GLASS COOKING PAN RECIPES

Steps:

• Make the dough a day or two before you want to bake; the recipe makes enough for three pies. Combine the flour and salt in your largest mixing bowl. In another mixing bowl, combine the water, butter, olive oil and yeast. Mix well.
• Use a rubber spatula to create a well in the center on the flour mixture, and add to it the liquid from the other bowl, stirring with the spatula and scraping down the sides of the bowl to bring everything together. Mix it all together until it is a large, shaggy ball of wet dough, cover with plastic wrap and allow to sit for 30 minutes.
• Uncover the dough and, with floured hands, knead it until it is uniformly smooth and sticky, approximately 3 to 5 minutes. Move the dough ball into a clean mixing bowl, cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for 3 to 5 hours at room temperature, then refrigerate, at least 6 hours and up to 24.
• The morning you want to make the pizzas, remove the dough from the refrigerator, divide into 3 chunks of equal size (about 600 grams each) and shape them into oblong balls. Use olive oil to grease three 10-inch cast-iron skillets, 8-inch-by-10-inch baking pans with high sides, 7-inch-by-11-inch glass baking dishes or some combination thereof, and place the balls into them. Cover with plastic wrap, and let rise at room temperature, 3 to 5 hours.
• Make the sauce. Place a saucepan over medium-low heat, and add to it 2 tablespoons olive oil. When the oil is shimmering, add the minced garlic and cook, stirring, until it is golden and aromatic, approximately 2 to 3 minutes.
• Add the tomato paste and a pinch of chile flakes, and raise the heat to medium. Cook, stirring often, until the mixture is glossy and just beginning to caramelize.
• Add the tomatoes, bring to a boil, then lower heat and allow to simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Take sauce off the heat, and stir in the honey and salt, to taste, then blend in an immersion blender or allow to cool and use a regular blender. (The sauce can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator or freezer. It makes enough for 6 or so pies.)
• After 3 hours or so the dough will have almost doubled in size. Stretch the dough very gently to the sides of the pans, dimpling it softly with your fingers. The dough can then be left to rest for another 2 to 8 hours, covered with wrap.
• Make the pizzas. Heat oven to 450. Gently pull the dough to the edges of the pans if it hasn’t risen to the edges already. Use a spoon or ladle to put 4 to 5 tablespoons of sauce onto the dough, gently covering it entirely. Sprinkle the low-moisture mozzarella onto the pies, then dot them with the fresh mozzarella and the pepperoni to taste. Sprinkle with the oregano and lash with a little olive oil.
• Place the pizzas onto the middle rack of the oven on a large baking sheet or sheets to capture spills, then cook for 15 minutes or so. Use an offset spatula to lift the pizza and check the bottoms. The pizza is done when the crust is golden and the cheese is melted and starting to brown on top, approximately 20 to 25 minutes.

Steps:

• Heat the sugar, golden syrup and butter in a pan until melted. Mix the ginger and flour in a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Add the bicarbonate of soda to the melted mixture and stir – it will fizz a little – then pour into the flour mixture with the egg. Stir to combine. The mix will be soft but will firm up as it cools.
• Scoop the mixture into a box or fridge bag and chill for at least 1 hr until firm enough to roll out. The dough can be kept in the fridge for up to a week or frozen for three months.
• Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and cut in half. Briefly knead the first piece, then roll it on a lightly floured surface to 2mm thick. Cut into shapes with snowflake or star cutters about 12cm across, then transfer to lined baking sheets, leaving a little room for them to spread. Cut a window out of each biscuit using another cutter about about 6cm across, then add a sweet to the centre.
• If the sweets are large, chop them up first – you’ll have to judge by the size of the hole. (Don’t be tempted to add too much or it will spill over the edge.) If you plan to hang the biscuits, make a small hole in the top of each one using the end of a piping nozzle (the hole will close up a little so make sure it’s big enough). Repeat with remaining dough.
• Bake in batches for 5-6 mins or until they darken slightly and the sweets have melted. If the holes have closed up, remake them while the biscuits are warm. Leave to cool and harden up completely before moving them. Don’t forget to bake the parts you’ve cut out, too! You can decorate the biscuits further by using white piped icing, if you like.