Soy sauce, mild salt, pepper, a dash of mustard, worcestershire, red wine, vegan oyster sauce, hoisin sauce
Any herbs you’d like (I used a pinch of herbs de provence)
Make in same skillet as seared beef
Make sure it has time to cool
Beef
Browning in cast iron skillet
Make sure to use actual tenderloin (think pork tenderloin) or if using another cut then cutting it to about 10in x 3in
Can also use steaks or small bites of another cut
Set out 30min prior to searing
Tie up if necessary
Soy sauce, red wine
Salt, pepper, garlic powder, whatever dry seasoning on all sides, pressing into meat
Let sit for a bit
Heat up skillet, then brown all sides for about 1 min on each side
Set into separate dish and smear mustard on it. Let sit to cool down
Puff Pastry/Compiling
Looks like mushrooms! But they’re not!
Make sure Puff pastry is thawed
Lay out plastic wrap and then puff pastry on top
Roll it out to make it thin
Pack the duxelles onto it, leaving a little side space
Then place the beef towards the bottom and use the plastic wrap to roll it up being careful not to make it too thick (or it will have trouble cooking properly) by trimming excess
When it’s rolled up in the plastic wrap, smooth out the seams then put it in the fridge for about 20ish minutes
Cooking
Used the leftover pastry to make a quick apple turnover
Preheat oven to 425F
Unroll and place wellington on a foil lined baking sheet
Carefully cut slits in the top. You can be creative here or not
Use a wash (egg or vegan) for the top
Sprinkle salt over that
Bake about 20 to 35 minutes to desired doneness, 125F for medium rare
Puff pastry should be a nice golden brown
Let sit for at least 10 minutes
Cut into 1inch pieces
Notes
12/18/23: used eye round beef which was MUCH too large and would not cook through quickly. Puff pastry was too thick and didn’t cook through. Ended burning and smoking something awful. Placed monitoring probe in the side which caused a leak in the wellington. Rec maybe just an instant read thermometer in the top for the future. Took 1 hour and a half because too large. Taste was good, doneness typical for Beef Wellington, duxelle was good! Puff pastry too burnt and undone to be eaten. Bottom line: beef too big, too much pastry and too thick. Would opt for a more tender meat cut and if large then cut smaller.
Supplies: Stand Mixer, Working Surface, Plastic Wrap/Kitchen Towel, Large Mixing Bowl, Wooden Spoon, Measuring Supplies, Somewhere Warm, Oven
Time
5–10 minutes yeast activation
7–10 minutes in Stand Mixer
~1½ hours for dough to rise
15 minutes for another dough rise after separation or punch down
10–15 minutes to shape the pizza + 5 minutes for more resting
10–15 minutes to let olive oil sit
~10–20 minutes to bake
Total: 2–3 hours
Steps
Yeast-leavened dough smells, looks, and feels sooo gooood
Making the Dough
In stand mixer bowl or other bowl, dissolve sugar (1Tbsp), honey (optional) in warm water (1⅓ cups @ 105–115F)
Sprinkle the dry active yeast (2¼ tsp or 1 packet), trying to not let it clump (you want them to dissolve, and clumping won’t allow that)
Cover with plastic wrap or towel
After 5 minutes, if not all the yeast has dissolved, stir it a bit, and wait a little again for them to foam up (they’re alive!!)
Then add flour (3½ cups), salt (2 tsp), and olive oil (2 Tbsp)
Using the mixing paddle attachment, mix the ingredients until they combine
Swap out for the dough hook attachment (sticky! messy!), and now set it on low-medium for about 7–10 minutes
Test the dough around the 7‑minute mark. It should be a little sticky/tacky and smooth-looking. If it’s too wet, sprinkle on some more flour and keep going. It’ll be ready when you can poke it with your finger and it bounces back
Lightly grease a large bowl
Form the dough into a rough ball and place it in the bowl
Cover tightly with plastic wrap or towel and place it in a warm place for about 1.5 hours until it doubles in size (see notes for tips)
Remove the wrap/cover
With lightly floured hands split the dough into however many pizzas you’re making (or just 1 big pizza is cool)
Roll them into balls, cover, and let it/them rise again for about 15 minutes to 2 hours
Pizza Time
Preheat your oven and stone/pan to 450F (highest mine can go)
Start prepping the toppings
Take your dough ball and using your fingers, start stretching the dough from the center, outwards. Get the thickness as thin or thick as you’d like (if it starts to resist, let it rest a little before continuing to the size you want)
Brush on olive oil and let it sit for 10ish minutes to soak in
Work on other dough balls in the meantime
Optional: Sprinkle cornmeal on bottom of working surface, pizza pan, and/or pizza peel (helps with transfer and prevention of sticking, plus it adds some texture to the crust if you like that)
Put those toppings on!
Get it into the oven (watch out, the pan will be HOT)
Bake for 10–20 minutes
It’ll be done when the crust is golden brown, and the toppings are melted
ENJOY!
This was smoked brisket and chicken with fresh mozzarella and homemade fresh tomato sauce
Notes
Try not to pile too much stuff on the pizza or it won’t cook evenly
You can do stuffed crust pizza easily with some mozzarella tucked under the crust edge!
Don’t overwork the dough unless you want it denser. Be gentle!
Bread flour will give the pizza some chewiness. You can substitute it 1:1
Pizza dough needs 4 basics: Flour, Water, Yeast, and Salt. Salt and olive oil are optional though, they help with browning, slightly taste, and texture, especially since home ovens can only get to around 450F (professional pizza ovens cook at 600 — 850F)
Active Dry Yeast needs to rise at least twice, but Rapid Rise Yeast only needs to rise once
12/25/23: used bread flour and accidentally used 2 Tbsp salt. Incredibly salty
Generally, Neapolitan pizza is about 60–65% moisture (depends on the style. Detroit it 70–80% moisture). Here is some math, if you want to use a custom amount of flour for your pizza
If your house is cold and can’t find a warm place, you can try:
Cup of boiled water — Boil some water and pour it into a mug. Put your dough and the mug in a hard cooler or a toaster oven (I tried the microwave, not recommended). This should give it the right environment to rise. May need to top off if it’s too cold. I used this with success when trying to make French bread
Oven — You can heat the oven up to 150F or so for about 30 minutes, and then place the dough in the oven with the door propped with a wooden spoon. After about 30 minutes, close it to keep the heat in. I used this technique though it was much hotter because I’d just finished baking potatoes at 350F for an hour. I let it air out a bit, tested the temperature with a thermometer to make sure it was aroudn 200F (I figured if it’s too hot, it’ll bake the dough), then propped the toaster oven door open with a spoon. Dough rose amazingly
