Seminary Muffins

Adapted from Allrecipes

These are my favorite muffins EVER!  Seriously I am in love with them, especially since they are so healthy (besides the chocolate chips).  It's unfortunate the pic above is so bad, though...I think I was too busy eating to bother with a nice picture.  

Ingredients:
• 1 egg
• 1 1/3 cups mashed ripe banana (about 4 bananas)
• ¾ cup packed brown sugar
• 1/3 cup applesauce
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup wheat flour
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 ¼ tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 cup quick cooking oats
• 6 oz craisins
• ½ cup white chocolate chips

Directions:
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease muffin pan.
• In a large bowl combine egg, banana, brown sugar, applesauce and vanilla. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
• Gently stir flour mixture and oatmeal into banana mixture. Fold in craisins and white chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared muffin cups.
• Bake in preheated oven or 15 to 20 minutes or until light brown. Remove muffins from pan and place on a wire rack to let cool before serving.

Banana Oat Muffins

Adapted from Allrecipes

These are a great, healthy recipe for my son!  I added chocolate chips to the original recipe...

Ingredients:
• ¾ cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ cups wheat flour
• 1 cup rolled oats
• ½ cup white sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 egg
• ¾ cup milk
• 1/3 cup applesauce
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup mashed banana (about 3 bananas)

Directions:
• Combine flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
• In a large bowl, beat the egg lightly. Stir in the milk, applesauce and vanilla. Add mashed banana and combine thoroughly. Stir the flour mixture into the banana mixture until just combined. Spray muffin tin with cooking spray and divide batter among them.
• Bake at 400 degrees F for 18 to 20 minutes.

Garlic Breadsticks

Adapted from Koyle Family Cookbook

Recipe Submitted by Kamilee Koyle

These are delicious to serve with soups. I have substituted the white bread flour for whole wheat flour too and they were delicious-just use a bit less of the wheat flour.

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp. yeast

1/2 cup warm water

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup shortening

1 tsp. salt or garlic salt

1 cup warm water

1 egg

3-3 1/2 cups bread flour

Raise 1 Tbsp. yeast in 1/2 cup warm water. Add sugar, shortening, salt, 1 cup water, egg and flour. Knead for 5-10 minutes adding flour as needed. Let rise to double. Divide in half. Roll each half out on a cookie sheet to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut strips with a pizza cutter. Let rise 15 minutes. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes or until light golden brown. Brush with a mixture of garlic salt and melted butter. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Peanut Butter Banana Scones

Adapted from Sweetpeaskitchen.com

I get daily recipe emails from Sweet Pea's blog and this was one that I immediately knew I had to try.  So, I will admit to adjusting the recipe...I added extra peanut butter to the scone recipe.  I'm glad that I did because I LOVE peanut butter and wanted it to taste strongly of peanut butter, BUT it made it so I couldn't roll them out into scones.  Rather, I had to pour the dough into a pan and let it cook as if it were a bread.  Because of this, I wrote the recipe below as Miss Sweet Pea suggests, so that if you want a definite scone you can follow her recipe.  If you want a stronger peanut butter taste, just add 2 Tablespoons of peanut butter and pour it into a pan to bake like I did!  Either way it will be scrumptious! 

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbs baking powder
• 3 Tbs sugar
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp ground allspice
• 5 Tbs cold butter, cut into ¼-inch cubes
• ½ cup mashed banana
• 2 Tbs butter
• 1 cup heavy cream

For the peanut butter glaze:

• 1/3 cup powdered sugar
• 1 Tbs milk
• 1 Tbs creamy peanut butter

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with fit the paddle attachment, stir together the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, cinnamon, allspice and chopped peanuts. Add the butter and toss with a fork to coat with the flour mixture. Mix on medium-low speed until the texture resembles coarse cornmeal, with the butter pieces no larger than small peas.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the banana, peanut butter and heavy cream. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients and form the dough into a ball. With lightly floured hands press dough into a 8-inch round. With a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut the dough into 8 wedges.
• Place wedges on the prepared baking sheet and bake in preheated oven 12 to 15 minutes or until tops of scones are a light brown. Transfer to a wire rack for at least 10 minutes before serving.
• While the scones are cooling, make peanut butter glaze. In a small bowl whisk together powdered sugar, milk and peanut butter until smooth. Drizzle glaze over scones and serve.

Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls

Adapted from my SIL, Amie's, recipe

I was itching to make some cinnamon rolls and found this recipe in a family cook book. I am so impressed with the way they turned out! I have never had an actual Cinnabon cinnamon roll, but I've only heard good things about them. I'm thinking this recipe has to be pretty authentic cuz they were sooo yummy!

