Cast Iron Pizza

[TherapyforGlencross]

So I cooked it last night. Overall pretty good. I used whole peeled tomatoes in a can as the sauce, I thought it added some sweetness to the flavour. I read that diced tomatoes are subpar quality.

However, the pizza did come out a bit messy. Maybe I should have waited for it to cool a bit more before slicing up? Dough cooked fully throughout and I was able to get the bottom crust crispy. Just not sure why it was sloppy. Maybe I added too much sauce, I’ll have to reduce the amount for next time.

[bluejays]

I make cast iron pizza all the time. I think one of the better "secrets" is to put a lot of olive oil below the pizza before cooking, in the pan, then waiting about 7 minutes or so after the pizza comes out of the oven. The pizza crust will absorb almost all of the olive oil. The crust just tastes much better.

[flamingchina]

Originally Posted by TherapyforGlencross

So I cooked it last night. Overall pretty good. I used whole peeled tomatoes in a can as the sauce, I thought it added some sweetness to the flavour. I read that diced tomatoes are subpar quality.

However, the pizza did come out a bit messy. Maybe I should have waited for it to cool a bit more before slicing up? Dough cooked fully throughout and I was able to get the bottom crust crispy. Just not sure why it was sloppy. Maybe I added too much sauce, I’ll have to reduce the amount for next time.

You definitely have to let it sit for a bit for things to "gel"
But yes, if there is too much sauce or topping, it can get messy.

[blender]

Originally Posted by flamingchina

That's the one I use.
I find the attached sauce recipe is good, but they suggest using too much.
For best pizza: Dough - sauce - cheese - toppings - cheese.

Nothing wrong with anything anyone likes, but for a proper deep dish pan pizza, the cheese goes in first and the sauce goes on top of the toppings.

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by blender

Nothing wrong with anything anyone likes, but for a proper deep dish pan pizza, the cheese goes in first and the sauce goes on top of the toppings.

Chicago deep dish style sucks.

[Jacks]

Originally Posted by Shazam

Silicone mats are slipperier, so for things like cookies they can make them spread more, which might not be the desired effect.

Silicone in general is overrated. It picks up smells and can get annoyingly greasy.

Originally Posted by redforever

And usually, foods baked on top of silicone don't brown as nice either.

Sure but we're talking about pizza. The silicone mat is only there for a few minutes until the crust starts to cook, then you can easily slide it out and leave the pizza to cook on the stone/steel/rack. Anyway, this has nothing to do with cast iron pizza cooking.

[Shazam]

You gonna buy a silicone mat just for pizza? Regardless, they’re not a direct replacement for parchment. Which means you still gotta buy parchment paper.

[DoubleK]

Originally Posted by Weitz

Chicago deep dish style sucks.

I must have missed the part where someone asked you.

[you&me]

Originally Posted by TherapyforGlencross

So I cooked it last night. Overall pretty good. I used whole peeled tomatoes in a can as the sauce, I thought it added some sweetness to the flavour. I read that diced tomatoes are subpar quality.

However, the pizza did come out a bit messy. Maybe I should have waited for it to cool a bit more before slicing up? Dough cooked fully throughout and I was able to get the bottom crust crispy. Just not sure why it was sloppy. Maybe I added too much sauce, I’ll have to reduce the amount for next time.

Letting things rest can definitely help.

I've found for any baked dish where I'd worry about things being too runny or messy, adding a little flour to the sauce before baking helps the end product stay together better... Works great for lasagna, deep dish pizza, enchiladas, etc

[Maritime Q-Scout]

When I make pizza at home, I always transfer it to a cooling rack before cutting.

Not sure if it helps with the runniness of the toppings, but it does prevent the sweat at the bottom and it getting soggy.

Worth a try.

Also, I totally want to make a Chicago-style Deep Dish. I'm intrigued as it's really different.

[Jacks]

Originally Posted by Shazam

You gonna buy a silicone mat just for pizza? Regardless, they’re not a direct replacement for parchment. Which means you still gotta buy parchment paper.

What are you with a parchment paper lobby group or something?

[Yanda]

You can buy Atlas Pizza sauce in 4L pails to go

[#-3]

The Correct order for Pizza is;

• Lightly brushed olive oil,
• Italian Seasoning mix (maybe some seasoning salt depending on taste, I like my food a little salty).
• Sauce
• Meat Toppings, I'm partial to ground Italian sausage
• Shredded Cheddar/Mozza
• Veggies / Fruit Toppings, I'm partial to red onion, red pepper, and mushrooms.
• Light sprinkling of more flavorful cheeses, sharp, smokey, parmesan, asiago, feta... depending on what matches your pizza. For mine I would normally do Parmesan or Asiago.

If you are seasoning your crust, are you really living?

[opendoor]

Neapolitan pizza is another option with a cast iron pan if you like that style (it's probably my favorite). This is a good way to do it with a pan:

https://www.seriouseats.com/hacker-f...kitchen-recipe

It's super simple in terms of ingredients too; basically just flour/water/yeast/salt for the dough, tomatoes/salt for the sauce, and then fresh mozzarella and whatever other toppings you want. I've made my own mozzarella for it in the past, but any fresh stuff is good.

[Maritime Q-Scout]

Originally Posted by opendoor

Neapolitan pizza is another option with a cast iron pan if you like that style (it's probably my favorite). This is a good way to do it with a pan:

https://www.seriouseats.com/hacker-f...kitchen-recipe

It's super simple in terms of ingredients too; basically just flour/water/yeast/salt for the dough, tomatoes/salt for the sauce, and then fresh mozzarella and whatever other toppings you want. I've made my own mozzarella for it in the past, but any fresh stuff is good.

Oh I'm sorry. But you can't expect to post this without a follow up... do tell.

[Radio]

I've never done it myself but from what I understand mozzarella cheese is one of the easier cheeses to make. It can be made pretty quickly in your fridge.

[opendoor]

Originally Posted by Maritime Q-Scout

Oh I'm sorry. But you can't expect to post this without a follow up... do tell.

As Radio mentioned, fresh mozzarella is really, really simple as far as making cheese goes. You just heat some milk and citric acid, add some rennet, and then let it set. Then you slice it, drain the whey, and shape it into balls. This is the basic idea:

https://www.alphafoodie.com/how-to-m...arella-cheese/

It's great for a lot of things. But in terms of pizza, it mainly works well for Neapolitan style where you have globs of sliced cheese that don't cover the entire top of the pizza. For most other kinds of pizza, you really need dry mozzarella which is way easier to just buy than make because it needs to be aged.

[DoubleK]

Thanks for sharing this. I am in the land of cheap milk, so will definitely give this a go.

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by Jacks

What are you with a parchment paper lobby group or something?

Like i said, silicone mats are overrated and are not a direct replacement.

[Jacks]

Originally Posted by Shazam

Like i said, silicone mats are overrated and are not a direct replacement.

So passionate, I'm just picturing that gum guy from Clerks.
"Silicone mats are the devil, here have some parchment paper"