Sarah found this recipe a few days ago, and we’ve been drooling about it ever since.
We don’t have two round 10-inch cast iron skillets, but we do have a 10.5-inch squarish one. Since the recipe is intended for 2 10-inch cast iron skillets, and the area of a rectangle is l×w (or l2 for a square) and the area of a circle is πr2, the ingredient downscale factor can be expressed thusly:
( 10.52 / 2( π(10/2)2 ) ≈ 71%
Thanks, Mr. Birch, for 9th grade algebra, and Mr. Krumwiede, for 10th grade geometry.
Ingredients
281 g bread flour
7 g kosher salt, plus more for sprinkling
12 g instant yeast (about 2 packets of German instant yeast)
193 g water
6 g (a little less than a tablespoon) Extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for coating
1/2 recipe pizza sauce
240 g Full-fat, dry mozzarella cheese
Other topings striking your fancy
1 small handfull torn fresh basil leaves
40 g grated parmesan or pecorino romano cheese
*Yeast note: Empirical evidence suggests that German instant yeast is wimpy. So in American recipes, I have begun to quadruple the amount of yeast it calls for. That’s where the 12 grams comes from here.
Combine flour, yeast, water, and oil in a large bowl. Mix with a wooden spoon until no dry flour remains — I read about an enzyme on some people’s hands that inhibits the yeast metabolism and wonder if I am the source of my low-rise breads. The bowl should be at least 4 to 6 times to volume of the dough to account for rising. Not that my dough ever rises as much as it should.
Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap, making sure that edges are well-sealed, then let rest in a warm place for at least 8 hours and up to 24. Dough should rise dramatically and fill bowl. Then add in the salt and work it in thoroughly. I read somewhere else that salt inhibits yeast metabolism. Or maybe I have salty, enzymey hands.
Form the dough into a ball by holding it with well-floured hands and tucking the dough underneath itself, rotating it until it forms a tight ball. Or as close as you can get it — this is a high-hydration recipe, so it’s going to be gloopy.
Pour 1 to 2 teaspoons of oil in the bottom of a 10.5-inch square cast iron skillet. Place the ball of dough into the pan and turn to coat evenly with oil. Using a flat palm, press the dough around the pan, flattening it slightly and spreading oil around the entire bottom and edges of the pan. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let the dough sit at room temperature for two hours. After the first hour, adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat oven to 550°F, or as close as you can get it. Ours only goes to 250°C (482°F).
After two hours, dough should be mostly filling in the pan up to the edges. Use your fingertips to press it around until it fills in every corner, popping any large bubbles that appear. Lift up one edge of the dough to let any air bubbles underneath escape and repeat, moving around the dough until there are no air bubbles left underneath and the dough is evenly spread around the pan.
Top the dough with 3/4 cup sauce, spreading the sauce with the back of a spoon into every corner. Spread evenly with mozzarella cheese, letting the cheese go all the way to the edges. Season with salt. Add other toppings as desired. Drizzle with olive oil and scatter a few basil leaves over the top (if desired)
Transfer pan to oven and bake until top is golden brown and bubbly and bottom is golden brown and crisp when you lift it with a thin spatula, 12 to 15 minutes. Immediately sprinkle with grated parmesan or pecorino Romano cheese. Using a thin spatula, loosen pizza and transfer to a cutting board (it should loosen and slide out with little effort). Cut into slices and serve immediately.