Ingredients:

Rolls:

1/4 ounce package active dry yeast

2 eggs

1 cup warm milk (105-110 F)

1 tsp. salt

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup butter, melted

4 cups all purpose flour

Filling:

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/3 cup butter, softened

Icing:

8 tablespoons butter, softened

1 1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/4 cup cream cheese

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/8 tsp. salt

For the rolls, dissolve the yeast in warm milk in a large bowl. Add the sugar, butter, salt, eggs and flour, and mix well. Knead the dough into a large ball using your hands dusted lightly with flour. Put in bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place about 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface. Roll dough flat until it is approximately 21 inches long and 16 inches wide. It should be about 1/4 inch think. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

For the filling, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Spread the softened butter evenly over the surface of the dough, and then sprinkle the cinnamon and sugar evenly over the surface. Working carefully from the top (a 21 inch side), roll the dough in the bottom edge. Cut the rolled dough into 1 3/4 inch slices and place 6 at a time evenly spaced in a lightly greased baking pan. Bake until light brown on top.

While the rolls bake, combine the icing ingredients. Beat well with an electric mixer until fluffy. When the rolls come out of the oven, allow to cool for a few minutes, then coat generously with icing. Yields 12 cinnamon rolls.

Whole Wheat Muffins

Adapted from Tried & True Recipes from the Ladies of the Innsbrook Ward

The lovely lady that submitted this recipe was my Visiting Teaching companion and she brought these yummy little muffins along to one of our monthly visits.  Not only are the scrumptious, but they are pretty healthy (applesauce and whole wheat) for a muffin!

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup apple sauce
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• Mix those two and set aside
• 1 Cup packed brown sugar
• 1 /12 cup whole wheat
• ½ cup oil
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:

Mix all together with beater. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Southern Pulled Pork on Soft Wheat Sandwich Rolls

Southern Pulled Pork adapted from Allrecipes and Soft Wheat Sandwiches from Tried & True Recipes from the Ladies of the Innsbrook Ward

I have always loved pulled pork sandwiches; it's one of my preferred BBQ dishes (otherwise I am not the hugest fan of BBQ...I never have understood the appeal of Famous Daves and other BBQ joints).   What really won me over was when we moved to Virginia we discovered that in the South, pulled pork is served with coleslaw on top.  Love it.  So, next time you have a pulled pork sandwich add some creamy coleslaw for some fantastic crunchy flavor. 

The soft wheat sandwich rolls are yummy.   My friend who contributed this recipe always makes really yummy bread recipes.  You can check out her food blog at ahintofhoney.blogspot.com.

Southern Pulled Pork:

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbs butter
• 2 lbs boneless pork roast
• 1 Tbs Cajun seasoning
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 3 cups water
• 1 Tbs liquid smoke flavoring                                                                                                      BBQ sauce:
• 1 cup bbq sauce
• ½ cup apple cider vinegar
• ½ cup ketchup
• 3 Tbs dark brown sugar
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp Cajun seasoning

Directions:

• Cut the pork roast into large chunks.  Season generously with Cajun seasoning.  Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add pork and brown on all sides.  Remove from skillet and transfer to a slow cooker.      
• Add onion and garlic to the skillet and cook for a few minutes until tender.  Stir in the water, scraping the bottom to include all of the browned pork bits from the bottom of the pan, then pour the whole mixture into the slow cooker with the pork.  Stir in the liquid smoke.
• Cover and cook on high for 6 hours.  Remove pieces of pork from the slow cooker and shred.  Return to slow cooker to keep warm.  Drain some of the water (about half).  Add bbq sauce mixture. 
• Serve on rolls and with coleslaw.

Soft Wheat Sandwich Rolls

Ingredients:

• 1 ¼ cups milk, warmed
• 2 tsp active dry yeast
• ¼ cup honey
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 Tbs butter, softened
• 2 cups white whole wheat flour
• 1 ½ cups bread flour
• ½ tsp salt

Directions:

o       Warm milk to 100-110 F.  Add yeast and let proof for 10 minutes.

o       In a large bowl combine honey, egg, and butter.  Add yeast and milk mixture.  Stir in whole wheat flour, salt and 1 cup bread flour.  Continue adding bread four until dough pulls away from the side of the bowl.

o       Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface.  Knead, continuing to add flour when necessary, until dough is smooth and no longer sticky.

o       Place in a lightly greased bowl and cover.  Let rise 1 hour or until doubled. 

      o       Deflate dough.  Form into 12 rolls.  Place on a lined baking sheet, cover, and let rise 1 hour or until doubled.

o       During the second rise, preheat oven to 350 F.  Bake for 10-15 minutes in preheated oven until lightly browned.  Brush tops with melted butter after removing from oven.  Let cool on a wire rack.

