Who doesn't like pizza! This pizza can be bakes on a very hot BBQ or in the oven. We have a Big Green Egg grill which really bakes up a pizza like a wood oven, but I've tried this in my kitchen oven and it turns out nicely. This is a deep dish thicker crust pizza. Baking it in a cast skillet gives the pizza a perfectly crispy crust. Because it's a deep dish crust it's important to follow the method below to insure it cooks through.
Crust:
- 3 cups flour
- 2 tsp instant yeast
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 1/4 cup warm water
- 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- In bowl, combine 2 1/2 cups flour, yeast, salt, water and oil. Stir to combine. Gradually add more flour kneading with your hands until you have a smooth and elastic dough.
- Form dough into a ball. Rub lightly with a bit more olive oil and place in a bowl and cover with lid or plastic wrap. Allow to rise on counter for at least an hour. I find that pizza dough is best made a day or two before hand. Once mixed place in refrigerator covered. Take out and let rise on counter one hour before using.
Topping: ( personalize your pizza by omitting or adding your own favourite toppings.
- 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup pizza sauce ( I like to add a bit of oregano, garlic and onion powder, Italian spice...any of these or a mixture to spice up the sauce)
- 4 strips bacon, fried to lightly crisp, crumble
- 1/2 cup finely chopped deli ham
- 1/2 cup finely chopped pepperoni
- 1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion, raw
- 1/4 cup thinly sliced black olives
- 1/3 cup pineapple tidbits, or fresh pineapple
Making and baking the pizza:
You can heat your cast iron in the oven or on your BBQ. Place cold cast iron pan in a cold oven or BBQ. You want to preheat your cooking method along with the pan to a temperature of 450-500ยบ.
Remember that cast iron gets very hot, you will need a good oven mitt to handle your pan and a good surface to remove it to....don't set a hot cast on your counter top!
- Once pan and oven/BBQ are up to temperature, working quickly, remove cast and quickly spray it with cooking spray and give it a sprinkle of corn meal. (this will add a nice crunch to your crust)
- Take your risen pizza dough, and working quickly pull or roll your dough to the size of your pan and without touching the hot cast lay the dough in the pan carefully working the crust into the pan and up it's sides. The dough should be about 1/2" thick.
- Place the cast with just the dough back into the oven or BBQ. Allow to bake (this is called blind baking) for 5 minutes.
- Remove pan, spread sauce over partially baked dough, add 1/3 of the cheese, all of the meats, onions, olives and pineapple. Top with remaining cheeses and bake for another 15-20 minutes until done.
- Allow pizza to rest in cast for 2-3 minutes, then slide it onto a cutting board. Pizza will slide out of the pan really easily...just don't burn your hands on the cast.