We were in desperate need of some comfort food around here last week, so I made a pot of chicken soup, mixed up a batch of pizza dough, and got to work. The end results: 1 cast iron pizza, 1 Old Forge-style pizza, and 1 chocolate roll. It is amazing how just the yeasty aroma of the dough and the savory smell of the soup work together to start lightening the mood, even before anyone has taken a first bite. It’s also great, since I don’t eat regular dough anymore, so I still get the mood-lifting benefits and a vicarious thrill watching others enjoy eating it.
This was my first attempt at making cast iron pizza, and I was really impressed with how easy it was. The dough bakes quite nicely in the pan, and lifts right out.
I par-baked the crust until the top was starting to get some golden brown areas and then flipped it before adding toppings, but mainly because I was curious to see how the bottom (aka pan side) had turned out.
I baked this pizza in the oven, but I noticed that one of my pizza shells was starting to bake while I was letting it rise, just from resting on top of the pre-heating oven, so I think it may be possible to make a cast iron pizza on the stove top. Perhaps that will be my next experiment.
Note: The recipe below makes A LOT of dough…enough for 2-4 pizzas, depending on size.
- 4 Cups Flour
- 2¼ oz. Packets Active Yeast
- 1&1/3 Cups Lukewarm Water
- 3 Tablespoons Oil
- 3 Tablespoons Melted Butter
- 2 Teaspoons Salt
- 2 Teaspoons Sugar
- Approx. 1 cup Marinara Sauce per Pizza (more or less to suit taste)
- Pepper
- Oregano
- Cheeses of Choice, to suit taste (I used mozzarella and Parmesan)
- Toppings of Choice, optional (I used chopped mushrooms, green olives, and fresh tomatoes)
- Add yeast to water, stir, and let sit until yeast is dissolved.
- Add flour, salt, and sugar to a bowl, and mix together.
- Add yeast water, oil, and butter to flour mixture and mix together until a dough ball starts to form. (At this point, I usually take the dough in hand and try to work in any loose flour that is still in the bowl, but I try not to work the dough too much.)
- Set dough ball in bowl, and cover top of bowl with warm, damp paper towel.
- Allow the dough to rise (I usually shoot for 30-45 minutes.)
- When dough has risen a bit, punch it down.
- Divide dough into 3 pieces.
- Flatten one of the sections of dough on a floured board or surface. Use a rolling pin if needed.
- Place dough in cast iron pan, and shape to fit bottom of pan.
- Allow dough to rise for 10-15 minutes more.
- Place cast iron pan in oven and bake crust just until the top starts to harden.
- Remove pan from oven, flip crust, and cover with cheeses and toppings of choice.
- Return to oven and continue baking until cheese is melted and beginning to turn golden brown.
- Remove from oven and cool for a few moments.
- Work a spatula around the outside edge of the pizza, then slide it under the crust and gently lift up. The pizza should come out pretty easily.
- Place on cutting board, cut, and serve. Enjoy!