Real Food- Freezer Cooking *Update*

Here is an update on my Real Food-Freezer Cooking! Only 1 more recipe to go!
Are you cooking for your freezer too?

• Cream of Celery soup
• Banana Chocolate Chip mini-muffins
• Waffles (with a few alterations)
• Individual baked oatmeal cups
• Refried Beans
• Cookies (with a few alterations) I decided to make almond butter chocolate chip cookies! Yummy! 

Individual Baked Oatmeals, mini banana muffins & almond butter cookies

"Real Food" Freezer cooking

 

 

Holidays are over & I need to replenish my freezer! Anyone want to do some FREEZER COOKING with me? Did you read my post about trying to feed my family real food? The recipes below will allow me to have convenient meals/snacks that are real food! (Although, some of these recipes will require altering to make them "real")

I plan to make each recipe by next Tuesday! 6 recipes in 7 days, that's doable, right? We'll see.....

• Banana Chocolate Chip mini-muffins
• Waffles (with a few alterations)
• Individual baked oatmeal cups

• Cream of Celery Soup
• Refried Beas

• Cookies (with a few alterations)

Friday's Freezer Friendly- PB &J?!?!

Yes, I am posting about freezing PB &J!
Have you seen these "Uncrustables" in the store? Seems so silly to me to BUY premade Pb&j!

 

 

But I did think that making ahead & freezing pb&j might work great for this household. See, it takes me awhile to use a whole loaf of bread before it goes bad. So, I got out Pampered Chef's Cut N Seal & decided to give "Uncrustables" a try!

 

Sidenote: Originally, I did not want to cave to Cora's level & remove the crust. But then I decided, "I don't care if she doesn't eat the crust. What's the big deal? It's what 3 year olds do. Plus, she eats A LOT of things other kids won't touch. If cutting the crust off makes her feel special, I'm happy to do it!"

 

Aren't these cute? I wrapped each one in a sandwhich bag & then put them all in a gallon freezer bag.

(If you need the recipe, you're in trouble! HAHA!)

Soft Pretzel Bites

One of my favorite snacks is a soft pretzel! I enjoy all kinds savory or sweet! Warm with dipping sauces like cheese, mustard, and/or marinara. Or sweet pretzels with icing or chocolate. Are you drooling yet?

When I was pregnant I craved pretzels & so badly wanted to try a recipe but I just never had the energy so I bought frozen ones instead.Yesterday, I finally tried this recipe. I thought they were super easy but here are a few tips::
-I think next time I'll make them into sticks to make the process go faster.
-When rolling them into desired shape use minimum amount of flour possible. B/c the flour makes the water foam when you drop them into boil.
-Be sure to whisk your egg really well.
-Check on them often. Mine cooked a lot quicker than recipe states.
-If you have a Pampered Chef stone, use it & skip parchment paper step. Works great!
-Add more salt than you would think because a substantial amount falls off when transferring pretzels.

My intentions where to freeze a good amount of these. But after Ken, Cora & I all "taste tested" there was not enough to freeze! So, I'll be making these again for my freezer as a quick & easy snack!

I have since made another batch & they made it into the freezer! When ready to eat pull out desired amount & microwave for 25-45 seconds depending on how many.

Savory bites that we dipped in a mustard/cheese sauce

Sweet bites that we dipped in Nutella









Freezer Friendly Friday- Individual Frozen meals

So I just got the brilliant idea to make individual frozen meals, especially for Ken's lunches. I used to buy SmartOnes or Lean Cuisine meals but only when I could get them for right around a dollar a piece, which is getting harder and harder. Ken is now sick of them and lets admit it- they really aren't the best tasting and they are loaded w/ sodium.
I started off w/ 2 different recipes that I know freeze well: Stuffed shells & Lone Star chicken enchiladas w/ Mexican rice! Today, I am sharing how I prepared the chicken enchiladas.



Lone Star Chicken Enchiladas (recipe originally from Taste of Home):

1 (2lb) whole fryer chicken, boiled, skinned, shredded

1 can (10 ounces) diced tomatoes with mild green chilies, drained well

3/4 c. salsa verde

1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chilies

1 c. black olives, sliced

1 tsp each: cilantro, chili powder, cumin

S & P to taste

1 c. half & half or Vitamin D

1 Tbsp. AP flour

12 flour tortillas, warmed

1-1 1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese, divided

 

-In a large bowl combine: shredded chicken, tomatoes, salsa, chilies, olives seasoning and 1/2 c. of the cheese.

