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Who doesn’t like pizza! What makes it even better is homemade pizza dough. This Easy Cast Iron Pizza has the perfect, simple and easy dough recipe. It’s pillowy, bubbly, crispy and delicious in flavor. Add your favorite toppings and enjoy! I cooked the pizza in my Gozny pizza oven, but you can make it in the oven as well. I got the idea and inspiration for this pizza from Rafi Fronzaglia. Be sure to check out his page on Instagram.
Looking for easy back to school, afternoon snacks or dinner options, check out my Smoked Meatball Biscuits, Big Mac Crunchwrap or these homemade hot pockets the Puff Pastry Meat Pockets.
Table of Contents
Ingredients needed to make an Easy Cast Iron Pizza
- Bread flour: most preferred type of flour for pizza dough because of its high protein content which develops more gluten. This makes the dough more elastic and stretchy.
- Water: warm water as the liquid base for the dough.
- Salt: adds flavor to the dough.
- Sugar: helps the yeast ferment creating a lighter, more airy dough.
- Instant yeast: helps dough rise faster.
- Olive oil: adds flavor and texture to the dough and creates a crispy crust.
- Pizza sauce: the base for any pizza. I used a tomato based pizza sauce, but white sauce or pesto are also great options.
- Cheese: part skim, low moisture mozzarella cheese is perfect on any homemade pizza. Shredded freshly off the block, it has nice coverage and pull.
How to make homemade pizza dough
The key component to this Easy Cast Iron Pizza is the dough. I’ve tested and cooked different doughs throughout the years. And this recipe is perfect for a skillet or pan pizza. It’s thicker, airy and crispy. Full of texture and flavor.
In a large mixing bowl, add the pre-measured bread flour, warm water, salt, sugar, instant yeast and olive oil. Make sure the water is around 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
Now, with clean hands, starting mixing the ingredients together, blending everything. Once you have a sticky ball, remove it from the bowl and start kneading it on a clean flat surface. Scrape any dough that sticks to the bowl or flat surface and continue kneading until you have a smooth, non-sticky dough ball. This should take 7-10 minutes.
Recipe Tip
You can also make this in a kitchen aid mixer if you have one handy. Let the mixer knead the dough until it becomes plump and bounces back when poked. Scrape the dough from the bowl and shape it into a ball.
Place the dough ball back in the bowl and cover with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap. Leave the covered bowl at room temperature for 2-3 hours, until the dough doubles in size.
Halfway through, remove the foil and stretch and fold the dough over itself. The stretching allows the gluten to be form making the dough elastic and airy.
How to make an Easy Cast Iron Pizza
Now that the dough has risen and is stretched, it’s time to shape it.
For this Easy Cast Iron Pizza recipe, I used a 12 inch Yeti cast iron skillet. Coat the bottom and sides of the skillet with olive oil. This will help prevent sticking AND will help the bottom get nice and crispy. Next, place the pizza dough in the skillet, stretch it out the best you can, it will spring back so don’t worry, and cover the skillet with plastic wrap.
Let the dough sit in the skillet at room temperature for another hour. It will spread out in the cast iron on its own.
Time to cook the pizza
I used my Gozny Dome for this cook, but any pizza oven or kitchen oven will do the trick.
Preheat your oven to 500 degrees.
The dough should have risen and stretched around the entire cast iron skillet. Once the grill or oven is hot, place the cast iron skillet with the dough inside the oven. Since this pizza will have a thicker dough crst, we want to pre-cook it first.
Leave it in the oven for 10 minutes, until the top starts to turn a light golden brown. Remove the skillet from the oven and now it’s time to add the toppings.
Start with the cheese first! It’s always best to grate your own, but shredded will work too. Start by adding plenty of cheese around the edges of the crust. This will help create those crispy sides after the pizza is cooked.
Recipe Tip
For convenience, pre-shredded cheese of any kind will work. Make sure to use soft cheeses since those melt best. Stay away from the hard Italian cheeses unless they are in addition to the base cheese option.
Next goes the pizza sauce. Don’t add too much, just a thin layer over the cheese. Finally, add the rest of your toppings. I went with simple pepperoni since that’s what my kids like the most.
Once you have all your toppings, place the skillet back in the oven at the same 500 degrees. Cook for 8-10 minutes, until the cheese is fully melted and sides are golden brown. You can also finish the pizza under the broiler if you like the top more charred up.
When done, remove it from the grill and let it cool off. Run a butter knife around the edge of the cast iron skillet and slowly and carefully lift the Easy Cast Iron Pizza placing it on a flat surface. If you want to get the bottom more crispy, place the skillet with the pizza on the stove, over medium high heat for 4-5 minutes. This will help crisp up the bottom.
I like to finish the pizza with freshly grated parmesan cheese. Slice it up, serve and enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions:
All my recipes can be replicated in the oven, stove top or gas grill. You do not need a big green egg or weber grill to replicate any of my recipes.
Yes, a cast iron pan or skillet is perfect for making homemade pizza. It has the ability to retain high heat resulting in a crispy crust and soft center.
Delicious grilled dough recipes:
If you tried these Easy Cast Iron Pizza or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the📝 comments. I love hearing from you!
Easy Cast Iron Pizza
Ingredients
Pizza Dough Ingredients
- 300 grams Bread flour
- 210 grams Warm water (100 degrees Fahrenheit)
- 6 grams Salt
- 6 grams Sugar
- 6 grams Instant yeast
- 10 grams Olive oil
Pizza Ingredients
- 1 cup Pizza sauce
- 12 oz Mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 cup Pepperonis
Instructions
How to make pizza dough
- In a large bowl, add all the pizza dough ingredients and mix by hand.
- Once you have a sticky ball, remove it from the bowl and start kneading it on a clean flat surface. Scrape any dough that sticks to the bowl or flat surface and continue kneading until you have a smooth non sticky dough ball. This will take 7-10 minutes.
- Place the dough ball back in the bowl and cover with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap.
- Leave the covered bowl at room temperature for 2-3 hours, until the dough doubles in size. Halfway through, remove the foil and stretch and fold the dough over itself.
- Oil the bottom and sides of a 12" cast iron skillet and transfer the dough from the bowl to the skillet.
- Stretch the dough as best as you can to cover the bottom, cover with plastic wrap, and let it set at room temperature for another hour. The dough will stretch on its own and will cover the bottom of the skillet.
Pizza Time
- Preheat the grill or oven to 500 degrees.
- Remove the plastic wrap from the skillet and place it in the oven for 10 minutes to pre cook the dough.
- Remove the skillet from the oven and add the cheese, sauce and pepperoni.
- Place the skillet back in the oven and cook for 8-10 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the top is golden brown.
- Remove the skillet from the oven and run a butter knife around the edge to help release it. Remove the pizza from the skillet and let it cool for a few minutes on a flat surface.
- Slice, serve and enjoy!
Notes
- You can also make this in a kitchen aid mixer if you have one handy. Let the mixer knead the dough until it becomes plump and bounces back when poked. Scrape the dough from the bowl and shape it into a ball.
- Pre-cooking the dough will help avoid sogginess inside and on the bottom of the pizza dough.
- For convenience, pre-shredded cheese of any kind will work. Make sure to use soft cheeses since those melt best. Stay away from the hard Italian cheeses unless they are in addition to the base cheese option.
- If you want the bottom of the pizza to be more crispy, finish with the skillet on the stove over medium-high heat for 5 minutes.
Hands down, my favorite pan pizza recipe! I hope you like it as much as I do.