Author: Zoe Wong

How to Work with Dry Yeast

| Zoe Wong

Yeast is an essential ingredient for making many delicious carbs like breads, crusts, and cinnamon rolls. It’s the ingredient responsible for making these foods have the texture it does- squishy and not dense.

How? Would you believe it if I told you yeast is ALIVE. Its a living organism that eats and breathes.

Once, my apartmate met someone that said that they grew their own yeast and that “its like a pet.”

I wouldn’t go as far to call it a pet…but yeah, it’s alive.

When we put yeast in breads and stuff, it eats sugar (and eventually the flour because it can convert flour into sugar, wow) and in return, releases carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide is what makes the dough expand because all the gas gets trapped in it.

What is Dry Yeast?

Dry yeast is just yeast that has been dried. Its not dead- don’t worry- just dormant. Yeast is dried for the purpose of prolonging its shelf-life, so, when yeast is needed, it can just be activated by “proofing.”

Recipes usually call for some form of dry yeast. I think only professionals use the un-dried version?

Types of Yeast

There are two main types of dry yeast, differentiated by the amount of time it takes to activate.

Active-Dry Yeast (Regular) and;

Rapid-Rise Yeast (Instant)

As their names suggest, active-dry takes longer than rapid-rise.

Active-Dry Yeast

Also known as regular yeast. It requires proofing before using.

Typically, to proof, you need warm water, sugar, and the active-dry yeast. Make sure that the water is not lukewarm but not hot either. If you stick your finger in the water, it should be a comfortable temperature for you. If it’s comfortable for you, it’s comfortable for the yeast.

Generally, I add about 1 Tablespoon of sugar (per 1 sachet of yeast) to my warm water, stir, and add the yeast in. I let it sit for at least 5 minutes so that the yeast has time to foam up. When it is nice and foamy, it is ready to use in your recipes.

This is what proofed yeast looks like.

Rapid-Rise Yeast

Like many bakers, I favor using rapid-rise yeast over active-dry because it yields faster results and doesn’t require proofing. While baking, you would directly mix in the rapid-rise yeast with the other dry ingredients. If you use a recipe that calls for active-dry yeast, you can substitute it with the same amount of rapid-rise.

Fig and Cranberry Loaf using Rapid-Rise Yeast

Tips for Baking with Yeast

Effect of Sugar and Salt

  • Sweet doughs (doughs with a lot of sugar) slow down yeast and have a longer rise-period. There are special yeasts made for sweet doughs to help with this problem.
  • Salt kills yeast, so be careful not to add salt to the proofing water.
Chocolate Swirl Bun is “sweet.”

Effect of Rising Speed

  • If the dough rises too quickly, it means the yeast has released a lot of carbon dioxide in a short amount of time. The dough may have a sour taste and is more likely to be “weak.” Weak doughs are more susceptible to being “unshaped” or collapsed. Therefore, avoid rising your dough in deliberately warm places. A semi-warm area would work fine (like an unheated microwave or countertop near a window).
  • Conversely to the previous point, a slower rise will yield a stronger and dough more likely to keep its shape throughout the whole process. Personally, I like refrigerating my doughs overnight for this reason, but also so that I don’t have to be on “stand-by” for hours while I could be studying.
Pizza dough made overnight. Recipe here.

How Much Yeast Should I Use?

  • If you often use yeast in the kitchen, there’s likely to be wild yeast floating around. As such, your doughs are likely to rise faster. So, it is typically okay to use less yeast than normal. On the other hand, if you’ve never used yeast before, your kitchen is “sterile.” The rising process might be a tad slower than the frequent baker. Be patient.

How Do I Store Yeast?

  • After opening a packet of yeast, it is best to seal it tightly and store it in the fridge. Yeast that can be exposed to air and moisture will active and eventually die.

Is My Yeast Still Usable?

  • Dry yeast is usable as long as it will foam during proofing. As such, it is easy to tell early-on if active-dry yeast is usable because it must be proofed before using anyways.
  • Rapid-rise yeast can also go through a “proof” test to ensure that the yeast is still good to use. The method is the same for active-dry proofing: comfortably warm water + 1 Tbsp sugar + 1 sachet of yeast. Then, proceed as normal with the recipe.