-In a shallow bowl combine half & half plus flour. Whisk until flour is incorporated.
-Dip 1 tortilla into milk mixture then fill w/ aprox. 1/3 c. of chicken mixture. Roll up & place in a Glad freezer container. (Because I am doing individual frozen meals I put 1 enchilada in each container)

The filling

Finished individual meal

Mexican Rice
 1 Tbsp. butter
3 stalks of green onion
1 small red bell pepper
1 c. white rice
S & P to taste
1/2 tsp each: cilantro, cumin, parsley & garlic powder

- Melt butter in a medium sauce pan.
-Add green onions & bell pepper & cook until softened (about 5 minutes)
-Add rice & cook about 3 minutes.
-Add S & P and other seasonings
-Add 2 c. water
-Bring to a boil. Cover, turn heat to simmer and simmer for 20 minutes.
-When finished, fluff w/ a fork.

Friday's Freezer Friendly ~ Iced coffee

I love this recipe in the hot summer months. On mornings when I wake and its already 80 degrees I can't drink hot coffee. This gives me my coffee fix but is cold and refreshing too! It's a great recipe to play with. This time I used Starbucks vanilla coffee. YUM. And of course, you can pick a variety of different coffee creamers. I have also used evaporated milk in place of the milk.

This recipes comes from my aunt over at http://inhotpursuitofmoreandless.blogspot.com/. 

Iced Coffee

10-12 c. of double strength coffee

1 can sweetened condensed milk (I use fat free)

1/2 c. flavored liquid creamer

optional: 1- 2c. milk (I like mine strong, so I do not add any milk!)

-Brew strong coffee by doubling the amount of coffee grounds you would normally use. *Caution: My coffee maker overflowed, making a terrible mess the first several times I tried this. I now brew 2 batches of 6c. at a time.

-When coffee is finished brewing and still hot transfer to a pitcher and whisk in sweetened condensed milk. Allow to cool.

-Add creamer and milk, if desired.

-Transfer to bottles, leaving head space for expansion during freezing. (I dug through my recycle bin and found Gatorade and Snapple jars. Yes, you can freeze glass if you leave plenty of head space. )

-To use, thaw in the fridge the night before. Shake well. Serve over ice.

Friday's Freezer Friendly~ Pizza Pockets

I got this idea from Money Saving Mom during her "4 Weeks to Fill your Freezer" series. She happened to post this idea a few days before I was already planning on making homemade pizza for dinner- How perfect?!?! I just made extra dough, chopped more veggies and assembled these before dinner {During NAP time} This whole process from start to placing in freezer took 2 hours!

Homemade Pizza Pockets
Dough:
2 yeast packets
2 c. warm water
1 tsp. salt
4 tsp. olive oil + 1 Tbsp.
2 tsp. Italian seasoning
3 c. whole wheat flour
2-3 c. AP flour
-Dissolve yeast in water. Let stand alone a few minutes until it gets bubbly.
-Meanwhile, add salt, 4 tsp. olive oil and Italian seasoning to Kitchen Aid mixer.
-Add yeast mixture.
-With the hook attachment add whole wheat flour 1 c. at a time, mix until combined.
-Add AP flour in 1/2 c. increments until dough is no longer sticky.
-Knead for 5 minutes.
-Add 1 tbsp. olive oil to a large bowl. Place dough in bowl, turning once to coat w/ oil.
-Cover w/ a towel and let it sit to rise. {I put mine on my stove while I was cooking sausage and pizza sauce. It doubled in size in about 20minutes}

Filling:
Supreme pockets:
Pizza sauce, homemade or jarred
1lb. pork sausage, cooked
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1 can black olives, sliced
1 c. mushrooms, sliced
8oz. shredded mozzarella cheese

Hawaiian pockets:
Pizza sauce
1 c. pineapple, chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1 c. ham, chopped
cheese

Topping:
Olive oil
Italian seasoning

To Assemble:
-Pull off dough and roll into a ball in your hands. (About golf ball size)
-On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to about 6 inch circle.
-Fill w/ sauce first, toppings then cheese.
-Fold over and pinch w/ a fork
-I used different colored tooth picks to distinguish supreme, Hawaiian and I made 3 for Mae {sauce, cheese and black olives}
-Brush w/ extra olive oil and sprinkle Italian seasoning on top.
-Bake at 400 for 12-15 minutes
-Allow to cool completely!!!
-Transfer to a Ziploc gallon bag and Freeze!

