Cast Iron Pan Pizza
Source: Found on Pinterest
The secret to Cast Iron Pizza is partially baking the dough before adding toppings to get a crispy bottom.
This is so easy to make and tastes amazing!
I modified the original recipe a bit, using my choice of ingredients.
Ingredients
- canola or vegetable oil (to grease cast iron pan)
- 2 Tbls. cornmeal, divided
- 12 oz. pizza dough, homemade or store bought (I use a loaf of Rhode’s frozen pizza dough*)
- ½ c. Pastorelli pizza sauce
- 1 Tbls. olive oil
- 1 t. dried oregano
- red pepper flakes optional
- 8 oz. pkg. of fresh mozzarella, sliced (or shredded mozzarella, if preferred)
- 8 to 10 fresh basil leaves, optional
- kosher or coarse salt, to taste
Optional Topping Choices
- Italian sausage (I use hot Italian turkey sausage, casings removed, forming sausage into little balls)
- peppers
- onions
- fresh spinach
- pepperoni
- mushrooms
- black olives
- tomatoes
- artichoke hearts
- ham or Canadian bacon
- bacon
- pineapple
- fresh basil leaves (add after you take pizza out of oven)
- other cheeses (feta, goat cheese etc.)
Instructions
* Rhodes pizza dough comes in 1 lb. loaves. Cut off 4 oz. (about 1/3) of dough or use a larger cast iron skillet. Once dough just starts to thaw, cut off 4 oz. You can discard the extra dough or wrap up tightly in saran wrap and return to freezer. You'll get an extra crust to form with the "extra" dough from the 3 loaves in the package.
Let the pizza dough come to room temperature (about 1 hour). This is important!! Once dough is at room temperature, form the dough into a ball (stretch the sides and pull under to form).
Sprinkle 1 tablespoon or a little more of cornmeal on a cutting board or clean surface and pat the dough into a circle about 8 inches in diameter. Let dough sit for another 20 to 30 minutes, then lift to stretch it into a 12-inch circle. Grab edges, let dough hang and keep turning (in quarter circles) to shape; gravity will help.
Meanwhile, place a 12-inch cast-iron skillet in the oven and preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Let the skillet get screaming hot.
Carefully remove the skillet from the oven and place it on a heat-tolerant surface. Take a paper towel coated with a little canola or vegetable oil and grease the cast iron skillet. Sprinkle remaining 1 tablespoon of cornmeal over the entire surface, to prevent sticking.
Gently transfer the dough to the skillet, pressing it out carefully so that it covers the bottom of the pan. Avoid touching the HOT skillet. Place it back in the oven and bake until the dough is slightly puffy, 3 minutes.
Carefully remove the HOT skillet again. Use a brush or back of a spoon to spread pizza sauce over the surface, deflating the dough somewhat, and leaving a ½-inch border around the edge. Brush that border with the olive oil.
Sprinkle with the oregano and the red pepper flakes, if using. Distribute the cheese and any other toppings you’d like over the pizza sauce. Sprinkle a little kosher salt, to taste, over the whole pizza, including the edges.
Return the pan to the oven and bake until the cheese is melted and the edges are golden-brown, another 10-12 minutes or so.
Remove the pizza from the oven, sprinkle with fresh basil, if desired, and serve hot.
You can serve it out of the pan or slide it onto a cutting board. Remember the skillet is HOT!
NOTE: Serves 2