Soft-Crust Pizza Dough

| Zoe Wong

I am very particular about pizza because my hometown has this particular mom-and-pop restaurant that makes THE BEST pizza (shoutout to Monaco’s Pizza ❤).

Monaco’s has spoiled me by not allowing myself to enjoy a slice of PizzaHut, Dominos, or Papa John. Ok, maybe that’s an exaggeration because if I were truly desperate and someone gave me some chain pizza, I’d still selfishly devour it.

So, in the midst of midterms week and my frazzled mentality, I had this mad craving for pizza. Now, if I were at home, I’d be fine ’cause I know Monaco’s has got my back. But I wasn’t at home. I was 114 miles away and I didn’t know of any “good” pizza places near me.

This is when I have the crazy idea of making my own pizza. Or maybe it wan’t crazy, but GENIUS.

Me to me: “Why rely on Postmates or UberEats when you can use Google to make your cravings yourself? “

Yeah, so I Googled a recipe. I’m serious, this is usually how my cooking starts.

I get cravings, get curious how to make it, actually make it, and end up learning more about cooking.

Recipe Notes

Here’s the recipe I ended up using. Thanks, Bobby Flay.

The original recipe is pretty basic, but I wanted my crust to be pretty flavorful so I added a bunch of spices like garlic salt and cumin.

Also, the recipe doesn’t tell you how to actually use the dough after making it…which was a tad awkward after I made the dough and realized the lack of instructions. Never fear though, I figured it out for you.

After experimenting on three of my pizzas- the dough yielded four pizzas total, which I ate for four consecutive days, HA- I found that the perfect way to use and bake this crust.

A very excited me waiting for the oven to heat up so I can devour my heart-shaped pizza.

After the dough has been proofed, I roll out a portion, flatten it out with my fingers until it’s about 1/8″ thick. Then, I brush it with some olive oil. I don’t have a pastry brush in my apartment so I use my fingers. It does the job very well.

Next, I top with sauce and pizza toppings. Then, I let it sit while the oven preheats to 350°F. The dough should rise slightly. When the oven is ready, I bake for 10 minutes and broil at 525 °F for an additional 3 minutes.

Should I also mention that I proofed the dough overnight in the fridge?

Well, I proofed the dough overnight in the fridge. Yeah, I did that. And it worked, which is kind of a bad thing for me (and maybe you) to know because “I don’t have time” isn’t a valid excuse anymore. Now I know, and you too, that making pizza while cranking out three essays is very much possible and definitely not a crazy idea.

The below recipe only includes the pizza dough, but I also made my own tomato sauce and pesto sauce to go with my pizzas.

Here’s me desperately studying while eating walnut-pesto pizza.

Thin-Crust Pizza Dough

  • Servings: 4 medium-sized pizzas
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For the Dough

  • 3-4 Cups flour
  • 1 packet Active-Dry yeast
  • 2 Tbsp brown sugar (or regular sugar)
  • 1/2 Tbsp garlic-salt (or regular salt)
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
  • 1 tsp cumin (optional)
  • 1 tsp onion powder (optional)
  • 1 1/2 Cups warm water

Ingredients


Making the Dough

  1. In a small bowl combine the warm water, 1 Tbsp of brown sugar, and yeast. Leave to proof for about 10 minutes. (how to proof yeast, here)
  2. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, 1 Tbsp brown sugar, garlic salt, olive oil, cayenne pepper, and cumin until homogeneous.
  3. Make a well in the center of the flour, and pour the proofed yeast in.
  4. Slowly mix in the flour together until a dough ball forms.
  5. Knead for a couple minutes until it becomes a cohesive, non-sticky dough ball.
  6. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp cloth. Let it rest and proof in a warm place (unheated microwave or near a window) for at least an hour. Alternatively, let it proof in the fridge overnight.

Making Pizza


1. Divide the dough into 4 equal balls.
2. Flatten out the balls into 1/8″ thick circles, or free-form it like I did. I like to make mine heart-shaped because why not?
3. Brush each pizza with 1 Tbsp of olive oil.
4. Put toppings on your pizza.
5. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Meanwhile, let your pizzas rest.
6. Bake your pizza for 10 minutes at 350°F.
7. Broil at 525°F for 3 minutes.
8. Devour carefully.

