As a homesteader we are looking for ways to be more independent when it comes to our food supply.
One of our endeavours was to build a cob oven and 3 years ago we started to study the art of making cob.
If you are ready to play with clay, sand and water read our blog “The Zen of Cob”.
Creating our cob oven was a fun summer project for the whole family.
In addition it is a great back-up plan for all the power outages we have here on this rural island
off the west coast of Canada. Well, the cob coven was built and now the time to time to test it.
What do you bake in a cob oven? We experimented and tested to find the best recipes.
You do not need a cob oven for any of these easy and delicious recipes.
Best pizza dough recipe for thin crust lovers! – Crackers to dip for! – European style farmers bread heaven!
In the cob oven the pizza takes about 5 minutes to bake. If you think now, why should I light a fire in the cob oven for a pizza bake? Right, that wouldn’t make sense only if you invite a whole bunch of people. A really good idea is to start a baking routine. Make pizza, bread and crackers in one run. The cob oven produces very high temperatures which is ideal for baking these three food staples. If your are using a conventional oven it is also a good idea to combining your baking goodies to save energy.
Our Tip for You: get prepared, have everything ready to go, cut up your veggies, bring out the baking trays and stay calm, because when baking several items in one go it might get a little hectic.
Best Pizza Dough Recipe for Thin Crust Lovers!
That is a bold statement, we know, but try this recipe and you’ll see how the compliments will shower upon you.
The dough for the pizza crust is one thing and the real key is to make it a way that you can roll it out as thin as possible. Then there is the toppings. That’s a matter of taste, we never use a sauce as the first layer, since the crust is so thin it makes it soggy and overpowers the taste of anything else.
We actually grow an abundance of specific vegetables which we preserve extra for our pizzas in the winter. We dehydrate red beet and zucchini, we cut and freeze our cherry tomatoes and we always make sure to have enough herbs in storage. We find that herbs like chives and dill keep the best flavour when chopped up and frozen. Also chopped green onions tops are an awesome addition to store in your freezer. In the summer we love to throw fresh greens like spinach or arugula onto the pizza.
That is another great reason to grow your own organic veggies, you’ll have an variety of ingredients right outside your door, you can decide last minute what to choose, no planning, shopping or driving.
With a producing garden you shop as local as it gets. You basically own your own organic farmers market
with the advantage of having it even more fresh and healthy.
Enough talk, let’s start with the dough for the crust.
You’ll need:
2 cups of white unbleached organic flour
1 tsp of dry baking yeast
1/2 tsp of brown organic sugar (to activate the yeast)
2 tsp of sea salt ( do not skimp on the salt)
3 tbs of organic olive oil
1 cup of warm water
1. Mix flour, sugar, salt and the yeast in a big bowl. We prefer a stainless steel bowl for all our baking and cooking, they are very easy to clean, especially with any kind of sticky dough and they last forever.
2. Add a little bit of the warm water at a time while mixing the ingredients.
A wooden spoon works the best.
3. After using half of the cup of water, mix in the olive oil. By this time the dough is still a little dry. The oil is the magic ingredients, it makes the dough really elastic and smooth, it allows you to roll the dough out very thin. ![](https://i0.wp.com/sustainyourself.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/sys_blog_pizza_00031-1024x681.jpg?resize=570%2C375)
4. Add the rest of the water and mix, beat and kneed the dough until a nice ball has formed. ![](https://i0.wp.com/sustainyourself.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/sys_blog_pizza_00041-1024x681.jpg?resize=570%2C308)
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5. If needed you can add a little extra water or flour until the dough is not sticky and has a flat surface.
Now let the dough rest for about 3 hours. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel
and store it at a warm place. Check it from time to time to see if the dough is rising.
If it is not rising, move the bowl to a warmer spot.
In the mean time enjoy whatever you like to do. After approximately 3 hours and your dough has risen,
get a rolling pin out, some extra flour and have a clean surface ready to roll out the dough.
Also you will need about 4 baking sheets. Oil these sheets slightly with olive oil.
1. Spread some flour on a clean surface
![](https://i0.wp.com/sustainyourself.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/sys_blog_pizza_00081-1024x681.jpg?resize=570%2C284)
2. Take a quarter portion of the dough and place it on the clean floured surface and start rolling. Keep rolling until the dough is very thin, almost like a sheet of soft fabric. Make sure to use enough flour for rolling. ![](https://i0.wp.com/sustainyourself.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/sys_blog_crackers_0002-681x1024.jpg?resize=570%2C880)
![](https://i0.wp.com/sustainyourself.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/sys_blog_pizza_00101-681x1024.jpg?resize=570%2C911)
3.Place the dough on the oiled baking sheet and spread a thin layer of olive oil on it.
4. Preheat the oven at 375 F degrees.
5. Top it. Literally – top it with whatever you’d like.
6. Bake the pizza for about 10 to 12 minutes. Since the crust is so thin it takes less time
and it is good to check it after 8 minutes to see if the crust crisps up.
Here is the Kicker to surprise your family and friends with something new.
It is always good to try out something different. Here is our “Flammkuchen”.
A traditional specialty from the Alsace, which is a small region in the north-east of France.
Top your very thin pizza crust with a layer of sour cream and onions (cut them in thin rings).
If you like it a little heavier, spread cheese and small bacon bits on it (please use the “happy pig” organic bacon bits). Best served directly on the table on a big wooden board.
Cut into slices and eat together, but be prepared to have lots ready- it’s very tasty!
Next in the oven: Crackers to dip for!
We would love to hear from you, how you enjoyed the original ” Alsace Flammekuchen”