Cast Iron Skillet Pizza

By catgirl

It’s like Chicago pizza in California. Not quite full-fledged deep-dish (to the point where you need a knife and fork), but definitely thicker than East Coast. It’s sorta kinda Sicilian, but not quite as thick all around. You could compare it to Pizza Hut (minus the processed ingredients part), but with a slightly softer crust.

Ingredients

• 1 16-oz pizza dough
• Pizza sauce or pesto)
• Mozzarella, provolone or other cheese of choice
• Toppings of choice

Details

Adapted from

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
If you want a Pizza Hut / Round Table style pizza, lightly coat the cast iron skillet with olive oil. Otherwise, place the cast iron skillet in the oven for 30 minutes to preheat.
Meanwhile, divide the pizza dough into two. Pound one piece of the dough into a circle about the size of your cast iron skillet.
Very carefully place the dough into the cast iron skillet and press the dough out so that you get a lip around the edge for the crust. Please work carefully as a preheated cast iron skillet will be hot!
Smear about ¼ - ½ cup of sauce on the bottom of the pizza.
Top with the appropriate toppings and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the cheese is bubble and the crust is golden.

Additional notes: If you want your cast iron skillet pizza to have a a crust with a little more crunch, baste the crust with a little bit of olive oil before putting in the oven.
When the pizza is done, slide it out onto a cutting board and let it sit for a few minutes before cutting. If you’ve seasoned your cast iron skillet the right way, this shouldn’t be a problem.