Skillet Pizza

This cast iron skillet pizza is so easy to make it's almost foolproof. Rather than juggle with a pizza peel and a hot baking stone, I placed this dough into a cold skillet, topped it, and then baked it near the bottom of a super hot oven. The baking time is about triple the time it would take to bake the pizza on a hot stone, and the crust is very firm.

The dough is ready in about 8 hours, with a 6 hour first proof and a 1 1/2 to 2 hour second proof after shaping. If you want to bake your pizzas the same day, mix the dough by 9 a.m. and you'll have pizza by 6 p.m. You can also keep the dough balls in the refrigerator for up to two days.

I divided the final dough into eight 200 gram pieces for a thinner crust pizza. You can also divide the dough into five 320 gram pieces for a thicker crust pizza.

This dough can also be used for Neapolitan style pizza or focaccia. For bread geeks, the hydration level of the dough is 70%.

Of course, you can use some of the leftover pepperoni, sauce, and cheese to make pizza muffins in no time at all. Pizza for breakfast! 

The pizza pictured here is topped with a smooth tomato sauce (page 230 in Flour, Water, Salt, Yeast), whole milk mozzarella cheese, salami, pepperoni, and Canadian bacon. The resulting pizza got two thumbs up from the pizza lovers who tried it. The crust is super crunchy and flavorful, and holds up well under the cheese and meat. If you like a char on your crust, just turn on the broiler for the last few minutes (keep a close eye on it so it doesn't burn).

I happened to have a 1 Kg bag of Caputo 00 flour that I picked up for just such an occasion (you never know, right?). If you don't have 00 flour (who doesn't?) any good quality unbleached all purpose flour will work with this recipe.

Skillet Pizza

Adapted from Ken Forkish's Flour, Water, Salt, Yeast

Dough Ingredients

700 g (3 C) 90 degree F water

2 g (1/2 tsp) instant yeast

1000 g (7 3/4 Cups) white flour (either 00 flour or unbleached all purpose flour)

20 g (1 T +3/4 tsp) fine sea salt

Instructions

1. Mix 3 T of the warm water and the yeast in a small container and set aside. 
2. In a 12 quart container, combine the flour and the rest of the water by hand until incorporated. Cover and let rest for 20 minutes. 
3. Sprinkle the salt over the dough and add the yeast mixture. 
4. Mix by hand, folding the dough over itself several times. Then pinch the dough with your fingers to make sure the salt is fully incorporated. Alternate between pinching and folding until the salt is incorporated and the dough is about 78 degrees F. 
5. Let the dough rest for about 60 minutes, covered. Fold the dough from all four sides and re-cover it. 
6. Form the dough into a ball, add some olive oil to the container, and roll the dough to fully coat it. 
7. After 6 hours, the dough should be doubled in size. Divide the dough into 8 equal parts. 
8. Shape each piece into a ball. 
9. Place each dough ball onto a floured baking sheet, spraying each ball with spray oil so that the balls do not stick to each other. Cover the dough with oiled plastic wrap and let rest for 30 to 60 minutes at room temperature. Next, place the baking sheet in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, and up to 2 days. 
10. Remove the number of dough pieces that you will be baking from the refrigerator. Preheat the oven to 525 degrees F with a rack placed on the lowest rung. 
11. Stretch one of the dough balls into a nine inch circle and place it into a 9 inch cast iron skillet. Depending on your oven size and the number of skillets you have, you can bake more than one pizza at a time. 
12. Top with your favorite sauce, cheeses, and meats, and vegetables. 
13. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the dough is fully baked and the cheese is melted. 
14. Remove from the oven, and using tongs, slide the pizza onto a cutting board, slice, and eat. 
15. Repeat with the rest of the dough, or save it in the refrigerator and bake more pizza the next day!