Delectable Dough Balls

For me, a daily non-negotiable is dinner with my family. And let me tell you, this is not an easy thing to achieve. All three of us have profoundly busy lives. But I seem to find that being busy brings a balmy feeling. It keeps an idle mind at bay. 

So when all of us arrive at home in a spent heap, that warmth has somewhat vanished. But that’s what’s so great about my family. When something is absent, we make it ourselves. But in a hot country like Singapore, a nice fire burning in a fireplace doesn’t do the trick. And we aren’t looking for heat anyway. 

How do I kindle that spirit in our bodies? Well I’m glad you asked. It all comes down to one of the most basic human needs. Nutrition. While my husband and daughter have been busy writing reports and tumbling at gymnastics, respectively, I’ve been no less busy, working wonders in the kitchen. 

All foods are delectable, but our ultimate comfort foods are some dough balls with tomato soup. You simply cannot beat the literal and figurative warmth the soup brings, and there’s no way to find fault with these adorable dough balls.

Ingredients -

Dough balls- 450 gms plain white flour

1 level table spoon dried yeast 300ml warm water/ use as per requirement

6 table spoons olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

Garlic butter-

100gms butter

2 cloves of garlic minced

Salt, pepper as per taste

Fresh parsley finely chopped

Method

1. In a large bowl , mix together the flour, yeast & salt and stir thoroughly to combine evenly.

2. Make a well in the centre of the flour and add the water slowly with 5 tablespoons of the oil. Stir with a spoon, adding more water if needed until the dough comes together.

3. Then turn out on to a floured surface and knead for 5 minutes.

4. Do not overknead it. You want to keep the dough fairly moist.

5. Place the kneaded dough in a large bowl lightly greased with olive oil. Cover the bowl with a cling film. Keep a napkin below and above and leave to prove in a warm corner for about 60 to 90 minutes or until doubled in size.

6. Once the dough has doubled in size turn it out again onto a floured surface and knead again for a couple of minutes.

7. Cut the dough in half and continue cutting in halves until you have 32 equal pieces.

8. Shape them into little balls and place on a flat baking tray lined with baking paper.

9. Cover again with oiled cling film and place to prove for another 30 minutes.

10. After 30 minutes brush the top of each dough ball with olive oil and sprinkle with a little salt.

11. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown at 190 degree C on the middle rack.

12. For the golden top , I like to keep the dough balls an extra 3 minutes on the top rack.

13. For the garlic butter , soften the butter and mix it with minced garlic, salt, pepper and parsley.

14. Serve dough balls warm with garlic butter.

Strazzata Lucana-the Saturn shaped bread!

My daughter has long since dreamed of the astronomic world, whereas I have dedicated myself to the gastronomic world.

And now, it seems that these two worlds are colliding in an interesting way. Through this yummy bread, Strazzata Lucana. Some may say that its shape is of a large donut, but my daughter says it reminds her of the rings of Saturn.

And like outer space, this gastronomical wonder is a mixture of matter. While in space there is matter, antimatter and a smatter of black holes, this bread incorporates some unlikely ingredients too.

We've got our regular plain flour, semolina and the portion of garlic that I added for the extra bang of a supernova. I think the freshly ground pepper and the paprika I added also contribute to its rich, hot and starry inside when torn.

RECIPE

This bread can be torn with your hands and eaten with cheese , soup , baked vegetables or any dip that you fancy.

Ingredients-

15gms/1 tablespoon dry yeast

About 320ml/1and1/2 cups of lukewarm water 250gms/2 cups plain flour or bread flour

250gms/1 and 1/2 cups semolina flour

5gms about 1 Tsp salt

1tsp of grated garlic or more if you love garlic

A pinch of sugar

Black pepper as per your taste

1 Tsp of mixed dried Italian herbs

1 Tsp of dried parsley

Line a large flat baking tray with baking paper.

Dissolve yeast in the Luke warm water with the sugar.

Mix the flours , salt , dried herbs ,garlic and black pepper together.

Add the yeast mixture and mix to form a dough.

Knead for 5 to 7 minutes , cover with cling film and leave to rest in a warm place for 1 to 2 hours or until doubled in size.

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface .

Work it and knead it for a couple of minutes.

Make a sausage shape of the dough and form a ring.

Place on the prepared baking tray.

You can keep a ball of foil or a foil covered bowl in the centre do that the bread remains a ring.

Cover with a cling film and leave to rest in a warm place for an hour.

Preheat the oven to 220 degC/ 475 degF .

Bake the strazzata in the oven for 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove from oven , leave to cool on a wire rack.