Quarterly Update: Holy Thursday

In which I make you scroll past a bunch of nonsense for a recipe, like a real food blogger.

Welcome to The Story Scrapbook, a fiction newsletter by E.B. Howard. If you’re new in town, check out my Fiction Directory for navigation.

Hello!

It’s good to be back. As you may have noticed, I’m doing some light rebranding. The Story Scrapbook still seems a bit too…wholesome, somehow…but that is pretty characteristic, isn’t it? I reel you in with the fun characters and cute romance, and then I smack you across the back of the head with the philosophy, drama, and low-grade body horror. I’ve updated some images and done a few repairs on the directory, and will continue to work on that as I find what needs doing. I don’t know if you can see my fancy custom header or not (I also slapped it on the about page), but I do like it.

Also, we’re trying to smother the grass in clover, and it’s kind of working. Yay!

Out in the garden, it’s April again. The spiderwort cluster I showed you last year has tripled in size and been joined by a small crowd of vines, some the thorny dewberries that I neglected to root out, some planted with love by a zealous but distractible six-year-old with a bowl of squash guts. My husband finally figured out radishes—sort of—and so I have to find something to do with several pounds of a vegetable that will clear your sinuses with one bite. Meanwhile, I haven’t been able to get a single tomato seed to germinate.

(But I did grow a person. So there.)

Upcoming Publishing Schedule

I did it.

I finished a novel. Despite 20+ years of practicing, planning, and dreaming, I have never in my life managed to actually buckle down and do that before. High freakin’ five. I still might split #10 across two weeks on the schedule (it’s kind of long) but it’s all there.

So, Radiance will finish posting from Apr 24 to either May 22 or June 5, with a retrospective post after that. I’m currently working on some short stories, and I’ll probably take a week or two off before I start scheduling those out weekly. Plus, I have a three-part limited serial in the works and some planning going for my next longform project.

It’s going to be a fun summer. Tell a friend!

—EB

Postscript/In Other News: That Pizza Bun Recipe

I’ve been working on this recipe for a few months, adapting and stitching other recipes together as I go. Yes, it does use almost 2 ½ pounds of flour. I just wanted to finally make pizza and have something left over for lunch…if you have children, you get it. It’s not fancy, but it’s delicious, especially if you use an overnight refrigerator rise to break up your prep time.

A note on pans: I make these using four six-well pans, of the mini cake (straight sides, 4”) and jumbo muffin (sloped sides, 3” to 3.9”) variety. Sandwich bun pans like this are one of those things that went from “but why” to “kitchen essential” once I had them—they’d be worth it even if I only used them to make handheld pizzas. Anyway, this recipe is flexible enough that you don’t have to make it as buns; any pan with sides will give you the deep-dish effect, or you can stretch out the crust and bake it flat on a pizza or sheet pan. I just find that 4” is the most manageable size for me to shape, bake, and store.

Pizza Buns

2 ½ to 3+ hours
Makes 24 ~4” diameter buns (8 to 12 servings)

Dough

3 cups (681 g) lukewarm water, or more in dry weather
3 tablespoons (37 g) olive oil
1 ½ tablespoons (27 g) salt
1 ½ tablespoons (18 g) sugar
1 ½ tablespoons (13 g) yeast
1 ½ tablespoons (23 g) grated Parmesan cheese
1 ½ tablespoons Italian seasoning
9 cups (1080 g) all-purpose flour

Sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 6-oz can tomato paste
¼ cup red wine
1 15-oz can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon salt

To Assemble

Toppings as desired
3 cups shredded mozzarella

1. Dough: Combine all dough ingredients in the bowl of a large stand mixer and mix to make a soft dough, adjusting water as needed.

2. Knead for 7 to 10 minutes, until elastic and no longer shaggy.

3. Scrape the dough into a greased container, cover, and let rise in a warm place for 1-2 hours. If you want a longer interval before baking, it can rise in the refrigerator for 2+ hours to 2 days.

4. Sauce: Heat the olive oil in a deep saucepan over medium heat. Add the tomato paste and fry until it begins to brown.

5. Add the red wine and scrape to deglaze the pan. When it comes to a simmer, add all remaining ingredients, stir together, and bring back up to simmering over low heat. Once sauce is thick and bubbly, remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.

6. Assembly/Baking: Preheat the oven to 450° and lightly grease the inside of all pan wells.

7. Deflate the risen dough and divide in half, then divide one half into 12 pieces; or tear off a small handful at a time. Stretch each piece into a rough circle the right size for your pan and press into the bottom of a well.

8. Spread sauce on top of the dough and then add toppings, followed by cheese (about 2 tablespoons for each.)

9. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the sauce is bubbly and the cheese is browned. Repeat with the second half of the dough, sauce, and toppings.