Cast Iron Skillet Pizza Recipe

This cast iron pizza is one of my go-to recipes even on busy weeknights. It's surprisingly easy to make and tastes just as good as a real pizzeria at a fraction of the cost.

I like using my Simple Daily Dough from my sourdough starter and my own Super Simple Homemade Pizza Sauce, but you are free to use any pizza dough or sauce you wish.

I've adapted this recipe from King Arthur Flour's Crispy Cheesy Pan Pizza so feel free to follow their slightly different method if you wish.

Ingredients

• 1-2 tbsp olive oil depending on how well seasoned your cast iron skillet is
• Two days' worth of Simple Daily Dough (approx. 500-550g of prepared dough)
• 1/4 cup Super Simple Homemade Pizza Sauce (or pizza sauce of your choosing)
• 1 cup grated cheese or feel free to skip and go with a delicious low-calorie cheese-less pizza
• Various pizza toppings and veggies of your choosing. My personal go-to is chopped spinach, jarred chopped artichoke hearts, and fresh diced peppers and onions.

Directions

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Start 20-30 minutes before cook time. Make sure the rack is nearest to the heating element wherever that is located in your oven or preheat with a baking stone.
• Grab a 12" cast iron skillet (as measured across the flared top).
• Add the olive oil to the skillet and smear it around with a wadded up paper towel including up the sides. Leave a little bit of excess oil across the bottom.
• Ensure your dough is room temperature and has completed a recent rising. Remove it from the bowl, punch it down, and form a ball or disc shape.
• Add the dough to the skillet and begin to spread it with your fingers. If the dough is room temperature, it should spread pretty easy without pulling back into its ball form. Make sure as you spread that you keep it as even distributed as possible without getting areas that are too thick or too thin.
• Once the dough is spread mostly across the bottom of the skillet, flip it around. This should put a little bit of oil on both sides of the dough.
• Finish spreading it out to reach the sides of the skillet and up the walls slightly (like a finger width up).
• If you have time, cover the skillet with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for 2-3 hours. This will result in an extra light and airy crust. If you don't have time, skip this step. The pizza will still turn out fantastic but with a more dense crust.
• Start to add your toppings. My recommendation is to actually add the sauce last, not first. This will help the crust cook better. This is a typical method for deep dish pizzas like Chicago and Detroit-style.
• I'm a little-to-no-cheese type person, so I like to go spinach/greens first, then veggie and meat toppings, then an even sprinkling of cheese, then dollops of pizza sauce across the top. Feel free to layer the toppings however you like. I recommend cheese first if you like a healthy amount of cheese.
• Place the skillet in the oven on the rack or directly on the baking stone. Bake for 25-35 minutes depending on the amount of toppings. Pull it out when the crust and top get golden and crusty.
• You can use a butter knife to lift the edge of the pizza and peak underneath to see if the bottom crust is cooked through. If your skillet is properly seasoned, you should have no issues with the crust sticking.
• You can then slide the pizza directly onto a cutting board. I prefer to do this because it cools faster for service.
• Cut into slices using a pizza wheel and enjoy. Be sure to have some reserve pizza sauce warmed in a bowl for dipping the crust at the end.