Melissa Breyer is Treehugger’s former senior editorial director. She is a sustainability expert and author whose work has been published by the New York Times and National Geographic, among others.
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Every once in a while a recipe comes along that is transformative for its type; and the recipe for "Crispy Cheesy Pan Pizza" plunks itself perfectly into that category. For anyone who has ever been intimidated by making pizza at home, this recipe is for you. For anyone who can't decide between crispy thin crust or chewy deep-dish, it is also for you. For anyone who wants a hard-to-wreck pizza that tastes sublime and requires no special skill or equipment, yep, it's for you too!
The recipe comes courtesy of the kitchen magicians at King Arthur Flour and is in fact their 2020 Recipe of the Year. As of this writing, the recipe has 315 reviews with an average of 4.8 out of five stars and more than 78,000 shares. And if you browse the reviews, it becomes clear just how wholeheartedly the recipe has been embraced. It's the perfect Goldilocks pizza; it's crispy with a cheesy bronzed crust, yet thick with an airy texture. And any recipe that asks only for simple ingredients, just one bowl, and a cast-iron skillet gets high marks from team Treehugger.
I know this may sound like an ad, I promise it is not. I randomly made the recipe for my family last weekend and everyone basically freaked out over how much they loved it; and I was thrilled by its simplicity. This will definitely go into our rotation of regular favorites.
The crust is made of flour, yeast, salt, and olive oil; the topping is cheese and a bit of sauce. The texture and flavor are so satisfying as-is, you don't need other toppings. We made two – one with just cheese and sauce, the other with sauteed shiitake mushrooms, ricotta, and truffle oil – and they were equally delicious.
Its No-Knead Method is Brilliant
You don't need a mixer, you can just stir it in a bowl for literally one minute. Rather than kneading, the method requires folding the dough four times, which adds air pockets that lead to its unique airy texture. It then sits in the fridge overnight to allow the flavor to develop.
It Calls for a Cast-iron Skillet
No specialized pizza stone or pans needed here, just your trusty cast-iron skillet – which is a sustainability all-star for its humble nature, versatility, and lack of dubious nonstick coatings. If you don't have a trusty cast-iron skillet, you can also use a cake pan.
It Reveals the Tricks for Crispiness
To ensure an assertively crisp edge and crust, dollops of sauce are added after the first layer of cheese and before the second layer, and cheese is sprinkled all the way to the edge. The instructions also ask you to remove the pizza from the pan as soon as you can and place it on a rack, further prohibiting the dreaded soggy bottom.
It's the Best of All Worlds
This pizza is so crispy that the thin-crust lover in our family declared it delicious. But it is also thick, yet in a delicate way, meaning that the deep-dish kids were happy too. For anyone really wanting more of a thin crust, it can be made in a larger pan. As mentioned above, it is fabulous in its simplest form, but because of its architecture, it can hold up to more adventurous toppings.
Often times I change a recipe so much that if I'm going to review it, I rewrite it with my revisions. But I did not change a thing when making this recipe (except for adding some toppings), so no need to write it out here. Head over to King Arthur Flour ... and enjoy!
Heat the oven to 475°F. Coat the inside of a 10-inch cast iron or ovenproof skillet with olive oil. Stretch the pizza dough: Lightly dust your kitchen counter or a large cutting board with flour.
Preheating your pizza pan is the key to getting the delicious, crispy crust you know from the local pizzeria. Cast iron provides great heat retention for even cooking, and it heats up fast! A cast iron pizza pan will stay hot as you transfer the dough to the pan and prepare the pizza.
Nothing cooks pizza like cast iron, and the skillet pizza craze is far from over. The outstanding heat retention of cast iron results in a crisp crust that can't be beat. We love the versatility of the skillet pizza.
Most pans are made of aluminum or thin steel, which conducts heat poorly and easily transfers it into the food. However, a cast iron pizza pan is better than a pizza stone for two primary reasons: it retains heat well, and it's virtually indestructible.
Cook for 10-12 minutes at 450°, until the crust is lightly golden brown and cooked through. Enjoy! Carefully remove the skillet from the oven, and top the pizza with dollops of pesto, red pepper flakes, and fresh basil leaves. Slice, and dig in!
We lightly grease the cast iron with canola oil. Roll out the pizza crust on a board sprinkled with corn meal, and then transfer it to the cast iron pan. Top the pizza with all the good stuff. Cook at a minimum of 475 degrees.
All cooking oils and fats can be used for seasoning cast iron, but based on availability, affordability, effectiveness, and having a high smoke point, Lodge recommends vegetable oil, melted shortening, or canola oil, like our Seasoning Spray.
I've had terrific results with grapeseed oil and avocado oil in pans. Both have high smoke points. I really like avocado oil in dough at about 1%. I've had terrific results with grapeseed oil and avocado oil in pans.
Since olive oil is such a pantry staple, many people naturally wonder if they can use olive oil to season cast iron. You can use olive oil to season cast iron, but you need to choose a high quality extra virgin olive oil, which should have a smoke point close to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Smear about 1/4 – 1/2 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. Repeat with the second round of dough. Enjoy your homemade cast iron skillet pizza!
The size of your cast-iron pan doesn't matter, but keep in mind that the smaller the pan, the thicker your pizza crust will be—go for an 8 or 9" skillet if you want a thicker crust, and a 12" or larger for a thinner crust.
Don't use flour when shaping the dough or in the bottom of the skillet. The olive oil will allow the dough to become pliable to work with, and it won't stick to the pan. Pre-cook the dough in the skillet before adding the sauce and toppings.
Baking a pie on a ceramic stone all but guarantees that you won't end up with a soggy bottom crust ever again. Steel transfers too much heat for most baking projects and is generally best for pizza.
Place a pizza stone on a lower oven rack. Preheat the oven between 450 and 500 degrees F (250 to 260 degrees C) — the stone needs heat up while the oven heats. Large, thick-crusted pizzas might need an oven temperature closer to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) so the crust can cook completely before the toppings burn.
The holes allow for hot air to circulate, resulting in a quicker cooking time. This can be great for those days when you're short on baking time or just really craving pizza. However, if you have a little bit more time and want to get that crispy crust we mentioned earlier, a pan without holes may be the way to go.
Baking: The 500-550 degrees of the average home oven is more than enough, since pan pizzas can be slow cooked. Depending on the temperature, thickness of dough, and toppings, you're looking at anywhere from 15-25 minutes. (Maybe 30+ if you're cooking a deep dish at 375-450).
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