Pan Pizza with mushroom and pesto

DrygastDrygast, 2022-01-15

Pan Pizza that ferments in the frying pan

Recipe thumbnail
Recipe thumbnail
AmericanFlourItalianMain CoursePizzaVegetarianVegitablesWinter

 

  • Servings2 Portions
  • AllergensEggs, Milk, Tree nuts, Wheat

 

  • Rest Time180 min
  • Cook Time45 min

This pan pizza takes some time to make, but the result is really good. A lot of the time is also fermentation where you just wait so you can say that it requires a little planning, but not much work. The dough I use is basically 2/5 of Neapolitan pizza dough with a little bit of oil added. I think that amount is perfect for a pizza that is cooked in a 25 cm (~10 inches) cast iron pan as you can be quite generous with toppings on a pan of pizza. If you want, you can of course double the amount to be able to serve 4 people instead, but since the dough ferments in the cast iron pan, you then need 2 cast iron pans or a similar substitute.

In this recipe, I choose to knead the dough in a machine and then give it a first fermentation of about an hour. Instead of this, you can just mix the dough and then let it take care of itself for at least 8 hours at room temperature (no knead dough) or double that in the fridge. I have tested both methods and they work great, but I choose this faster variant as I want the pizza ready the same day and managed to wake up way too late. I also use Tipo "00" flour, but it should work well with regular wheat flour.

I also choose simplest tomato sauce which only consists of passed tomatoes and a little bit of salt. Of course, it is possible to use a ready-made tomato sauce or to cook a slightly more complicated variant yourself instead. This particular pizza gets most of its flavor from the pesto so I do not think it is necessary with a too powerful tomato sauce here. The pesto I use is bought from a store, but you can of course choose to make your own pesto instead - it is simple and very tasty.

I have also tested around a bit with different temperatures and times in the oven and come to the conclusion that what works best for the equipment I have is 250°C for 20-25 minutes. However, this can vary a bit depending on which oven and cast iron pan is used, so keep an eye on the pizza and experiment until you get the result you are looking for. If you choose to use an even higher temperature, you may need to heat the pizza in the cast iron pan on the stove after it has been in the oven so the crust becomes crispy.

Ingredients

Pizza Dough
Tomato Sauce
Toppings

Nutrition Facts*

 TotalServing100 g
Energy1661.12 kcal830.56 kcal179 kcal
Carbohydrates161.19 g80.6 g17.37 g
Fat76.93 g38.47 g8.29 g
Protein73.87 g36.93 g7.96 g
Sugar15.03 g7.52 g1.62 g
Salt12.81 g6.4 g1.38 g

* The nutritional information provided is approximate and is calculated using the ingredients available in the database. Info will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.

Directions

Pizza Dough
  1. Pour lukewarm water and dry yeast into a kitchen assistant with a dough hook. Let stand for 10 minutes at room temperature.
  2. Start the machine and add oil, salt and flour. Let the machine knead the dough for 5-10 minutes.
  3. Let the dough rest under a towel for at least an hour.
  4. In a cast iron pan (approx. 25cm / 10") pour in approx. 2 tablespoons olive oil and distribute evenly - also on the edges.
  5. Transfer the dough to the cast iron pan without processing it too much and squeeze out lightly.
  6. Cover with plastic wrap and leave it to rise for 2 hours.
  7. After 2 hours, the dough should cover most of the bottom of the cast iron pan, but if not, squeeze it out lightly.
Tomato Sauce
  1. Mix passed tomatoes and salt. Done.
Toppings
  1. Preheat oven to 250°C.
  2. Slice the onion and grate the cheese if necessary.
  3. Slice the mushrooms into thick slices. They will shrink to about half its size in the oven.
  4. If the dough has really big air bubbles after fermentation, punch holes in them. Carefully lift the dough slightly from the sides so that any large air bubbles under the dough disappears.
  5. Start covering the dough with the tomato sauce. You can leave an edge if you want, but I think it will be good to cover the whole dough all the way to the edges of the cast iron pan.
  6. Cover with the grated cheese.
  7. Add the sliced onion and then the sliced mushroom. It may seem like there are too much mushrooms, but they shrink quite a bit in the oven as previously mentioned.
  8. Bake the pizza at 250°C for 20-25 minutes. Adjust any time and temperature if necessary.
  9. Take the pizza out of the oven and let it cool a bit.
  10. Place a few dollops of pesto evenly on the pizza and top with a little arugula.
  11. Enjoy!