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Jul 1, 2014

Skillet Pizza

Skillet Pizza from Karen's Kitchen Stories

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.

Skillet Pizza from Karen's Kitchen Stories

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! 


Skillet Pizza from Karen's Kitchen Stories


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

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! 





Would you like to comment?

  1. I love the texture you get from an extra long rise, Karen. Your crust looks ideal! Crusty but chewy.

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    1. Thanks Stacy. The long rise definitely is ideal for developing flavor.

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  2. Yet another recipe to add to my cast iron cooking to-do list.

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  3. That just may turn me into a pizza lover! Looks so good, Karen. What a brilliant idea to cook it in a cast iron pan.

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  4. Surfas is a foodie's Disneyland...As is the brilliant mall in Costa Mesa which touts designer shops and gourmet cuisine...Your pizza, however, might be better than the slices I've seen in the South Coast Plaza food court =) Thank you for the heads up on the prep time =)

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    1. My car takes me to South Coast Plaza automatically =)

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  5. ooohhhh---I love the pizza made in the skillet idea. Your crust sounds awesome!

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    1. Sherron, it is a revelation after trying to use a pizza peel and dumping a pizza in the back of the oven. =)

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  6. That looks easy and yummy and more than likely more healthy that delivery pizza!!! I'm gonna pin this for later!

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  7. Great idea! Love this...

    now, I am thinking if I could bake it in the grill outside? I hate to turn the oven on during the hot days of summer, so I normally bake my pizza on quarry tiles placed on the grill. Works amazingly well - I think I'll try your cast iron version the same way....

    thoughts?

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    1. I think you could do this on the grill, but the timing would be much faster even though the pan is not preheated. I'm inspired by your idea actually!. Jealous of your quarry tiles!

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  8. I love baking with the cast iron skillet and this pizza recipe has my name written all over it! My family would enjoy it for sure!

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  9. These look spectacular, but that's no surprise because everything on your blog looks spectacular! Pizza is my number one desert island food and there's nothing like homemade. I can't wait to try Forkish's skillet version (I'm holding off only because I promised myself I wouldn't jump ahead in the book). I've got a wood fired pizza oven on my wishlist and I may start dropping several less-than-subtle hints for it. BIG birthday coming up… :)

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    1. It's my number one desert island food too. I've kind of been jumping all around the book, as anal as I normally am. Good luck with the b-day gift!!! xoxo

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  10. Must try this Karen! I usually make my NY pizza dough but the higher hydration is tempting to try out! I have some 00 flour sitting around begging to be used soon!

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    1. Thanks Marie!! Lucky you having the flour!

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  11. LOVE the look of your pizza!!! My family would love this!

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  12. My family wouldn't be patient to wait for this pizza...but I would!! Oh, my gosh. Looks incredible (as always), Karen! Open a bread bakery!!!

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    1. awww. Thanks so much for the kind comment. If it wasn't so much work, plus I'm not exactly a morning person =)

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