BEST EVER SKILLET PIZZA
PG tested
It is important to heat the skillet at 450 degrees before placing the dough in the pan. You can use store-bought dough here. If you freeze the dough, make sure to let it rest on the counter for an hour to thaw. This dough takes slightly less time to cook (15 minutes) than the homemade crust (15-20 minutes), author Anne Byrn says.
1 pound store-bought pizza dough
1 to 2 teaspoons cornmeal
1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
½ to ¾ cup tomato sauce
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Honey, for brushing Red pepper flakes, optional
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Heat a 12-inch skillet on the stove top over medium heat until quite hot, 3 to 4 minutes.
While the skillet is heating, stretch out dough to get it as thin as possible, about 12
inches in diameter. You can do this in the air or by pressing it out with your hands on a cornmeal-dusted work surface.
Sprinkle cornmeal in the
hot skillet.
Taking care not to burn your fingers, place the dough in the pan on top of the cornmeal. Press dough halfway up the sides of the pan (it will shrink back and that’s OK).
Whisk together olive oil and garlic and brush the mixture over the dough. Spoon on the tomato sauce. (Add desired toppings at this point.)
Scatter cheese all over. Brush honey on the crust edges and sprinkle red pepper flakes on top of the honey, if desired.
Turn off the stove and place the skillet in the oven.
Bake until the cheese has melted and just starts to brown, and the crust edges are browned, 15 to 20 minutes. Carefully run a knife around the edges and slide the pizza out onto a board to slice and serve.
Makes 4 to 6 servings as an appetizer and 2 to 3 servings as a meal.
— “Skillet Love: From Steak to Cake” by Anne Byrn (Grand Central Publishing; October 2019)
Topping variations
Garden Vegetable: After spooning on the tomato sauce, add ½ cup of store-bought pesto, spreading it evenly. Sprinkle 1 cup of mozzarella cheese on top. Slice 2 beefsteak tomatoes, mini yellow, red and orange peppers (2 each) and 4 to 5 pickled jalapeno slices and place them over the cheese.
Scatter the remaining cup of mozzarella cheese and bake following the recipe’s directions.
Eggplant Parm: After spooning on the tomato sauce, add mozzarella cheese. Slice 2 medium Japanese eggplants into thin rounds and put them in a bowl of cold water until they are ready to be cooked. In a skillet, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add eggplant slices in batches and panfry until they are slightly brown on both sides. Add more oil if needed. Sprinkle eggplant slices with salt to taste. Place slices on top of the crust.
Scatter 1 cup of cherry tomatoes, halved. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese over the vegetables. Bake following the recipe’s directions. After taking the skillet out of the oven, sprinkle 2 tablespoons of chopped basil while the pizza is hot.