Makes 12 rolls.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Adapted from Koyle Family Cookbook, Recipe Submitted by Jill and Dan Baird

This recipe is great for using up some ripe bananas. I added whole wheat flour rather than white flour, just adding a little bit less of it, and they were scrumptious!

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour (2 cups if using white flour)

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

3 ripe bananas, mashed well

6 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup sour cream

2 eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla

chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk the dry ingredients together. Mix the wet ingredients together. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just moistened. Pour into greased muffin tins and bake for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in muffin comes out clean.

French Bread

Adapted from A Taste of Richmond-Recipe from Eden Dixon

My hubby is completely obsessed with breads-I decided to bake this delicious French bread to go with the meal we were having. It is incredibly easy and compliments any Italian dish.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups warm water

1 tablespoon yeast

1 1/2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

3 cups flour

1/8 cup oil

Dissolve sugar in warm water and then add the yeast and let sit about 5 minutes to dissolve. Add oil and salt. Add half the flour; mix and add rest of flour. Knead dough; let rise until double. Spread olive oil on the pan and drizzle with corn meal and then with sugar. Set pan aside. Shape dough into loaf and place on cookie sheet. Slit top of loaf and let rise. Cook at 375 for 30 minutes. When finished baking, brush with butter.

Ham & Cheddar Scones

Adapted from The Culinary Institute of America Breakfasts & Brunches

My dear sister gave me this new cook book and we were eager to try a bunch of the recipes that it held.  This was the first one up.  I have always liked scones and I think one of the best parts about this is that you can use the basic scone recipe and add any number of fillings that you can devise.  The scones were flaky and savory.  We ate them both for brunch and later that day with some leftover soup. 

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 Tbs baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 cup medium-diced ham
• ½ cup medium-diced Cheddar cheese
• ½ cup sliced green onions or scallions
• 2 cups heavy cream

Directions:

• Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together into a mixing bowl.  Add the ham, cheese and green onions and toss together with the  dry ingredients until evenly distributed.  Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. 
• Add the cream to the flour mixture and stir by hand just until the batter is evenly moistened.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Prepare a baking sheet by spraying it lightly with cooking spray or lining with parchment paper.
• Place half the dough in a cake pan and press into an even layer.  Cut the dough into 8 equal wedges and place the individual wedges on the baking sheet.  Repeat with the second half of the dough.
• Bake the scones until golden brown, about 35 minutes.  Serve scones warm or at room temperature.  Can also freeze extras for up to 4 weeks.

Notes:  Try basic scone recipe with a mixture of fruits, chocolate chips, different cheeses or other vegetables.  {Ex:  jalapeno with Cheddar, raspberry with white chocolate chips, craisins with pecans, etc…}

Wannie's Coffee Cake

Adapted from Ivory Family Favorite's Cookbook

Dal had never tried coffee cake and it was a big success! We decided it tasted like the coffee cake version of a snickerdoodle:)

Ingredients:

Topping:

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons butter, melted

2 teaspoons cinnamon

Mix together and set aside

1 1/2 cups flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup shortening

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

In mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and shortening. Add egg, milk and vanilla and mix well. Pour batter into greased square pan or rectangle dish. Sprinkle on topping. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.

Brown Sugar Muffins

Adapted from Koyle Family Cookbook

I love these muffins. I like to let them cool down quite a bit before eating them, that way I can really taste their flavor.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup milk

Mix butter and brown sugar; add the egg and mix again. Add flour, baking soda, salt, milk and vanilla and mix. Put in greased muffin pans. Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes.

Biscuits and Gravy

Dal loves biscuits and gravy. This is one of those recipes where you'll most likely have the ingredients already. The biscuits are flaky and the gravy is yummy. It's so easy too!

Gravy

This is my Grandma Johnson's white sauce recipe;

I use it TONS for various things!

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup butter

2 cups of milk

chicken bouillon to taste

salt and pepper to taste

Stir flour, butter and milk constantly on high until thick. Add seasonings to taste.

Brown1 pound sausage and add to gravy.

