beefy 5-Layer Burrito from Taco Bell? Same results, 0.23% of the cost.

Well, I’m so disgusted by the thought of Gwynnie’s cleanse that I need to end this here.

I am a huge fan of whole wheat pita – I love making my own pita chips, and I also love just eating plain old wedges with hummus, olives and feta cheese (my all-time favorite lunch combination) .  I suppose you could use them for sandwiches, but I can never seem to keep from punching holes in them while stuffing them. Which of course renders them useless as food vessels. So, I’m content to eat them dipped and unstuffed.

This recipe came from Cooking Light magazine (best food mag out there, with Cook’s Illustrated coming in a close second), March 2009 issue (so, yikes, I’ve had that recipe for almost THREE years! Now, I’m REALLY surprised I didn’t lose it). The pitas came out fairly well. I do think it’s a recipe I’d have to try again a few time before getting the hang of it.

Recipe, results, and photos after the jump. As usual, my notes are in blue.

******************

Fresh Whole-Wheat Pitas

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1 pita)

Recipe from Cooking Light magazine, March 2009 (click the link to get a printable version)

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 package dry yeast (about 2 ¼ teaspoons)
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water (100° to 110°)
• 10 ounces bread flour (about 2 ¼ cups)
• 4 ¾ ounces white whole-wheat flour (about 1 cup), divided (King Arthur Flour makes a great version)
• 2 tablespoons 2% Greek-style yogurt (I only had nonfat, which seemed to work just fine)
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• Olive oil cooking spray

Preparation

Dissolve sugar and yeast in 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water in a large bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Weigh or lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Add bread flour, 3 ounces (about ¾ cup) whole-wheat flour, yogurt, oil, and salt to the yeast mixture; beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Knead dough until smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes); add enough of remaining whole-wheat flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands – dough will feel sticky. (I really had to restrain myself from adding more flour at this point – the dough was stickier than I am used to. It was difficult, but I decided to trust the recipe.)

Really, really sticky.

Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, for 45 minutes or until doubled in size.

Position the oven rack on the lowest shelf. Preheat the oven to 500°.

Divide dough into 8 portions. Working with one portion at a time, gently roll each portion into a 5 ½-inch circle.

I used a kitchen scale to weigh these portions - about 3 ounces each.

Place 4 dough circles on each of 2 baking sheets heavily coated with cooking spray. Bake, 1 sheet at a time, at 500° for 8 minutes or until puffed and browned. Cool on a wire rack. (These really only need about 5-6 minutes to bake. The first few that I baked for 8 minutes nearly burned. Best just to watch).

One of the puffy almost-burned ones.