A couple days ago I made my Spaghetti [Squash] Pie and had some leftover red sauce with Italian sausage. I was figuring I'd just make more pasta for it, but...there has been much pasta these last few weeks. A voice said "Girl, ya got flour and yeast, make pizza!" I don't remember the last time I made pizza with from-scratch dough. At least 10 years? At one point I had a pizza stone but I think I got rid of it as it never got used.
I've come across recipes for pizza made in a cast-iron pan and figured that was a good starting point to get a good crust. So I browsed several recipes...and as is often the case with online recipes, every one was different! Who do you trust?? Some had you pre-heat the pan in the oven and then put the dough in...that's how I make my easy Dutch Oven Bread, but you don't have to poke that around in the pot, and it sounded like a recipe for burnt fingers. Some had you make dough and let it rise/ferment overnight (again, like the bread)...but I wanted pizza TODAY (though if I plan ahead, I'll try the overnight dough as it does make the bread really good). Eventually, I came across Minimalist Baker's recipe for deep-dish pizza in a cast iron pan, and thought that sounded like a good way to go. Put a good amount of oil in the pan and let it "fry" in there while it bakes...yum!
So...that recipe links to another site's recipe for the dough, and said to use half the dough. So I was figuring I'd freeze the other half. But when I got to the final step before dividing it and putting it in the pan, it really didn't seem like half the dough was gonna be enough for a deep-dish style pizza. So I made a game-time decision to use all the dough for one pizza. I mean, dough-sauce-and-cheese...how can you really screw up?
It was definitely pretty "bready" - but it's deep dish, so I think that was the right call!
Now as for the rest of the ingredients - we only had sharp cheddar and sliced Havarti, but I figured those could work (dough-sauce-and-cheese, right??). Of course mozzarella would be best if you have it. I had a zucchini and some portobella mushrooms so I broiled those in the oven with some olive oil & Italian seasoning:
Put whatever you want on pizza in this pizza!
Here is the dough recipe I ended up with. You want to start it at least 90 minutes before you want to bake - I ended up letting it rise longer, but at least an hour is fine.
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 package active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 Tbl olive oil, plus more
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
1. In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in warm water for about 5 minutes, until slightly foamy. Add the salt, sugar and olive oil.
2. Mix in the flour, in increments. I used a wooden spoon and then my hands. Knead in the bowl until a smooth ball forms.
3. Grease another large bowl with olive oil and put the dough in. Spread a little oil on the top too. Cover with a towel and let rise for 60-90 minutes; it should about double in size.
4. Flour a work surface and knead the dough a few times. Then roll into a 12-14" circle.
5. Put a couple tablespoons of oil in a 12-inch cast iron pan and spread around so the bottom and sides are coated. Put the dough in and build up the sides on the edge of the pan.
For the rest of the pizza:
- Red sauce, jarred or homemade (I'm not sure how much I used...maybe a cup?)
- Whatever toppings you want (I used roasted zucchini & mushrooms)
- ~2 cups (or more) grated mozzarella or other cheeses. I ended up using 3 slices of Havarti on the bottom and about 1 cup grated sharp cheddar on the top. Would have used more, but...I'm rationing cheese :( .
- Italian seasoning, garlic powder, grated parmesan if you have it.
Preheat the oven to 450. So with deep dish pizza, you usually put cheese on first, then toppings, then sauce...and maybe more cheese. Not having the sauce directly on top of the crust keeps it from getting too soggy. So layer on half your cheese, then your toppings, then sauce, then the rest of your cheese. Sprinkle with seasonings and grated parmesan. Oh, the sauce and cheese can go right to the edge. If cheese gets on the edge or on the pan it will get crispy and delicious.
Bake the pizza for about 25 minutes. When I took mine out, it looked like the bottom needed to get a bit browner. So I put the pan on a stove burner over medium heat. Pretty soon, it started to smoke. Don't be like me! This step probably isn't necessary - but if you try it, watch carefully. You need to rest the pizza for about 10 minutes anyway, and if you leave it in the pan it will continue to brown some.
You made some pizza! High five!!