Hawaiin Pocket

I only got 13. I was hoping for 18!

I made 3 specially for Mae= sauce, cheese & black olives. Then I put hers in a sandwich bags and labeled MM's

Friday's Freezer Friendly on Wednesday?!?! {Mini Muffins}

Have you been following Money Saving Mom and her series "4 Weeks to Fill your Freezer"? I love her, everyday for 4 weeks she is cooking items that go straight to her freezer. I love the idea but I'm not as ambitious. This week I hope to get 2 days of freezer cooking in. Today, a quick snack for Mae, mini muffins & Friday I plan on making pizza pockets!

This recipe comes from my sister in law, Megan. But I got the idea of freezing mini muffins as a snack last week when we were grocery shopping. A woman was giving out samples of Hostess mini muffins, Cora loved the snack and so I looked at buying a box. Do you know a box of 4pks sold for $3.98! EKKKK! I made mine much cheaper and got 12 portions.

Mini Healthy Blueberry Muffins
1/2 c. butter substitute, softened
1 c. Splenda (I actually use 3/4 c. regular sugar)
1/4 c.honey
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. skim milk
1 c. blueberries, fresh or frozen

-Cream butter, sugar and honey together until fluffy.
-Beat eggs in 1 at a time. Add vanilla.
-Meanwhile, in a medium bowl add flour, baking powder and salt
-Alternately, stir in flour mixture and milk.
-Fold in blueberries
-Spoon batter into greased muffin pan, mini or regular. (B/c I used a mini pan I individually buttered each muffin. I did not want to spray Pam b/c I didn't think it would cover the pan well)
-Bake at 350 for 12 minutes (for mini muffins. 25-30 for regular muffins)
-Allow to cool in pan for 5-7 minutes.
-Remove from muffin pan and allow to cool completely.
-I then packaged them in fold over Ziploc bags, 3 per bag b/c I thought that was a nice portion for lil MaeMae.
-Then I put all the baggies into a large gallon Ziploc bag.
-These are going to be great for quick breakfasts or snacks on the go :)

Friday's Freezer Friendly Food-Herb Butter

If you didn't already think I had too much time on my hands, now you will :) This week I made 1 lb. of herb butter to freeze. Whenever I make homemade bread, which is often, I always mix up some herb butter using just a few tablespoons. I decided to make a large batch to freeze for better convenience.

Use whatever spices you like. Here's what I did:

1 lb. butter, softened at room temperature for several hours (Not previously frozen)

1 Tbsp. dried parsley

1 tsp. garlic, minced

1 Tbsp. honey

1 tsp. Tastefully Simple season salt (B/c it was unsalted butter)

- Add all ingredients and mix using whisk attachment on Kitchen Aid

-Portion into 6, 1/2 c. Glade containers. (They were not full)

-Put all 6 containers into a large Ziploc bag so they aren't rolling all over my freezer. 

 -When ready to use, allow a hour to thaw.

Friday's Freezer Friendly Food- Tortillas

Homemade Tortillas: (Makes 8 tortillas)

2 c. flour

1/2 tsp. salt

3/4 c. water

3 Tbsp. Olive oil

-In a large bowl combine flour and salt

- Add water and oil

-Knead for 10 minutes

-Cut dough ball into 8 equal size pieces

-Roll each piece into a 7 inch circle

-Over medium heat warm a skillet and spray w/ cooking spray

-Cook each tortilla until browned on each side (3-5 minutes)

Makes 8 tortillas

After I finished cooking each one I laid them out in a single layer on bread board to cool.

Wrapped in 3 sets of 5 tortillas.

These are so delicious fresh, right off the skillet! I made a double batch and froze them.

-Allow them to cool completely.

-Place parchment paper in between every few tortillas.

-I then wrapped them in groups of 5 in Scran wrap b/c that is how many my family will eat at a time.
-Place all tortillas in a Ziploc freezer bag! Freeze up to 3 months!
-When ready to use- allow to thaw completely and warm in microwave or skillet.

