Her Divine Right

I shape this bread into small rolls, but the wonderful thing about this dough is that you can make many, many different types of loaves with it.
This recipe is really just a 'white bread'.

Poolish Preferment Base

In this recipe, you do not activate the yeast in the usual sugar, yeast, water way. Instead, we make what is called 'poolish' as the yeast starter.

Poolish is a a preferment yeast starter very much like sourdough levain. "Pre-ferment" is really the keyword.

To make poolish, you make a very runny flour and water paste, (similar in texture to pancake batter) and then add a tiny bit of commercial yeast. You then set aside this mixture to pre-ferment.

Once it ferments and has become bubbly, you add in more flour, salt and whatever other ingredients your bread calls for and knead it all into the final dough.

Why Use Poolish?

This preferment technique hugely reduces the amount of yeast you actually use in the bread which ensures that there is no "yeast taste" in the final product.
Instead, the bread has a wonderful nutty flavor with an almost-sweet undertone. Truly a marvelous technique.

Poolish preferment also gives bread a unique fluffy and airy texture, making it perfect for just about any sandwhich or toast.

Bread with a poolish preferment base and proper kneading or folding is some of the softest, tastiest, goodness anyone could hope to see on their plate.

Let's get started shall we?

If you search for "khakhra recipe", you will find, as I did, that the classic way to cook khakhras at home is to press and turn them on your tawa or pan with a cotton cloth.

This method essentially roasts the khakhras like a roti with a little bit of oil until they dry all the way out to become cracker-like. Roti crackers. Yum?

The resulting "khakhra" is then dry and snaps like... well... dried out roti. Not very apetizing in my opinion and certainly not the classic khakhra experience.

Khakhras need that signature flakey, crumble crunch; like a buttery cookie.

Being dissatisfyed with my homemade-khakhra findings, I then did what every determined chef does and looked for how khakhras are mass-produced. What are the industrial methods?

I found that the biggest difference in the industrial process from homemade way was the cooking method.
The dough was simple enough, the rolling/squashing was similar, but the cooking... The cooking was different.

Find out the secrets to making the perfect, crumbly, crunchy khakhra right at home!

Without oil

You heard me right... or read me right... anyway, yes, this recipe uses NO OIL. When I say no oil, I mean... no oil. At all.

You can use oil if you want, but it's really a preference.

The ironic thing is that it actually tastes better without oil. Somehow adding the oil at the beginning mutes the flavor of the cumin and mustard seeds and ginger.

Rather than letting the seeds crackle in the oil (the usual way), I find it best to simmer the cumin and mustard seeds and ginger in a small amount of water for a few minutes.
- Almost like brewing tea.

The flavors saturate and carry the whole dish so beautifully when using this method.

Many people like to use some ghee or oil in their dal simply for the taste that oil brings. If this is something you also enjoy, I would recomend adding the oil after the dal itself has been added, almost like a finishing touch.

I use an instant pot all the time. It's super useful. THAT BEING SAID, It's hard to find any one place to quickly find cook times and experienced know-how reference guides for the instant pot.

Everyone has a different opinion. I too have my own opinion and way of doing things that works for me, so here's my take and my "personal reference quick-guide".

If nothing else, at least I can always access my own recipes online anywhere and any place.

So basically,
TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT.

Enjoy!

I initially created this pizza recipe trying to copy Dominos' thin and crispy crust pizza which actually proved to be quite a challenge. Turns out the cripsy, tender crust takes more technique than just extra oven-minutes to achieve.

In this recipe, I will take you through the entire pizza process of making the sauce, dough, toppings and more all from scratch! I explain nuances of pizza making that make all the difference in taste and texture, from prheating your skillet or oven stone to the secrets in achieving perfect crust texture.

I never really liked pizza that much until I began making my own. Granted, I had some pretty bad pizza before. But still, this recipe rocks.

As a bonus, we will make cheese sticks and homemade ranch dip, which are easily made right along side the pizza and are a fantastic pizza accomplice >:)

Incase you're still not convinced, here's some more pictures.

Who knew? You don't need emulsifiers, or super secret ingredients to make iced coffees that will give StarBucks a run for their money.

I didn't.

But now I do, and it's so simple I go repent daily for not figuring it out earlier.
Sipping my iced coffee at the confession booth be like: "Hey, any time."

Plus, it's super cool when you blow bubbles in it so, there's really no reason not to make it.

I researched and made recipe after recipe, trying to figure out how StarBucks makes their frappuccios so thick and creamy.

I was sure, like many others, that there must be some kind of thickening agent or emulsifier involved —maybe there is IDK—, but not in this recipe!

Three simple ingredients will do it for the most mouth watering, thick and creamy iced coffee you'll find anywhere.

Well, FOUR ingredients if you want a chocolate iced coffee.