Colorful Beet Sandwich

| Zoe Wong

I LOVE THIS SANDWICH.

I know a lot of people aren’t a fan of beets, but I promise this sandwich is so appetizing! Because the beets are pickled, the sandwich is tangy and sweet. It’s also pretty to look at.

Might I also mention that this sandwich is a great vegetarian alternative to a BLT sandwich? It’s also (relatively) healthy because there’s no oil or fat, save for the 1 tsp of olive oil in the dijon-mustard dressing.

Cruising through the aisles in Wal-Mart, I found a can of pickled sliced beets for 80 cents! Initially, I thought I’d use the pickled beet juice to make pickled eggs for Easter (future post!), but I ended up making use of the sliced beets.

Canned beets aren’t as bad as some people think. Yes, fresh beets are great (as all fresh vegetables are in comparison to their canned counterparts), but for this recipe at least, the canned version is better. Why?

Well, for one, the sandwich uses pickled beets. So if I were using fresh beets, I’d have to go through the trouble of cooking the beet, slicing it, preparing the pickle solution, and pickling the beet slices myself. No doubt, the whole ordeal would surpass 80 cents. Time is also money, folks. Save your dollars and your time, just get the can.

Putting together this sandwich is pretty quick; the hardest and most time-consuming part is toasting your bread. Personally, I don’t like when my sandwich gets soggy. I don’t enjoy the experience granted when I take a hungry bite and find the bread slice stuck on the roof of my mouth. Therefore, I toasted my cheap slices of white bread. I highly recommend you do too, unless you’re using a drier bread like sourdough or baguette loaf.

Start by toasting two slices of bread on a dry skillet. Honestly, this first step is like making a grilled cheese, except that I don’t toast my bread with oil. If you want to make this like actual grilled cheese, melt the butter first, then place the bread in.

If you asked me straight up why I didn’t just make grilled cheese with butter, I’d say I’m being health conscious. But that’s a lie HAHA. Butter has just become such a luxury to my frugal self these days (but I’d still justify using 2 sticks for a tray of brownies because, BROWNIES). Besides, I don’t really feel too much of a difference with or without butter.

While making the “grilled cheese”, I make the dressing to toss the arugula in.

Propping up my toast and “grilled cheese” to avoid it getting soggy when cooled.

I’ve been obsessed with honey-dijon mustard since I first made it for my Pear and Blue Cheese Salad. It comes together quick and the proportions are easily altered depending on how much you want. I literally put honey-mustard on anything that I can. Eggs, ham sandwiches, crepes, leafy greens, delicious! So I’m not sure if I’m being biased because I like this dressing that much, but I feel that it goes especially well with the pickled beets since it’s also sweet and tangy.

Anywho, I toss the arugula in the dressing. I find that it binds the greens together, which makes it easier to eat the sandwich because the arugula won’t be dropping as much.

Then, I arrange my beets slices from the can onto the “grilled cheese”, top with the arugula, the last piece of toast, and chow down!!

Pickled Beet Sandwich

  • Servings: 3 sandwiches
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • 9 slices white bread (pls use better bread, if possible)
  • 1 can pickled sliced beets
  • 3 slices American cheese
  • 3 handfuls of arugula
  • 3 tsp olive oil
  • 3 tsp dijon mustard
  • 3 tsp honey
  • some cracked pepper

Directions

  1. Toast 2 slices of bread on a dry skillet (no oil unless preferred). Once the bottom begins to brown, flip the slices.
  2. Put 1 slice of cheese on one toasted side. Top with the other slice, brown-side down (facing the cheese).
  3. Continue to toast both sides until both sides are brown and crisp, almost like making grilled cheese. Set aside when done. I suggest propping it up so that it doesn’t get soggy.
  4. Toast another slice of bread on both sides. Set aside when done.
  5. In a bowl, combine olive oil, mustard, honey, and some pepper. Toss with the arugula.
  6. Assemble the sliced beets on the “grilled cheese”. Top with arugula and then the last slice of toast.
  7. Cut the sandwich in half and enjoy!

Quick Tomato Pasta

| Zoe Wong

Don’t got pasta sauce? Too busy to make marinara? Ran out of canned tomatoes?

I got you.

