Anne Byrn, the author of Skillet Love, swears by this recipe as the quickest and easiest way to make an at home pizza. Make a mouthwatering deep-dish pizza using nothing but a traditional cast iron skillet.
Baking the pizza at 450 degrees gives the pizza the perfect crispy crust, and goeey cheesy inside. Personalize your toppings to create a delicious skillet pizza made in the comfort of your home.
Heat a 12-inch skillet over medium heat until quite hot, 3 to 4 minutes. While the skillet is heating, stretch out the dough to get it as thin as possible, about 12 inches in diameter. You can do this in the air or by pressing it out with your hands on a cornmeal-dusted work surface.
Sprinkle cornmeal in the hot skillet.
Take care not to burn your fingers, place the dough in the pan on top of the cornmeal, and press the dough halfway up the sides of the pan (it will shrink back, but this is OK). Whisk together the olive oil and garlic and brush this mixture over the dough. Spoon on the pasta sauce. (Note: If you like pepperoni on your pizza, this is where you would add it.) Scatter the cheese all over. Brush honey on the crust edges and sprinkle red pepper flakes on top of the honey, if you like. Turn off the stove, and place the skillet in the oven.
Bake until the cheese has melted and just starts to brown and the crust edges are browned, 15 to 20 minutes. Carefully run a knife around the edges and slide the pizza out onto a board to slice and serve.
Homemade Pizza Dough
In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whisk together the water and yeast to dissolve. Add the flour and salt and blend on low speed. Increase the speed to medium and beat until a soft dough forms. Remove the paddle, carefully pulling off all the bits of dough and putting those back in the bowl.
Secure the dough hook attachment and beat on medium speed until the dough comes together into a ball and is springy, about 5 minutes. (If you don’t have a dough hook, continue on with the paddle and then knead the dough with floured hands on a floured work surface until it is springy.)
You can use the dough right away, but your pizza will have a better texture if you let the dough rise. Dribble a little olive oil into a large glass or ceramic bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl. Turn the dough upside down so that the greased side is up. Cover the bowl with a thin kitchen towel and place the bowl in a warm spot in the kitchen until it has doubled in volume, 1 to 1½ hours. Punch down the dough with your fist, and use in the pizza recipe. Alternatively, let the dough rise in a warm spot for 30 minutes, then cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight to slowly rise. When ready to bake, remove the plastic, drape a kitchen towel over the bowl, and let the dough come to room temperature, about 2 hours.
