Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Cast Iron Pizza





I'm always stumbling across recipes for pizza that start with heating the stone in the oven, but no matter how often I see tips for getting a makeshift pizza stone at the hardware store, I don't have one (for one thing, my oven's coils are on the bottom, so I couldn't put the stone on the floor of the oven and would have to place it on the rack, which would mean taking it out when I'm cooking something else, and storage space is limited).  This recipe will make a great pizza without fancy equipment!

  • 1 portion pizza dough (about 6oz)
  • pizza sauce and toppings as desired
1.  Preheat oven to 500°F.  Press dough into base of 8-inch cast iron skillet, being sure not to make any sections too thin.  Add preferred toppings (see note, below).
2.  Cook over medium-high heat on a burner for 2-4 minutes, or until pizza has puffed up and bottom is spotty brown.  Transfer skillet to preheated oven and cook an additional 7-10 minutes or until cooked through.  Allow to cool for 2-3 minutes before eating.


Robyn's notes: this is, in my opinion, the best way to make a pizza.  The dough is just properly crispy on the outside but soft inside, the cheese comes out just right...in the absence of a pizza oven I don't think it gets better.  The photo above (and the video) are a simple cheese pizza, with tomato-based sauce, mozzarella, and Parmesan.  But the technique works for any pizza toppings.  Mozzarella and basil leaves, alfredo, sausage, whatever you like.  Just remember that you probably want less sauce than you think.  Too much sauce makes the dough soggy.  Watch me demonstrate this recipe on youtube!

**** 4 Stars: Very Good. Enjoyed by us both, I will make this frequently