Pan Pizza

After years of trying and failing, I have achieved optimum pan pizza. Let’s bake.

For the Dough:

Enough for 3 skillet pizzas or one sheet pan

1 1/3 cup (315 mL)	110F water
2 tsp	Honey preferably, could sub sugar or molasses
0.25 oz (1/2 tbsp)	active dry or instant yeast
3 ½ cup	All Purpose flour
¼ cup	EVOO
2 tsp	Salt

1. Proof yeast. Mix the honey in water and add yeast. Let bloom for 5-10 min.
2. Knead dough. Slowly incorporate flour, salt, and EVOO into the liquid. Knead for 5 min. Add more flour if too sticky. Should come cleanly off the sides.
3. Let rise. Oil the bowl and top of the dough and let rise for 1 hr or until doubled. Keep the bowl covered.
4. Cut and shape. If using a skillet, transfer to a floured work surface and cut into 3 equal pieces. Shape into tight balls by rolling and building surface tension. If using sheet pan, transfer dough to sheet pan, flatten, and then fold over once, stretching the dough out in a rough rectangle.
5. Let rise. Place the dough balls on a plate or tray, cover with plastic film, and do the second rise in the fridge for 1-15hrs, depending on when you’re planning to bake. 10-12 hrs is sweet spot for flavor.  
6. Dough is ready to bake.

For the sauce:

This is way too much sauce, reuse for pasta or more pizzas. Or use your house marinara recipe

1 large can	Crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce, depending on sauce chunkiness preference
1	Medium onion
To heart’s content	Garlic
2 tsp	Dried oregano
1 tsp	Fennel seeds
1 tsp	Red chili flakes
A bunch	Basil
To taste	Salt

1. Add oregano, fennel, red chili flakes in olive oil to a hot pan.
2. Add and sauté onions and garlic until brown.
3. Add basil and salt.
4. Blend with the canned tomato sauce/crushed tomatoes until combined. The tomatoes are not cooked here, they’ll cook with the pizza.

Assembly:

Toppings will vary based on your taste. Only tip is to grate a block of mozzarella yourself instead of the pre-shredded packs. The pre-shredded packs have an anti-caking coating that makes the cheese melt very sad.

1. Preheat oven to 500F for at least 1 hr with a pizza stone or steel in the lowest rack.
2. Grease cast iron skillet with EVOO.
3. Transfer one dough ball into skillet. Using oiled fingers spread the dough till it reaches the edges. Lift and rotate like the cliched pizza chefs do to extend the dough. Just make sure the dough touches the edges, don’t worry about the height.
4. Add sauce. If you’re like me, don’t overdo it. Less is often better but you’ll know what your sweet spot is after a few tries. Two ladleful usually does it for me.
5. Add cheese. Cheese the whole pizza up to the rim. The cheese caramelizes spectacularly when it’s brushing against the iron. Leave the middle light if you wish but definitely cheese the edges.
6. Add toppings. Make it pretty!
7. Place skillet on top of preheated pizza stone and bake for 14-17 min depending on how hot your oven actually gets. You’re looking for an even melting of the cheese and those perfect leopard brown spots of caramelized cheese. A good tell for when your pizza is ready is to look at the cheese edges, when those are crisped up nice, then the pizza is usually done.
8. Use a knife to free the pizza from the skillet edges. Then use a flat spatula to ease the pizza out onto a cutting board.

Topping Ideas:

A few topping suggestions arranged by type

Vegetables that can be added raw (use a variety of colors)	Green: Spinach, green bell peppers, zucchini, jalapeno, arugula Red: tomato slices, red bell peppers, sliced radishes, red onions Yellow: banana peppers, onions, Black: olives, mushrooms
Fresh herbs	Basil, rosemary, thyme, oregano, mint, dill
Vegetables that need pre-cooking	Roasted: squash, pumpkin, sweet potato, garlic, potatoesGrilled: mushrooms, eggplants,
Sauces	Pesto, ranch, balsamic glaze, alfredo
Flavor bombs	Lemon curd, pickled peppers, roasted garlic, sesame-chili oil,
Alternative Cheeses	Cheddar, ricotta, goat, cheese curds, butterkase,