Skillet Pizza Dough

I've been meaning to make pizza dough from scratch for some time now. When I found this recipe, I knew it was the one for me, since it involved a cast iron skillet. Any excuse to use my cast iron skillet works for me!

This dough is a bit like Chicago style, but less heart attack-inducing. It's almost like having pizza with a crust made of biscuits. Flaky, a little bit cakey, and delicious. But don't think you can eat the whole thing, or even half of it, by yourself. I promise, you can't. And if you do, well you might want to call a doctor.

I used all white whole wheat flour, but the original recipe recommended using 3/4 cup whole wheat and 1 1/2 cups regular all-purpose flour. I was perfectly happy with how mine came out, but if you want a softer crumb you might want to go by their recommendation. Top it with whatever you like - we kept ours simple with home made marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese, plus a delicate sprinkling of herbs. Yum. The recipe is a little bit time consuming, so make sure you plan ahead.

Skillet Pizza Dough
adapted from Everyday with Rachael Ray
serves 4 (or 2 brave souls)








INGREDIENTS:

3/4 cup warm water
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
2 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons EVOO, divided
toppings of your choice

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a small bowl, stir together the water, yeast, and sugar. Let stand until foamy, 3 to 5 minutes.

2. Using a standing mixer, mix the flour and salt at low speed. Mix in the yeast mixture and 3 tablespoons EVOO until a shaggy dough forms. Change to the dough hook attachment and mix at medium speed until smooth, about 6 minutes. OR you can do what I did, scoop out the dough with your hands and knead it on a cutting board until it forms a neat ball.

3. Place the dough in a greased, large mixing bowl, turning to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand until approximately doubled in size, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Punch down the dough. Press the dough into a greased cast-iron skillet (10 inch works) and let rise again until doubled in size, about 20 minutes.

4. Preheat oven to 400. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of EVOO over the dough. Put whatever sauce you are going to use on the pizza dough, and bake until crust is golden, about 25 minutes. Put cheese and any other final toppings on the pizza, and bake an additional 5 minutes.

5. Let sit about 5 minutes, then gently slide the pizza out of the pan, or use a spatula (it should come out really easily). Slice and serve.

This isn't your typical pizza, which is exactly what makes it interesting. Enjoy!