Embedded Files
Recently I was reintroduced to pan pizza. For many years I passed on pan pizza because all it reminded me of Pizza Hut. Not knocking Pizza Hut, but it's Pizza Hut. Anyway, after having a quality pan pizza, I have made a few attempts that turned out fine, but nothing that made me want to make it again the next night... until now!
Using the cast iron pan was the key to a super crispy crust and adding a little honey gave the crust a perfect crunch and flavor. The dough comes together in about an hour, so this is something that can be made on a weeknight.
It seems like there are a lot of steps to this, but it is actually very easy. There is a link to the video recipe that I used which shows a few tips and tricks.
Dough Ingredients:
2 cups bread flour
3/4 cup warm water
1 pkg dry active yeast
1 tsp salt
1 tbs olive oil
1 tsp honey
Toppings:
1 cup pizza sauce (home made or if using a jar, add some salt, basil & Italian seasoning)
fresh spinach, 2 handfuls
1/4 lb sage sausage
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cups mozzarella cheese
Glaze:
1/4 cup hot water
2 tsp honey
1 tsp garlic powder
A pinch of red pepper flakes
Directions:
Start the dough by combining 3/4 cup warm water (95 degrees), 1 pkg yeast & 1 tsp honey. Mix well and let sit for 10 minutes.
Turn oven on for 3-4 minutes to warm or set to 185 degrees.
After the 10 minutes, in a mixing bowl, add the yeast water, 1 tbs olive oil & 1 tsp salt. Slowly add the flour until it's too thick to stir with a spoon.
Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead the dough while adding the remaining flour. Knead until the dough is no longer picking up flour from the work surface and is not sticky. Form into a smooth ball and place into a metal bowl that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
Turn off oven and cover the bowl with a towel and place in warm oven for 30 -40 minutes. The dough should have doubled in size.
While the dough is rising, wilt the spinach and cook the sausage.
Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead lightly. Form back into a smooth ball and put back into the mixing bowl. Cover and let sit for another 30-40 minutes in the warm oven
Remove dough and preheat the oven, with the cast iron pan, to 500 degrees.
Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface and gently form into a circle, slightly larger than the cast iron pan. Do not over work the dough. Let sit while the oven is preheating.
After the oven has been at 500 degrees for 10-15 minutes, remove the pan and coat the pan with 1-2 tbs of butter.
Gently place the dough into the pan and spray with cooking spray, then lightly sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder.
Place the pan in the oven for 4 minutes to allow the cook before the toppings are added.
Pull the pan out and add the sauce, garlic and toppings. Make sure to cover the entire pan with cheese, all the way to the edges of the pan, allowing the cheese to caramelize.
Cook for 10-12 minutes until the cheese is nicely browned.
While the pizza is cooking, make the glaze by combining the glaze ingredients.
When the pizza is done, remove from the oven and use a fork to separate the pizza from the edges.
Brush the glaze on the edges of the pizza so the glaze drizzles down the edges.
Allow the pizza to sit for 5 minutes, then cut and enjoy!
Notes:
This seems like a complicated recipe, but it is actually very simple. Watch the video of the process:
Page updated
Report abuse