Friday's Freezer Friendly Food-Carrots

I know its been awhile since a "Friday Freezer Friendly" post. I have a few ideas for the next couple weeks, so I hope to keep them coming! This week's F.F.F.F. is on CARROTS! This post will probably be too late for most of you but not for me b/c my father- in- law picked carrots on New Years Day! And because this winter has been so mild these carrots are perfect! This past fall I canned 7 pints of carrots but I decided to freeze these since I didn't have a large quantity Here's what I did:

1. Wash carrots
2. Peel carrots
3. Cut to desired size/shape
4. Drop into boiling water for 3 minutes if carrots are chopped or diced (5 minutes if carrots are whole)
5. Strain in colander and rinse w/ cold water
6. Once cooled, transfer to Ziploc freezer bags in 1.5-2 c. portions & label. Freeze for up to 6 months.
-Use in soups, stir frys, casseroles or serve as a side. I know at least Sweet Pea loves carrots!

Friday's Freezer Friendly Food- Pumpkin Puree

Did I mention that we finally got our new freezer?!?! We opted to pay a little extra and get a bigger one! So now it's time to fill it :)

Pumpkin Puree
-Start w/ as many pie pumpkins that you can get your hands on:
-Since I didn't have the muscles to cut through a raw whole pumpkin, I stuck 2 whole pumpkins on a cookie sheet in the oven at 400 degree for 1.5 hours.
-Then I was able to cut it in half, scoop out the seeds, cover tightly w/ foil (skin side down) and put it back in the oven for another hour-hour and half.
-Then the meat was tender enough to scoop into my blender to puree.
- The sizes of my pumpkins varied, one I had to cook an extra hour b/c it wasn't getting soft.
-Put it in a colander to drain off excess liquid.
-Allow to cool completely!!!
-Transfer to Ziploc bags or containers (In 2 c. quantities)

12 cups + the 3.5 that I used for the "Butternut Squash" Lasagna

One of my Favorite pumpkin recipes:
Spiced cookies w Pumpkin dip

Traditional (Lamb) Shepherd's Pie Wins!

I've always made Shepherd's pie with beef or turkey and it is more like a meatloaf topped with mashed potatoes. But when we got a half lamb butchered w my in laws I decided to do a more traditional Shepherd's pie. This has more vegetables in the meat and has a loose consistency. This is a pheasant dish. Veggies and a sauce is meant to help small amounts of meat go a long way, and it did. Ken and I were stuffed and always have leftovers for the next day.This meal was even a hit w MaeMae :)
*Swap out the veggies for your family's favorites. Onions, celery, parsnips and/or mushrooms could all be used.
*This time I didn't have tomato paste so I used tomato sauce and just added an additional Tbsp.
*You can top w cheese or bacon. I didn't want any extra calories

Lamb Shepherd's pie=
Meat mixture:
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 large carrot, peeled and diced
1/2 c. peas (frozen)
1/2 c. corn (frozen, canned or fresh)
1 lb. ground lamb
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp. dried parsley
1/4 tsp. each: pepper, rosemary & thyme
1/2 tsp. salt
 -Heat olive oil in a large skillet of over medium/high heat. Add carrot, peas and corn. Cook for about 3 minutes just to start to soften
-Add ground lamb, garlic and herbs. Cook until brown.
-Drain off grease. Remove meat mixture from skillet into a 2 QT. baking dish

Pan sauce:
2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. flour
1 c. fat free chicken or beef broth
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
dash of Worcestershire sauce
S&P to taste
-Melt butter in the same large skillet used to cook meat. Stir in flour and allow to become light brown in color.
-Whisk in broth slowly. As it thickens you may not use the entire cup if gravy like consistency is reached early.
-Allow to simmer for 3 minutes. Add tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce and S & P if desired.
-Pour over meat mixture
-Top w 2 c. mashed potatoes. (Use your own recipe or mine is below)
-Bake at 375 for 20 minutes or until potatoes start to brown

***If Freezing: I do not top w/ mashed potatoes. Make the meat mixture & pan sauce. Transfer to a freezer friendly container. Allow to cool completely. Cover & freeze. When ready to use allow to thaw overnight in fridge. Top w mashed potatoes & bake!

Nutritional Info: Recipe equals 6 servings (aprox. 1 1/2 c.)
B/c everyone makes their mashed potatoes differently you might want to use just the meat mixture's pts value which was 7 WW pts and then figure up your version of potatoes pts.
I did figure my mashed potatoes as another 2 pts per serving. I thought that was pretty low!
Here's how I made mine:
2 c. mashed red potatoes w skin
1/2 c. skim milk (aprox. I didn't measure)
2 Tbsp. fat free sour cream
1 Tbsp. butter
salt, pepper & parsley

Friday's Freezer Friendly Food

Sorry, No freezer ideas this week. I am still fighting with Sears/Kenmore over our freezer that died on us. Until we get a new one I do not have room to freeze anything more than necessary. But stay tuned b/c I have some things I want to freeze: pumpkin, onions and breakfast burritos! Hopefully we get our new one soon...

