Cast Iron Pan Pizza
This is one of our family’s favorite easy weekday meals! Reminds us of the crispy crust of a Pizza Hut pan pizza we grew up eating! Anyone else get those little personal size pizza vouchers in grade school from reading books? Well this is our version that’s probably a little better for you, and way less expensive!
This pizza crust recipe was originally from Carlsbad Cravings & I have adjusted it to our tastes and to the method of baking in a cast iron pan that just elevates it so much. Your family is going to love this!
The first thing we need to do is get our Active Dry Yeast activated by mixing it with warm water & sugar. I like to take the temperature of my water before I add it and make sure it’s between 105 and 110 degrees F. This is the perfect temp to activate it quickly, but not kill it. The sugar also helps it activate by giving it a food source. After a quick mix, let it sit for 5-10 minutes, or until you see it foaming up.
If it doesn’t foam up at all after 10 minutes, dump it and try again. Your water may have been too cold or hot, or your yeast may be old. Try storing it in the freezer for a longer life span!
Add half of the flour(3/4 c), oil, & salt to combine. Then slowly add the rest of the flour until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl like shown. If it is too wet, add a tablespoon of flour and see if that helps, add more if needed. If it is too dry, add a tablespoon of oil until it reached the right consistency.
Mix for 5 minutes in mixer or knead by hand for 5-10 minutes.
If doubling the recipe, turn the dough out onto floured surface and split into two. Roll into balls & place in greased bowl topped with a thin towel to rise.
*If you are only baking one today, put the other in a greased storage container with lid(make sure there’s some room to rise) and put it in the fridge or freezer to bake another time! When you go to bake this one, pull it out with enough time to come to room temp & then rise. It’ll bake up just the same as the first!
Place dough in warm place to rise. I like to put mine in the oven with the light on. The warmer the location, the quicker it’ll rise. Just make sure to take it out before you preheat your oven!
Let rise for 1-2 hours or until doubled. It usually doesn’t take mine much longer than an hour to an hour and half.
When the dough has doubled, remove from oven & preheat it as hot as it will go, up to 550 degrees F & move rack to lowest position.
Drizzle about a teaspoon of oil into cast iron pan and use brush to spread all over bottom & sides of pan. You want oil on all sides, this is what helps make that crispy crust, but you also don’t want your dough swimming in oil, that’s not yummy. So start with a little and add as you need. Some cast iron pans may soak up the oil quickly & will need a little more.
Then add dough to pan and spread out using your fingertips. If you find that they’re sticking, spray some cooking oil onto your fingers to help. This is a very soft dough that should spread easily. Be sure not to flatten it completely like if you rolled out a pizza crust, we want that fluffy crust!
Then here comes the fun part! Top it with whatever your heart desires! Our go-to is pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, salami, red onions, green bell peppers, and pineapple with Johnny’s Garlic Bread seasoning on top. Don’t be afraid to add a lot of toppings. It’s a thick crust and can handle it!
To make it super yummy, make sure to add mozzarella cheese all the way to the edges so it gets crispy and caramelized against the edge of the pan. Yum!
Once your oven is up to temp, toss your pan on that bottom rack and set your timer for 14 minutes. Every oven will bake slightly different, so once that 14 minutes hits, check it and see if it needs some more time. I like to check it by lifting up the edge and looking at the bottom of the crust. If it’s golden & crispy and the dough in the center is baked through, then you’ll good to pull it out! I usually have to let it bake a few extra minutes to give the middle time to bake, so just keep an eye on it.
When it’s done, run a butter knife around the edges to release that melted cheese goodness from the sides of the pan. Then, using two spatulas, lift it out of the pan and transfer it to a wire rack to cool slightly. Getting it out of the pan also keeps the crusty nice and crispy.
*If you doubled it and are making two pizzas with one pan, this is when you go ahead and start your second pizza!
I like to transfer mine to a cutting board & slice it with a large knife. I find that it works better than a pizza cutter with this pizza because of how thick it is. Then serve from the cutting board or transfer back to the pan for extra presentation points! Enjoy!