America's Test Kitchen Cast Iron Pan Pizza (Ep 2122)

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: We started with a simple stir-together dough of bread flour, salt, yeast, and warm water; the warm water jump-started yeast activity so that the crumb was open and light. Instead of kneading the dough, we let it rest overnight in the refrigerator. During this rest, the dough’s gluten strengthened enough for the crust to support the toppings but still have a tender crumb. Baking the pie in a generously oiled cast-iron skillet “fried” the outside of the crust. We also moved the skillet to the stove for the last few minutes of cooking to crisp up the underside of the crust. WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: We started with a simple stir-together dough of bread flour, salt, yeast, and warm water; the warm water jump-started yeast activity so that the crumb was open and light. Instead of kneading the dough, we let it rest overnight in the refrigerator. During this rest, the dough’s gluten strengthened enough for the crust to support the toppings but still have a tender crumb. Baking the pie in a generously oiled cast-iron skillet “fried” the outside of the crust. We also moved the skillet to the stove for the last few minutes of cooking to crisp up the underside of the crust.

For the crispy cheese edge known as frico, we pressed shredded Monterey Jack cheese around the edge of the dough and up the sides of the skillet. For the sauce, we crushed canned whole tomatoes (which are less processed and therefore fresher-tasting than commercial crushed tomatoes) by hand, which allowed some of their juice to drain so the sauce would be thick enough to stay put on the pie, and then pureed them in the food processor with classic seasonings—no cooking required. For the crispy cheese edge known as frico, we pressed shredded Monterey Jack cheese around the edge of the dough and up the sides of the skillet. For the sauce, we crushed canned whole tomatoes (which are less processed and therefore fresher-tasting than commercial crushed tomatoes) by hand, which allowed some of their juice to drain so the sauce would be thick enough to stay put on the pie, and then pureed them in the food processor with classic seasonings-no cooking required.

subheading: DOUGH:

2 cups (11 ounces) bread flour

1 teaspoon table salt

1 teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast

1 cup (8 ounces) warm water (105 to 110 degrees) Vegetable oil spray

subheading: SAUCE:

1 (14.5-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes

1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 garlic clove, minced

¼ teaspoon sugar

¼ teaspoon table salt

¼ teaspoon dried oregano Pinch red pepper flakes

subheading: PIZZA:

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

4 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (1 cup)

7 ounces whole-milk mozzarella cheese, shredded (1¾ cups)

Directions at wskg.org

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