Baking Powder Biscuits

This is my sister in law's-Amie's-recipe

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp. salt

3/4 cup milk

2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/3 cup shortening

Stir together flour, baking powder and salt. Cut in shortening with fork until mixture resembles course corn meal. Add milk and blend lightly with fork only until flour in moistened and dough pulls away from sides of the bowl. Turn out on lightly floured surface. Knead lightly for thirty seconds and roll 3/4 inch thick. Cut dough with biscuit cutter dipping cutter into flour between cuts. Place on lightly greased pan and brush tops of biscuits with butter. Bake at 450 degrees for about 12 minutes.

Notes: If using baking powder biscuits without gravy, try adding more salt.

Orange Rolls

Dough Adapted from A Hint of Honey and Frosting Adapted From Tasty Kitchen

I prefer sweet orange rolls to cinnamon rolls.  And I prefer them a little gooey.  My friend makes this recipe and, knowing my love for them, made them for my baby shower a few months ago.  I've been meaning to make them ever since.  I intended to just make them for Christmas morning, along with a quiche {recipe to come!}, but they take some time and the recipe makes quite a lot of sweet rolls.  So, I decided to make them today to enjoy over several days and to share with a few friends.  My first attempt at orange rolls turned out to be an ooey-gooey success!

Ingredients:

Dough:

• 6-8 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 Tbs instant yeast
• 2 tsp salt
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup butter, melted
• 2 eggs, whisked
• 2 ¼ cups warm milk

Filling:

• ½ cup butter, melted
• 2 cups brown sugar
• Zest of 3 oranges

Orange Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 8 oz cream cheese
• ½ cup butter
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 8 Tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice
• ½ tsp almond extract
• Pinch of salt

Directions:

• In a large bowl combine 3 cups flour, yeast, salt and sugar.  Whisk to combine.  Pour in wet ingredients (butter, eggs and milk).  Stir until it is a thick paste.  Add the remaining flour, ½ cup at a time, until it comes together in a ball.
• Lightly flour a flat surface and knead the dough, adding more flour if needed to prevent sticking, 8-10 minutes, until smooth.  Spray the inside of a bowl with cooking spray, place the dough inside, cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
• Punch down the dough and divide in half.  Roll out each half into a large rectangle.  Brush melted butter over the surface of the dough.  Sprinkle with brown sugar and orange zest.  Roll up lengthwise.  Cut each log into 12 evenly sized pinwheels.  Place into lightly greased 9x13” baking pans.  Cover each pans and let rise until doubles in size, about 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 350 F.  Bake rolls in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, until golden on top.  Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack. 
• While the rolls are baking, prepare the frosting.  Beat the butter and cream cheese in a large bowl with an electric mixer until fluffy.  Slowly add the orange juice, powdered sugar, almond extract and salt.  Beat until smooth.  If the frosting is too thick, add more juice.
• Pour frosting over the hot rolls, dividing it among the two pans.  Serve warm.

Makes 24 rolls.

Blueberry Lemon Bread

Adapted from Ivory Family Favorites Cookbook

This bread is so yummy. I made it one other time and had better luck last time with the blueberries...this time they all sunk to the bottom! Oh well...I'll definitely be making this again so I'll have time to work on that issue.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons grated lemon rind

1/2 cup milk

1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen, thawed and drained

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1/3 cup sugar

Combine flour, baking powder and salt in small bowl. Set aside. Beat butter with 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy in second bowl. Add eggs one at a time; beat well after each one. Add lemon rind. Add flower mixture to butter mixture, alternating with milk, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Fold in blueberries. (Sprinkle small amount of flour over blueberries to prevent sinking to the bottom of bowl.) Spoon batter into a greased and floured loaf pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour 15 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Bring lemon juice and 1/3 cup sugar to a boil. Pierce loaf. Spoon mixture over loaf. Let stand in pan 1 hour to cool completely. Makes 1 loaf.

Blueberries & Cream Stuffed French Toast

Adapted from Allrecipes

When our son was born we were given some cinnamon swirl bread from a local bakery as a gift from some of the leaders in our church.  The bread is fantastic in french toast, which has had me craving french toast a couple of times a week.  I do a pretty good job resisiting...this is only the second loaf we have bought of the cinnamon swirl bread.  Anyway the delicious bread has led me to experiment with french toast recipes and this blueberries and cream stuffed french toast is one of my favorites.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• ½ cup orange juice
• ½ tsp grated orange zest
• ½ cup maple syrup
• 8 slices cinnamon swirl bread
• 1/3 cup softened cream cheese
• ½ cup fresh or frozen blueberries
• 4 eggs
• 1/3 cup milk
• ¼ cup butter or oil

