Skillet Pizza

I wanted to use my sourdough starter, so my mom and I made up this Skillet Pizza mostly following King Arthur's 2020 Recipe of the year.

Ingredients:

• 240 grams sourdough starter (about 1 cup)
• 120g All-Purpose Flour (about a cup)
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 50g lukewarm water
• 1 tablespoon olive oil + 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil for the pan]
• 6 ounces (170g) mozzarella, grated 
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup  tomato sauce 
• pepperoni (2 ounces or so)
• mushrooms (sliced thin, enough to cover pan) 
• 1 tablespoon or so of Romano cheese

Instructions:

1. Place the sourdough starter, water, yeast, 1 tablespoon olive oil in the bowl of a stand mixer. Let yeast proof for a few minutes until it starts to bubble.
2. Mix salt in flour, and into sourdough mixture for about a minute to make a shaggy dough with no dry patches of flour.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl and shape the dough into a rough ball, cover the bowl.
3. After 5 minutes, uncover the bowl and using a bowl scraper or your wet hand, pull out 1/4 of the dough, stretching the bottom of the dough up and over its top. Repeat three more times, turning the bowl 90° each time. (The 4 stretches are a a fold.) Cover the bowl.
4. After 5 minutes do a second fold, re-covering the bowl afterwards.
5. After 5 minutes do a third fold, re-covering the bowl afterwards.
6. After 5 minutes do a fourth fold, , re-covering the bowl afterwards.
   Let the dough rest, undisturbed, for 40 minutes.
7. About 2 hours before you want to serve your pizza, prepare your pan. Pour 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil into a well-seasoned cast iron skillet that’s 10” to 11” diameter across the top. 
8. Spread the oil across the bottom, and spread some oil up the edges as well.  
9. Scoop the dough to the pan, and turn it once to coat both sides with the oil. Press the dough to the edges of the pan, dimpling it using the tips of your fingers in the process. (If the dough resists stretching, cover it and let it rest for about 15 minutes, then repeat the dimpling/pressing.The dough should reach the edges of the pan.)
10. Cover the crust and let it rise for 2 hours at room temperature. The risen dough will look pillowy and will jiggle when you gently shake the pan.
11. About 30 minutes before baking, place one rack at the bottom of the oven. (I put my baking steel on the second slot from the bottom.) Preheat the oven to 450°F.
12. Just before you bake the pizza, sprinkle about three-quarters of the mozzarella (a scant 1 cup) evenly over the crust. Drop small spoonfuls of the sauce over the cheese.
    (Putting the cheese down first helps prevent the sauce from seeping into the crust and making it soggy.)
13. Add whatever toppings you like - we used sliced pepperoni and mushrooms. Sprinkle on the remaining mozzarella, then sprinkle with 1 tablespoon or so of Romano cheese.
14. Bake the pizza on the bottom rack of the oven for 18 to 20 minutes, until the cheese is bubbling and the bottom and edges of the crust are a rich golden brown (use a spatula to check the bottom). 
15. When finished baking, put the  pan on a heatproof surface. Use a spatula between the edge of the pizza and side of the pan to prevent the cheese from sticking as it cools. 
16. Let the pizza cool very briefly - carefully transfer it when you can from the pan to a cooling rack or cutting surface. This will prevent the crust from becoming soggy.
17. Slice and serve!

Carole's Notes:

We liked this! The edges was crunchy, but the dough was soft. It is thick but light crust pizza. King Arthur suggests to go light with the toppings.



The recipe is lightly adapted from https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/crispy-cheesy-pan-pizza-recipe