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Skillet Pizza

Source of Recipe

From "The New Essentials Cookbook" by America's Test Kitchen


Recipe Introduction

"Making pizza can be a big project requiring a baking stone, or it can be as approachable as this version, which is especially convenient if you make the dough ahead. Baking the pizza in a skillet eliminated the nerve-racking step of sliding a topped pie onto a baking stone in the oven. Yet, when preheated on the stovetop and transferred to a 500-degree oven, the skillet functioned like a pizza stone, crisping the crust in minutes. The dough came together easily in the food processor. If you'd like more substantial toppings, sprinkle them on before baking; but keep the additions light enough for the thin crust. The sauce will yield more than is needed; extra sauce can be refrigerated for up to one week or frozen for up to one month. If you don't have time to make dough, you can also use 1 pound of store-bought pizza dough."

List of Ingredients

Dough:
â—¦ 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons bread flour
â—¦ 1 â…› tablespoons instant or rapid-rise yeast
â—¦ ¾ teaspoon salt
â—¦ 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
â—¦ ¾ cup ice water

Sauce and toppings:
â—¦ 1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, drained with juice reserved
â—¦ 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
â—¦ 2 cloves garlic, minced
â—¦ 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
â—¦ 1 teaspoon dried oregano
â—¦ ½ teaspoon salt
â—¦ ¼ teaspoon pepper
â—¦ 8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced ¼ inch thick and patted dry with paper towels
â—¦ 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil


Recipe

For the dough: Pulse flour, yeast, and salt in food processor until combined, about 5 pulses. With processor running, add oil, then ice water, and process until rough ball forms, 30 to 40 seconds. Let dough rest for 2 minutes, then process for 30 seconds longer.

Sprinkle counter lightly with flour, then transfer dough to counter. Knead by hand to form smooth ball, 30 seconds. Place dough seam side down in lightly greased large bowl or container, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled in size, 1 ½ to 2 hours. (Unrisen dough can be refrigerated for at least 8 hours or up to 16 hours; let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before shaping.)

For the sauce and toppings: Clean and dry food processor. Process tomatoes, 1 tablespoon oil, garlic, vinegar, oregano, salt, and pepper until smooth, about 30 seconds. Transfer mixture to 2-cup liquid measuring cup and add reserved tomato juice until sauce measures 2 cups. Reserve 1 cup sauce; set aside remaining sauce for another use.

Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position. Heat oven to 500 degrees. Place dough on lightly floured counter; divide in half. Cover one piece loosely with greased plastic. Using your fingertips, gently press other piece into 8-inch disk, then use rolling pin to roll into 11-inch round.

Grease a 12-inch ovensafe skillet with 2 tablespoons oil. Transfer dough to skillet and reshape as needed. Spread ½ cup sauce over dough, leaving ½-inch border around edge. Top with half of mozzarella. Set skillet over high heat and cook until outside edge of dough is set, pizza is lightly puffed, and bottom of crust looks spotty brown when gently lifted with spatula, about 3 minutes. Transfer skillet to oven and bake pizza until edges are brown and cheese is melted and spotty brown, 7 to 10 minutes. Using potholders, remove skillet from oven and slide pizza onto wire rack; let cool slightly. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon basil, cut into wedges, and serve. Being careful of hot skillet, repeat with remaining oil, dough, ½ cup sauce, remaining mozzarella, and basil.

Serves 4