Pizza Dough
My husband and I used to go to a sit down Pizza Hut restaurant in Westchester, NY. There is nothing like a fresh pepperoni pizza out of the oven with a cherry coke. It may sound lame to some of you but to us it was a moment of fun and it also was a time to see families of 4 or more sit down on Friday nights to have a hot pizza meal together.
I started playing around with yeast about a year ago and tried several pizza dough recipes. With each one I had hoped to get a nice buttery cheesy seasoned crust with a soft dough center just like Pizza Hut but I failed several times. And then one day it finally happened, I came up with the best skillet pan pizza recipe.
PIZZA DOUGH
Makes 4 servings or 4 skillet pizzas
3 cups of all purpose flour
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of sugar
1 package of yeast
4 tablespoons of olive oil
1 cup of warm water
* You can use the above recipe to make 2 DEEP DISH style skillet pizzas*
I started playing around with yeast about a year ago and tried several pizza dough recipes. With each one I had hoped to get a nice buttery cheesy seasoned crust with a soft dough center just like Pizza Hut but I failed several times. And then one day it finally happened, I came up with the best skillet pan pizza recipe.
PIZZA DOUGH
Makes 4 servings or 4 skillet pizzas
3 cups of all purpose flour
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of sugar
1 package of yeast
4 tablespoons of olive oil
1 cup of warm water
* You can use the above recipe to make 2 DEEP DISH style skillet pizzas*
Put the flour and the salt into a bowl. In a separate bowl add in the sugar and the yeast. Add 1 cup of warm water into the bowl with the yeast and sugar. Stir gently with the fork and let it sit for at least 5 minutes until bubbles form at the top. It should smell "yeasty", if that's a word...Make sure the water is not hot but just warm. Otherwise your yeast will not rise properly.
Pour the yeast mixture into the bowl with the flour and salt. Now add in the olive oil and stir gently with a fork until the mixture comes together a bit.
Put the dough onto a floured surface and form it into a ball. Flatten the dough ball and fold it over. Roll it towards your the bottom of your palm. And push down. Repeat the kneading process for about 3 minutes or until the dough is soft to the touch. If it gets sticky add in a pinch of flour.
Put the dough back into the bowl and cover it tightly with plastic wrap. Then cover it with a few kitchen towels. Set it aside for at least 2 hours. If you are using rapid rise yeast set aside for at least 1 hour. The goal is to have the pizza dough double in size.
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. You will need a cast iron skillet. You can find these just about anywhere and online. And the nice thing is you can cook just about anything in it. Butter the bottom of the skillet and sprinkle a little black pepper in it.
Place the dough into the skillet and press down from the center out until the dough reaches all sides of the pan. Place any toppings of your choice on the pizza or see down below for skillet pan pizza ideas...
Place the dough into the skillet and press down from the center out until the dough reaches all sides of the pan. Place any toppings of your choice on the pizza or see down below for skillet pan pizza ideas...
