Cast Iron Pizza

I really wanted to try my hand at making pizza dough but I don't have a pizza stone yet so I had to get creative with how to make the actual pizza. If you're a fan of this blog, you'll know that I've been on an adventure with my little cast iron skillet - call me a cast iron convert if you will - so that's the direction I went with this recipe! We decided to raid our garden for a lot of toppings and it turned out better than I anticipated! PS - this recipe is for two pizzas, but you can half the recipe to just make one!

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Servings: 2-4

Prep Time: 1 hr 15 min

Total Time: 1 hr 45 min

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/2 cups warm water

• 1/2 tsp yeast

• 8 Tbsp olive oil

• Pinch of salt

• 4 cups flour

• 2 Tbsp cornmeal

• 1/2 tsp black pepper

• 1 cup marinara sauce

• 8 oz fresh mozzarella, sliced

• 1/3 cup parmesan cheese

• 1/3 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped

• Any other toppings you desire!

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large bowl, combine warm water and yeast and allow it to sit for about 5 minutes until it gets frothy.

2. Add in 2 Tbsp olive oil, salt, and flour to the yeast mixture. Stir to combine - it will be sticky.

3. Turn the dough onto a floured surfaceand knead for about 5 minutes. The dough should be tacky to the touch, but not sticky. Add more flour until it reaches that consistancy.

4. Place in a Ziploc bag in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour (but no more than 8 hours).

5. After the dough has fully rested in the refrigerator, preheat the oven to 525 degrees F. Divide your dough into two pieces and stretch or roll each piece out into a 10 inch circle.

6. Sprinkle your cast-iron skillet with a Tbsp of cornmeal, then press one of the rounds of dough into the bottom of the pan, pressing the dough out towards the outer edges and up the sides of the skillet.

7. Place skillet on the stovetop on medium high heat and cook for about 3 minutes. When the pan and the dough begin to heat up, the dough will start to bubble, so press the dough down and towards the sides as it does that to maintain the shape of the crust.

8. While you do this, drizzle 2-3 Tbsp of olive oil over the crust as it cooks and sprinkle it with salt and pepper. Also, the handle on the skillet will start to get hot, so be careful!

9. At this point, your crust is now pre-baked! Now you can top your crust with the marinara sauce, cheese, and any other toppings you like. Finish topping your pizza with the parmesan cheese.

10. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the crust is a beautiful golden brown.

11. Top with fresh basil and allow to cool for about 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

12. Repeat steps 6-11 with the other half of your dough. Enjoy!