Working Moms need to try this!

Apologies that my "Friday" freezer idea is coming on a Monday; I hope you'll be forgiving since this past Friday we left early for a trip to Indianapolis to celebrate Kenny's sister's wedding! Welcome to the family, Greg :) We had a great family weekend.

Here is the set up for this post:
2 weeks ago I got into my chest freezer to find it half thawed, not cold at all!!!! Thinking I left the lid open or maybe it came slightly unplugged; I cranked the temperature gage up and hoped it would get cold quick! Well it didn't! Something was wrong. To save ALL my meat, 25 lbs. of blueberries and Lord knows how much corn; I had rearrange my other 2 freezers to make room for my thawing food. Thankfully, 4 pounds of ground beef was the only totally thawed food. It couldn't be refrozen so I had to do something with it quick...

~The first 2 lbs. I made into meatloaf that we ate for 2 days. The other 2lbs. I made into taco meat.
~I added green pepper, onions and all the seasonings I add when making tacos: cilantro, cumin, chili powder, S & P etc. and browned until everything was cooked through!
~Next, I let it cool completely and transferred into 2 air tight containers, labeled "taco meat" and stuck it in my freezer. (Where it stayed for about 2 weeks)
~Yesterday, before church I took 1 of the taco meat containers from the freezer and put it in the refrigerator. Because it was already in a crumbled form it thawed within a few hours.
~When we got home from church I warmed it in a skillet for about 5 minutes (warm slowly and with a lid to prevent drying out) and added a little bit more spices to taste.
~Lunch was served from start to finish in about 7 minutes and with only 2 dirty dishes (freezer container & skillet). I loved the ease of this. Right away I wanted to share this idea with working/Busy moms. Spaghetti meat sauce and/or meatballs would work perfectly too.

Note: A repair guy came out and our chest freezer is ruined. Some part went out! Thankfully, it is still under warranty since it is ONLY 6 months old! A new one should be delivered soon…

Friday's Freezer Friendly Food~ A peek inside my freezer!

This week is a simple post on things I commonly freeze. Some are pretty obvious to most- other items you might be surprised by. I often buy items that are on sale and freeze them. Examples: cheese, bread, milk, coffee....
Two things in my freezer right now are All purpose flour and corn meal. In late July, while I was visiting IN we took a day trip to Shipsewana. We stopped at a bulk food store and two of the many items purchased were 25 lb. All purpose flour and corn meal. Now I won't have to buy either for a year!

I just pictured my upright. I also have a chest freezer and of course the one with my fridge!
See my peaches and zucchini?

Items normally in my freezer but not pictured for various reasons:
-Milk
-Meat (all meat goes in my chest freezer)
-Jam (all jam is in my refrigerator freezer)
-Homemade chicken broth
-Homemade bread crumbs
-Homemade yogurt
-Cream cheese

Friday's Freezer Friendly Food- Peaches

"Movin' to the country gonna eat a lot of peaches

I'm movin' to the country I'm gonna eat me a lot of peaches

I'm movin' to the country I'm gonna eat a lot of peaches

Movin' to the country I'm gonna eat a lot of peaches......"

Peaches by Presidents of the USA

This week my Freezer Friendly Food is Peaches. I got 2 half bushels of delicious peaches from my in laws. I froze 14 quarts, canned 5 quarts/2 pints, prepared 5 half pints/1 pint of peach butter, 1 peach/blueberry crisp, ate probably more than we should have & still have 12 fresh to do something with....


Proof of my work :)

Follow these instructions to freeze peaches: Remember there are many different kinds of peaches. If you are going to buy a large quantity be sure to get "free stone" which come away from the pit easily. Also, some types peel easier than others!
1. Fill a large stock pot with water about half way to the top. Bring to a light boil.
2. Drop peaches in for 30-45 seconds. Remove immediately.
3. Rinse in cold water but do not allow to soak.
4. Cut in half & twist to pull two halves apart. Remove skin (which will come off easily b/c of dipping in hot water). Remove pit. Dig out the pink center (grape fruit spoon worked great) this prevents browning.
5. Slice peaches and arrange in a single layer on a cookie sheet on their "bottoms".
6. Freeze over night or until completely frozen. Transfer to Ziploc bags. (I put into quart size. Gallon would work great too since they are frozen individual. You can use what you need and put the rest back in the freezer!)
-Uses: pies/crisp, cobbler, smoothies/milkshakes, on top of yogurt/cottage cheese, or as baby food.