Really, all you need are some grape tomatoes. I’m sure cherry or just plain old roma tomatoes (chopped) would work too.

This recipe, as the title suggests, comes together REALLY QUICK. Like, it’s done by the time the pasta is done boiling. I used rotini in the recipe because that’s what I had. The rotini I used cooks in 8 minutes, and I’m always done making the “sauce” before the pasta is even done. If you make this, you don’t have to use rotini. Pastas like macaroni cook even faster (about 5 minute cook time). Or, you can stick to classic spaghetti, which cooks in about 10 minutes. Whatever floats your goat.

I also snuck some zucchini in for health. Any quick-cooking vegetable should work, or you can omit vegetables if it ain’t your thing 🤣

I am told that this kind of “fresh” pasta is most similar to what is actually served in Italy, not the saucy-sauce “spaghetti” type pasta.

Honestly, I like this stuff way better than the saucy-sauce. It just tastes so fresh; it’s gobble-up-in-2-minutes goodness. If grape tomatoes are on sale, do give this recipe a go! I was lucky to end up at Sprouts when 2 packs were on sale for $3! This recipe only uses half of one pack. Then, the zucchini was like 20 cents haha. Half was used for the pasta. So yes, this is a very affordable, budget-friendly recipe.

The full video tutorial can be found on my Insta-Story @hungry.craving as “🍅 pasta”

Grape Tomato Pasta

  • Servings: 2
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • 2 servings of rotini pasta
  • 1 tbsp minced garlic
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 cup sliced grape tomatoes
  • 1/2 small zucchini, sliced
  • salt and pepper
  • cayenne pepper (optional)
  • 1 tsp lemon juice (optional)

Directions

  1. Boil the pasta in a pot of water following the package instructions.
  2. In a medium skillet, heat garlic and oil on low heat until garlic is fragrant.
  3. Add the sliced tomatoes, and saute on medium heat for about 2-3 minutes.
  4. Add the zucchini slices and saute for another 2-3 minutes.
  5. Season with salt and pepper, cayenne and lemon.
  6. Add the pasta into the skillet, toss, and serve!

Avocado Smoothie

| Zoe Wong

I’m lucky to live in an area that had large avocados on sale, and being an lover of topping everything with avocado, I bought some, obviously. Maybe it was more than “some”, but I found myself trying to get rid of the excess avocados on hand before they went bad. When I posted on my Instagram story that I was testing an avocado smoothie recipe, I wasn’t aware how popular it was. My friends immediately hit me up, telling me how much they love avocado smoothies, especially with condensed milk. Now that I know how popular avocado smoothies are, I feel like I jumped on some bandwagon because GOSH, MY FRIENDS WERE RIGHT. AVOCADO SMOOTHIES ARE GOOD.

The first time I made an avocado smoothie, I used honey as a sweetener. I don’t know why, but for some reason, honey never tastes quite right in smoothies so this was a dumb move on my part. Suffice to say, I regretted putting in honey. The next time I made the smoothie, I used condensed milk as per my friends’ suggestion.

I debated putting in a straw for aesthetics, but no-straw won out because I (try) to be Earth friendly. Hello, Earth.

Avocado Smoothie

  • Servings: 1 bowl or 2 cups
  • Difficulty: easy
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Although I used almond milk, feel free to use whatever milk you prefer! Also, if you know you prefer honey over condensed milk in smoothies, be my guest.

Ingredients

  • 1 small, frozen banana
  • 1/2 large hass avocado, or 1 small avocado
  • 1 Cup Almond Milk
  • 1 tbsp condensed milk

Directions

  1. Throw all the ingredients in the blender.
  2. Blend away until smooth and creamy.


The more avocado, the thicker and creamier your smoothie will be! Try serving this smoothie as a smoothie bowl topped with fruits and granola. Yummy.

Perfect Boiled Eggs

| Zoe Wong

Sounds intimidating, but it’s actually much easier than making not perfect boiled eggs. Weird, I know. The steps are simply:

  1. Put eggs in a saucepan.
  2. Cover the eggs with water and bring the pot to a boil over high heat.
  3. Once it boils, turn the heat off and put the lid on the pot.
  4. Cover for 10 minutes.

Ta-da! Perfect boiled eggs! Not overcooked, but not raw.