Directions:

• Bring the orange juice, orange zest and maple syrup to a boil in a small saucepan; reduce heat to medium-low and simmer to keep syrup hot.
• Meanwhile, spread one side of each slice of bread with the softened cream cheese.  Press the blueberries into the cream cheese and sandwich two pieces of bread together with the cream cheese on the inside to form sandwiches; set aside.  {Note:  if you used frozen blueberries, defrost in a colander under warm water before pressing into the cream cheese.}
• Beat the eggs in a mixing bowl; whisk in milk until smooth.
• Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat.  Dip the sandwiches into the egg mixture allowing the egg to soak into the bread; allow excess egg to drip off.  Cook the sandwiches in the hot butter or oil until golden brown on both sides and the bread is no longer soggy, about 5 minutes per side. 
• Serve with hot orange maple syrup and any additional topping that you desire {such as powdered sugar or whipped cream.}

Note:  try substituting the blueberries for raspberries or blackberries.  

Pizza Dough

Adapted from A Hint of Honey {ahintofhoney.blogspot.com}

Sorry, I didn't take a picture of the dough.  The picture of the pizza above will have to suffice this time!  I wanted to post the pizza dough recipe separately since we make pizza about every other week and it will be easier to refer to the link in the future.  This pizza dough recipe is the best!  My friend gave me the recipe and it became a hit among the girls in our church.  So much of a hit that another girl published it in the ward cookbook to make sure it was included, giving due credit to the original chef, of course.  Anyway, this pizza dough makes a fantabulous crust.  I highly recommend it!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup warm water (110-120 degrees F, over 120 degrees will kill your yeast
• 2 tsp honey
• 2 tsp active dry yeast
• 1 cup bread flour (+ up to ¼ cup more for kneading)
• 1 cup white whole wheat flour OR whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

1. In a glass or plastic bowl (metal can negatively affect yeast), dissolve honey in warm water. Add yeast and let sit (at least 10 minutes) until yeast is active and bubbly.
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all purpose flour, white whole wheat flour, and salt. Create a well in the center.
3. Once the yeast mixture is ready, pour it into the well in your flour mixture bowl. Add the extra virgin olive oil. Using a spatula and then your fingers, mix the dough until it pulls away from the side of the bowl.
4. Knead the dough on the counter top, adding up to 1/4 cup more flour just until it is no longer sticking to the counter and has a smooth texture. (You can brush a little olive oil onto your fingers for the kneading process.)
5. Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover. Let rise until doubled in size, about an hour. You can test if your dough has risen enough by poking it with a finger. If the imprint stays, then the dough is ready.
6. Deflate the dough into a ball, and let it rest on your counter for at least 10 minutes before you create the crust.
7. Preheat the oven and pizza stone (sprinkle with corn meal or semolina flour before placing in the oven) to 450 degrees F. This will take 15-20 minutes. A scorching hot pizza stone is the key to getting that puffy evenly cooked crust.
8. To shape your crust you will simply use your hands and gravity. DO NOT use a rolling pin- it will press out all of the air that has formed in your dough. Take the ball of dough in your hands and simply begin pulling it around the edges. It should start to stretch easily. Rotate it around your first making sure you are stretching each side evenly, so that you have a round crust. The middle will be fairly thin, and you want to leave the edges thicker so they will puff up.
9. Now you have several options. First is to open the preheated oven and place your crust directly on the stone. Then add your sauce and toppings and close the oven. This allows a fair bit of heat to escape the oven though so it is not ideal. The second option is to place your "rolled" out crust on a sheet of parchment paper. You can then add the sauce and toppings. Carry the pizza to the oven and place it on the stone (parchment paper stays beneath it). This makes removing the pizza from the oven easy as well-you simply pick up the parchment paper! Last of all, if you own a pizza peel, place your crust on the peel, add your sauce and toppings, then use the peel to slide it onto the pizza stone. Once it is cooked you will slide it off the stone back onto the peel. If you are cooking multiple pizzas the second and third options are best, as they do not require you to remove the stone from the oven and it will stay hot.
10. Bake your pizza for approximately 10-15 minutes, until the crust is puffy and starting to turn golden brown, and the cheese is melted and bubbling up.
11. Once you have removed your pizza from the oven, let it rest for a few minutes before slicing it. You can slice right on the pizza stone if you wish. And enjoy!

NOTE: Carefully follow any directions for cleaning your stone. Soap should not be used, only hot water.

Makes 1 large pizza.