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Cottage Life

This fast and easy pizza dough is a no-fail classic

To celebrate our 35th anniversary of the magazine, we asked Ann Vanderhoof, founding editor of Cottage Life for a reliable recipe for the cottage that she still uses after all these years. She tapped this reliable pizza dough from Jane Rodmell long-time Cottage Life contributor and author of many cookbooks. Here’s what Ann said about this pizza dough recipe, “I’ve tried other pizza dough recipes over the years, but keep returning to this one of Jane’s because it’s quick, easy, and no-fail.” Without further ado, here it is!

When there’s no pizza delivery for miles, this quick-and-easy pizza dough can be a lifesaver. Use the recipe to make two crisp, thin-crust pizzas. Or, if you like your crust soft and thick, use it to make one crust and let it rise for half an hour before baking. You can even use this easy pizza dough recipe to create your very own calzones for everyone to enjoy.

 

Speedy Pizza Dough

Jane Rodmell

When there’s no pizza delivery for miles, this quick-and-easy dough can be a lifesaver. Use the recipe to make two crisp, thin-crust pizzas. Or, if you like your crust soft and thick, use it to make one crust and let it rise for half an hour before baking. You can even use this easy dough recipe to create your very own calzones for everyone to enjoy.

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Course Appetizer, Main Course, Snack
Cuisine casual, classic, Cottage, grilling, Italian, outdoor

Servings 2 crips, thin-crust pizzas

Ingredients

  

  • 2½ –3 cups all-purpose flour divided
  • ¾ tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp
  • Fleischmann’s Quick-Rise Instant Yeast or RapidRise Instant Yeast 1 envelope
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • cornmeal for dusting pans

Instructions

 

  • Toss 2 cups flour with salt and yeast in a large bowl.
  • Heat water and oil until hot (125˚F). Briskly stir or beat the liquid into the flour mixture for about 2 minutes.
  • Stir in enough remaining flour to make a soft dough. Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 4 minutes, adding more flour when the dough becomes sticky. (You may not need to use all the flour.)
  • Shape dough into a smooth ball, cover, and let rest 10 minutes. Divide dough in two if you want to make thin-crust pizzas.
  • Grease pans or baking sheets well and dust with cornmeal. Stretch or roll dough to fit. Cover with your favourite toppings and bake in preheated 400˚F oven for 20–30 minutes until crust is nicely browned and topping is piping hot.

Keyword pizza, pizza dough
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

5 easy ways to make pizza on the grill

Read more from our 35th anniversary celebration issue, including:

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Cottage Life

Frogmore stew: easy summer entertaining at its best

Photo by Liam Mogan

You readers sure love this recipe! We’ve heard so many comments about this easy summer entertaining feast since we published it in our Summer 2015 issue—not only how delicious it is, but how fun it is to eat. We agree: it’s the epitome of relaxed, crowd-pleasing entertaining. Are you making it this weekend? You really should. 

Just ignore the name. Really. No frogs are harmed in its making, and it’s not a stew. (Who wants that in summer?) Rather, it’s a feed-a-crowd Happy Meal for all ages that doesn’t—not kidding here—require plates or cutlery. I first tried it in South Carolina’s Low Country (it’s also called “Low-Country Boil”)—a big pot of sausage, corn, shell-on shrimp, chicken, potatoes, and clams was upended onto a newspaper-covered table. We dug in, dipping the bits in melted butter. Afterwards, our hosts just rolled up the newspaper. Cleanup done. In theory, you could cook Frogmore Stew in a stockpot on the stove, turning the cottage into a steam bath. Much better to do it authentically—outdoors. No need for precision with the ingredients either. More kids? Add chicken. Mussels or clams in the market? Use them, and go lighter on the shrimp. (Or not.) Just don’t forget the paper towels. This is fine food—but it ain’t fine dining.

Frogmore Stew

Ann Vanderhoof

Just ignore the name. Really. No frogs are harmed in its making, and it’s not a stew. (Who wants that in summer?) Rather, it’s a feed-a-crowd Happy Meal for all ages that doesn’t—not kidding here—require plates or cutlery. I first tried it in South Carolina’s Low Country (it’s also called “Low-Country Boil”)—a big pot of sausage, corn, shell-on shrimp, chicken, potatoes, and clams was upended onto a newspaper-covered table. We dug in, dipping the bits in melted butter. Afterwards, our hosts just rolled up the newspaper. Cleanup done. In theory, you could cook Frogmore Stew in a stockpot on the stove, turning the cottage into a steam bath. Much better to do it authentically—outdoors. No need for precision with the ingredients either. More kids? Add chicken. Mussels or clams in the market? Use them, and go lighter on the shrimp. (Or not.) Just don’t forget the paper towels. This is fine food—but it ain’t fine dining.

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Course Main Course
Cuisine casual, Cottage, outdoor

Servings 8 people (or more)

Ingredients

  

For the pot

  • 1-2 bottles beer optional
  • ½-1 cup shrimp-and-crab-boil seasoning such as Old Bay or Zatarain’s (adjust amount for more eaters. To feed eight, you’ll need about ½ cup of seasoning. For larger groups, add up to another ½ cup of seasoning.)

For each person

  • ¼ lb smoked kielbasa or other smoked sausage cut in chunks (125 g)
  • 1 skinless chicken drumstick or thigh
  • 3-4 small new potatoes
  • 1 ear of corn husked and cut in thirds
  • ½ lb shell-on large shrimp 21–25 count (250 g)
  • 6-8 clams or mussels optional; if including, reduce quantity of shrimp as desired
  • Melted butter for dipping

Instructions

 

  • Pour enough water and beer (if you’re using it) into a turkey-fryer pot to reach the bottom of the strainer basket. Cover and bring to a boil.
  • Layer ingredients in the basket in the following order, sprinkling each layer liberally with seasoning and steaming (with cover on) for the specified time before adding the next layer:

    • kielbasa, 3–5 minutes

    • chicken and potatoes, 12–15 minutes

    • corn, 3–5 minutes

    • shrimp, 2 minutes

    • clams or mussels (if using), 5 minutes (If not including optional shellfish, cook shrimp for 4–6 minutes.)

  • When shrimp are just opaque and clams or mussels are open, remove strainer basket, allow to drain briefly, and tip contents onto a table covered with several layers of butcher paper or newspaper. Serve with melted butter.

Keyword corn, fan favourite, feed a crowd, frogmore stew, low-country boil, seafood
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Originally published in the Summer 2015 issue of Cottage Life.