It's no secret that we love pizza around our house. A homemade pizza on Saturday night is probably our single-most guilty treat of the week… and I'd be lying if I said I didn't look forward to that pizza all week long!
Normally we go with a classic pizza crust with pepperoni and diced jalapeno on top. (If you've never tried diced jalapeno on a pizza, do it. Do it now. Just don't forget to remove the seeds first!) So last week I was thinking that I wanted to try something different. Why not try making a deep dish pizza at home?
I've ordered deep dish pizzas at restaurants, but I've never tried one at home. Wow! This Cast Iron Deep Dish Pizza was awesome! Warning: this is a fork and knife type of pizza pie, but it's well worth the extra effort here.
We don't own a deep dish pizza pan, but I found that our 12" cast iron skillet worked like a charm! In fact, since the crust in a deep dish pizza comes up the side of the pan, the hot skillet did a great job of crisping up the sides of the pizza.
I actually made two versions of this Cast Iron Deep Dish Pizza. The crust on the first one was way too bready and thick. I know a deep-dish pizza is supposed to be thick, but this was too thick. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed my pizza, but it needed some work.
For the second version, I went back to my classic pizza dough recipe. (On a side note, my wife and I spent months perfecting the texture and taste of that dough. It's a tough job, but someone has to do it!) The second version was the easy winner. I just made a slightly larger batch of dough since deep-dish pizzas need extra dough to go up the sides of the pan.
Overall, I was surprised at how easy it was to make this deep dish pizza. I think I still prefer "regular-style" pizzas over deep dish, but this Cast Iron Deep Dish Pizza recipe has certainly earned a spot in our regular pizza rotation!
Several weeks ago, I came across a tip that suggested using sliced rather than shredded mozzarella on a pizza. I figured I was trying something new already, so why not go ahead and try the sliced mozzarella, too? (Note: I had to visit the deli counter at my local market to find sliced mozzarella.)
I layered several slices of mozzarella across the bottom of the pizza… and the result was pretty much amazing! The bottom of the pizza featured a melted, delicious layer of cheese that was way "stringier" than shredded mozzarella.
My next experiment is to see if sliced mozzarella also works well on "regular-style" pizzas. I suspect it will work quite well. But until then, I'll be enjoying my delicious deep-dish style pizza!
Make it a complete meal - add our Brussels sprout salad recipe or Strawberry Spinach Salad!
Cast Iron Deep Dish Pizza Recipe
Ingredients
For the Dough:- 6 cups bread flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
- 1 3/4 cups water
- 1/4 cup olive oil, plus 2 tablespoons, divided
- 8 ounces mozzarella cheese, sliced
- 1 1/2 ounces pepperoni, sliced
- 1/4 cup onion, sliced
- 1 cup pizza sauce
- 14 1/2 ounces diced tomatoes, drained and all liquid pressed out (1 can)
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
Directions
To Make the Dough:
- In a countertop mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, combine the dry ingredients (flour, salt, and yeast) and mix well. Add the water and mix on low speed for 3 minutes, or until the dough begins to come together.
- Add 1/4 cup of olive oil and mix on low for another 1 minute. Increase the speed to medium and mix for 3-4 minutes. (Tip: If the dough doesn't want to form a ball after adding the olive oil, just add 1-2 tablespoon of additional flour to the bowl.)
- Transfer dough to a large, oiled bowl. Cover and place in a warm (85°F) location for 75 minutes.
- Flip dough out onto a well floured countertop and gently fold it several times. Transfer dough back into the oiled bowl, cover, and place in a warm location for another 75 minutes.
- Brush the bottom and sides of a 12" cast iron skillet with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Gently stretch or roll dough into a large circle and then press into the bottom and up the sides of skillet.
To Make the Pizza:
- Preheat oven to 450°F.
- Layer sliced mozzarella evenly across the top of the dough.
- Spread the sliced pepperoni and onions evenly on top of mozzarella.
- Spread the pizza sauce evenly on top. Scatter chopped tomatoes on top of the sauce.
- Top pizza with grated Parmesan, and brush top edge of the dough with remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
- Bake at 450°F for 20-22 minutes, or until crust is golden brown. Allow pizza to cool for 5 minutes before slicing.
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