Cast Iron Pizza

Cast Iron Pizza

I seen this on Facebook and I was determined to make this.  As you can see by the photo, I was successful.

So you need some Cast Iron Skillets.  The more pizza your making, the more skillets you will need.  Simple math, right?  Then I often wonder, why would Tonya said that I have too much Cast Iron?

Put a layer of Crisco lard on the skillets

After you have made your best pizza dough, line the skillet with the pizza dough.

At this point, you can play some Italian music in your head.

La la la

Singing a song

Your going to be heating up the skillet before you put it in the oven.  

So medium heat for 5 minutes before you put it in the oven at 400 F for 30 minutes. 

This is the 8 inch pizza

This is the 14 inch skillet

As you can see by the last picture, the bottom is browned.  

Because of the nature of Cast Iron, the pizza didn't sick at all.

You can cheat and purchase your pizza dough from your local pizza shop.  Or you can make your own.  

Ingredients

400g bread flour (14 ounces; about 2 1/2 cups), plus more for dusting *Note 1

10g salt (0.35 ounces; about 2 teaspoons)

4g instant yeast (0.15 ounces; about 1 teaspoon)

340g water at 100F/38C (12 ounces; 1 1/2 cups)

8g extra-virgin olive oil (0.25 ounces; about 2 teaspoons), plus more to coat pans and for drizzling

1 1/2 cups pizza sauce

12 ounces grated full-fat, low moisture (dry) mozzarella cheese

Other toppings as desired 

Crisco Lard *Note 3

Stuff you will need

Mixing bowl

Mixing spoon

Plastic Wrap

Cooking Spray

2 x 10" Cast Iron Skillets

Spoon

Directions

Combine bread flour *Note 1, salt, yeast, water, and oil in a large bowl. Mix with a wooden spoon and finish mixing with your hands, until no dry ingredients remains. (The bowl should be at least 4 to 6 times the volume of the dough to account for rising.)

Let the VERY wet dough sit for 5 minutes.  Then fold.  Get your fingers wet, and reach down, inside the bowl, grab about 1/2 the dough an fold it over the top.  Turn 90 degrees, fold again.  Turn 90 degrees, fold a 3rd time.  Turn 90 degrees and fold a 4th time.

Let the dough rest for 5 minutes.

Fold again, 4 times.

Let the dough rest for another 5 minutes.

Fold again, 4 times.

Let the dough rest again, for 5 minutes.

Fold the last 4 times.

After the dough has been folded 4 times, cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap, making sure that the edges are well sealed, then let rest in your refrigerator for up to 24 hours. *Note 2. 

Sprinkle top of dough lightly with flour, then transfer it to a well-floured work surface. Divide dough into 2 pieces and form each into a ball by holding it with well-floured hands and tucking the dough underneath itself, rotating and turning, until it forms a tight ball.

Pour 2 tablespoons oil in the bottom of two 10-inch cast iron skillets. Note 3. Place 1 ball of dough in each skillet and turn to coat evenly with oil. Using a flat palm, press dough around the pan, flattening it slightly and spreading oil around the entire bottom and edges of the pan. 

Cover each skillet tightly with plastic wrap and let dough sit at room temperature for 2 hours (at room temperatures above  24°C or 75°F, the dough may require less time to rise; at temperatures below 18°C or 65°F, it may require more time). 

After 2 hours, dough should be mostly filling the pan up to the edges. Use your fingertips to press it around until it fills in every corner, popping any large bubbles that appear. Make sure there is no air bubbles trapped underneath and the dough is evenly spread around the skillet.

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat oven to 500°F (260°C).

Top each round pizza with about 3/4 cup sauce, spreading sauce to the very edge with the back of a spoon. Sprinkle evenly with mozzarella cheese, all the way to the edges. Add other toppings as desired. Drizzle the pizza with olive oil.

To start the cooking process.  Turn the stove burner to medium heat.  Pre-cook the pizza for 5 minutes.  Transfer the skillets to oven and bake until top is golden brown and bubbly and bottom is golden brown and crisp when you lift it with a thin spatula, about 20 minutes.  Remove the pizzas and transfer to a cutting board. Cut each pizza into slices and serve immediately.

As always, comments and suggestions are ALWAYS welcome

Note 1 - don't have bread flour?  For every cup of All Purpose Flour, remove 1 1/2 Teaspoons of your All Purpose Four, add 1 1/2 Teaspoons of Wheat Gluten.

Note 2 - you can do this within 8 hours, but you get a better tasting dough if you can go the full 24 hours.

Note 3 - I prefer to use Crisco Lard on my cast iron skillets.