--Note: Browning may occur after thaw. But taste is not affected.



16 half bushels of peaches




My portion to process all by myself




Arranged on a cookie sheet on their "bottoms"



Friday's Freezer Friendly Food- Zucchini

I love fresh zucchini out of a summer garden! I was so upset when mine died. But I had a friend and my mother in law give me several from their garden's. I ate several fresh and others I froze! I plan to use it in breads, muffins, soups and a vegetable lasagna! I filled each bag with 2 cups because that is the quantity several of my recipes call for.

1. Start with fresh zucchini, any size. Julianne with a mandolin or food processor.
2. Put julienned zucchini and 1 tsp. salt in a colander in the sink and allow to sit for 30-45 minutes. This allows extra moisture to drain off.
3. Freeze 1 1/2 cups- 2 cups in ziploc bags or containers. (I got 6- 1quart bags)
4. When ready to use, I suggest thawing in a colander again.
I already used some for zucchini oat muffins for my Mom's Life meeting today :)

I used 2 medium and 1 large



About 12 cups of julienned zucchini



Finished muffins :)

Friday's Freezer Friendly Food- Pancakes

I almost always make a special breakfast on Saturday mornings. I love making extra pancakes to freeze for Mae to eat through out the week!

Whole Wheat Banana Pancakes
2 eggs
2 c. whole wheat flour
1 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 c. skim milk
2 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
dash of nutmeg
3 over ripe bananas, mashed

-Combine all ingredients and stir just until combined.
-Cook in a small amount of oil.
-Eat right away OR place in a single layer on a cookie sheet and place in freezer for about 2 hours or until frozen completely. Then transfer to a ziploc bag.
-Reheat for 45 seconds in microwave.
(3 WW points each)


(Sorry not a very good picture-I had to snap it quickly so I could feed Mae)



Friday's Freezer Friendly Food- Bread

Here is another great idea for your Freezer!

I got this recipe from a magazine called Cooking Club. The recipe makes a huge batch of dough and allows you to store in your fridge for up to 2 weeks and makes 4 one pound loaves. This crusty boule along w nutella ring and cinnamon raisin bread are examples of breads you can make with this "master" recipe. I've only made the crusty boule. I make the dough, bake it off, eat 1 or 2 for dinner and then freeze the remaining 2 or 3! It works great.

Master dough recipe:
3 1/2 c. lukewarm water
4 teaspoon active dry yeast
4 tsp. salt
7 1/4 c. All purpose flour (I usually do 4c. white and 3 1/4 c. whole wheat)
1. Combine water, yeast and salt in large bowl. Stir in flour. Dough will be very sticky and wet.
2. Place dough in 5 qu. container w a tight lid. Do not snap lid tight while rising. Allow to sit at room temperature for 2 hours. Can be refrigerated for 2 weeks w an air tight lid.


Crusty Boule Recipe:
1-lb. (grapefruit-size) portion of Master Recipe
1. Hold dough and dust top with flour; quickly shape into ball by stretching surface of dough around to bottom on all four sides, rotating dough a quarter turn as you go.
2. Place dough on pizza peel or baking sheet liberally sprinkled with cornmeal or lined with parchment paper; cover loosely with lightly floured plastic wrap. Let stand in warm draft-free place 1 hour or until dough is slightly puffed and no longer chilled.
3. Thirty minutes before baking, place baking stone on center oven rack; place empty broiler pan on bottom oven rack. Heat oven to 450°F.
4. Dust loaf with flour. With serrated knife, make 2 or 3 (1/4-inch-deep) slashes in top of loaf. Slide loaf (with parchment paper, if using) onto baking stone. Immediately pour 1 cup hot water into broiler pan; quickly close oven door to trap steam.
5. Bake 30 minutes or until deep golden brown and loaf sounds hollow when tapped on bottom. Cool completely on wire rack

-Once they are out of the oven, allow to cool completly!!! Wrap tightly in foil and then place in a ziploc bag. Freeze up to 3 months!