Monday, April 05, 2010

April 4th - East Sunday French Toast - Pain Doré - Homemade Wholewheat Pizza

I have a cold.  My stupid little cough is now a full on cold.  Booooo!  It is April for crying out loud!  I think D feels sorry for me.  He is making French Toast (or Pain Dore) without my asking. I always thought that the 'french' word for this dish was Pain Perdue, 'lost bread'.  I had heard it on Martha Stewart and Good Eats.  D says he has never used that name ever.  In his little handwritten cookbook, written in old, stained writing is Pain Dore.  Learn something new everyday.

French Toast - Pain Doré
2 large Eggs
1/2 c Milk
1 Vanilla bean, scraped (1 t Vanilla extract)
1/2 T Dark Rum
1/2 T Honey or sugar
(Serves 4 thick cut slices of bread)

Ideally, you should use stale bread.  If it is not stale, allow it to sit out, sliced, overnight.

Beat the Eggs, Milk, Rum, Sugar and Vanilla Bean seeds in Pie Plate or large plastic container that will allow you to let two slices of bread sit. 

Place the bread in the custard and let sit for 20-30 seconds on each side. 

In a large non stick pan, melt some butter on medium heat.  Place two slices of the soaked bread in the pan.  Do not touch for at least 15 seconds or you will make a mess and it will stick.  Let cook for 2-3 minutes.  When nice and golden brown, flip and cook for another 2-3 minutes.

Serve with Maple Syrup and sliced Strawberries. MMMMMM

Tuna and Sweetcorn Wholewheat Pizza
Home Made Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

1 c warm water
15 g dry active yeast (4.5 t)
1/2 t honey

1 t salt
175 g All Purpose Flour (~3/4 c)
225 g Whole Wheat Flour (~1 1/4 c)

In your mixer bowl, place the warm water, pretty warm but cool enough that you could leave your finger in it comfortably.  Add the honey and stir.  Sprinkle over the yeast.  Let stand for 10 minutes.

Add the Salt and scoop in 1 c of the flours.  Turn your mixter on stir (lowest setting)  When most of the flour is combined, add another 1/2 c. When that is combined, turn up the speed to 2 or 4 briefly.  It will depend on the moisture that day and of your flour.  The dough should hold together but still be slightly pliable like playdough.  I had 1/2 c left in the bowl that I will use for rolling later. 

Let the mixer keep kneading the dough for 10 minutes.  All the dough should pull away from the bowl.

Lift the dough out and form into a ball.  Put 1/2 T oil in the bottom of the mixer bowl and with your finger or the ball of dough, spread the oil around.  Put the ball back in with the oily side of the ball up.  Cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and set aside for 1 hour.

Divide in two and roll out.  We roll it out thin.  This should make 2 thin 15 x 11 baking sheet pan, Pita bread thin, sized pizzas.  If you like Cracker thin crust, divide the dough in three and roll out the same size.  It probably will not work cracker thin if use Wholewheat.  Use all All Purpose for additional gluten-y stretch.

Bake at 450F with the toppings of your choice.

My pizza - Tuna and Sweetcorn Pizza: 
1 tin chunk Tuna, drained
1/4 Red Onion, sliced
1/2 - 1 small Sweetcorn
300 g Mozzarella, grated
2 T fresh Chives, chopped
2 Serrano Chili, minced (optional)


D's pizza - Antipasti (de Frigo) Pizza
2/3 c Plain, Chunky Tomato Organic Sauce, enough to evenly spread but not to heavy
300 g Mozzarella Cheese, grated
2 Red Pimentos sliced, from a jar
4 Artichoke Hearts, halved, in oil
1-2 T Capers, in brine
4-6 Sundried tomatoes, in oil, diced
1/4 c freshly grated Parmesan, the real stuff or leave it out
2-3 T fresh Parsly Grated (after baking)
D puts half the cheese down on the Sauce then the other half on top of the toppings.

We drank a Michele Chiarlo Barbaresco 2006.  It went fantastic with the pizza.  The Tomatoe Lycopenes and the italian wines are made for each other! YUMMO!



2 Leave a / Read COMMENTs:

Yummo said...

D tells me that he used 3 eggs in his Pain Dore not 2 even though his weather beaten recipe book says 2. He says if he feels more eggy he adds another egg. It was very good with 3 eggs :^D

Yummo said...

Helen asks: "How do you get the crusts so thin?"
Well, H, elbow grease with the rolling pin is the first half of the answer. Second, I would say, let the dough rest for a good 15 minutes before rolling. Actually, I don't knead after the rise. It was rolled right after dividing. If you choose to divide the dough and store in the freezer or fridge, let it rest before you roll.