Rustic Cast Iron Pizza
This is a drop-dead easy and delicious way to make a pizza. And to top that off, the sky is the limit with what you want on it. This recipe makes 2 10 inch pizzas.
Equipment
- 1 Cast iron pan or skillet
Ingredients
The Pizza Dough
- 1 instant yeast packet
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour or bread flour
- 1 cup water luke warm
- 3/4 tsp Kosher salt
- 1 tbsp olive oil plus 1 tbsp for each pan
- 1/2 tsp granulated white sugar
The Pizza
- 1/2 cup pizza sauce for each pan
- 16 ounces mozzarella cheese grated
- Parmesan cheese to taste
- toppings as desired to taste
Instructions
Prepping and Proofing the Dough
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, yeast, water, and oil. Make sure your water is not too hot otherwise you will kill the active yeast. Combine all with your hands or a wooden spoon until no dry flour remains.
- Cover the bowl tightly with a tea towel for at least 1 hour.
- Make yourself some space on a clean counter and sprinkle it with flour; don't be stingy here. Remove the dough from the bowl and place it on your well-floured work surface. Divide the dough into 2 pieces with a dough scraper, then form each into a ball. With each ball of dough, begin tucking it underneath itself; pull and fold, rotate, pull and fold. Continue this until it forms a tight ball.
- Pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil in the bottom of each of your two 10-inch cast iron skillets. Then place 1 ball of dough in each pan and turn to coat evenly with the olive oil. Using the palm of your hand, press the dough around the pan and continue to slowly flatten it until it reaches the entire bottom and edges of the pan. Cover each with a tea towel, and place in an unheated oven with the oven light on for approximately 2 hours.
Prepping the Pizza
- Remove the pans from the oven, place the oven rack in the middle position, and start preheating the oven to 550°F (290°C). If your oven cannot get that hot, then set it to 450°F (232°C) and adjust the time in by adding 2 to 3 minutes. While the oven is preheating, let's prep the pizzas.
- At this point, the dough should be mostly filling the pan up to the edges. Use your fingertips to press it around until it fills in every corner. If you see any large bubbles of air, pop them as you work the dough, and then lift up the edges of the dough to let any air bubbles underneath from escape. The dough should be be lumpy but evenly spread over the cast iron pan.
- Top each round of dough with 3/4 cup of your favorite pizza sauce (or check out my recipe for a homemade sauce). Spread the sauce to the very edge with the back of a spoon, and then sprinkle the mozzarella cheese evenly all the way to the edge. Season with salt. This is where you add your favorite toppings.
- Transfer each cast iron pan to oven and bake until the top is golden brown and bubbly and the bottom is golden brown and crisp, between 12 to 15 minutes. To check the bottom, lift it with a thin spatula to peek underneath. If the bottom is not as crisp as desired, place the pan over a burner and cook on medium heat, moving the pan around to cook evenly until it is crisp, 1 to 3 minutes.
- Remove the pizzas and transfer to a cutting board and sprinkle with grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese. Cut each pizza into 6 slices and serve immediately.
Notes
- Don't use the fresh mozzarella that comes sealed in a container of water. This type of mozzarella contains too much water which will make your pizza a soggy mess.
- If you want to make one pizza at a time, you can store the other ball of dough in a sealed zip-lock bag in the refrigerator for 3 days.
- If making ahead, prepare the dough as outlined in the recipe. Instead of rolling it out for baking, shape into a ball and lightly spray it with nonstick cooking spray. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, then place it in a Ziploc freezer bag and refrigerate for 3-4 days or freeze for 3-4 months. To thaw, let it sit out for 30 minutes prior to using.