Stuffed Crust Cast Iron Pizza With Smoked Mozzarella Recipes

CHRISTINA'S STUFFED-CRUST PEPPERONI AND MUSHROOM PIZZA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F
• To make the crust: Stir the water, 1 tablespoon of the sugar, and the yeast together in a small bowl. Let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the milk in a small saucepan. Remove from heat, add the butter, and stir until melted.
• In a large bowl, stir together the flour, cornmeal, remaining sugar, egg, milk mixture, yeast mixture, and salt until a soft dough forms. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth, adding flour as needed if dough is sticky, about 10 minutes. Clean the bowl and coat it generously with olive oil. Form the dough into a ball, put it in the bowl and cover with a kitchen towel. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
• Punch the dough down and let rest for 10 minutes.
• Cut the mozzarella into sticks about 3 by 3/4 by 3/4-inches. Sprinkle a large baking sheet with cornmeal. Place the dough on the baking sheet and stretch it into a 15-inch circle.
• Arrange the mozzarella sticks around the dough about 1-inch in from the edge, then roll the dough over the cheese to form the stuffed rim.
• To make the topping: Stir the sugar into the marinara sauce and spread onto the pizza dough. Scatter with the stewed tomatoes, then the mozzarella. Add the onions, mushrooms, and pepperoni. Sprinkle with basil and oregano.
• Bake until crust is golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Cut into wedges and serve immediately.

STUFFED CRUST CAST-IRON PIZZA WITH SMOKED MOZZARELLA

Steps:

• For the dough: Combine the bread flour, 00 flour, salt and yeast in a mixer with a hook attachment. Whisk together the water and honey. Turn the mixer to medium speed and slowly add the honey-water mixture and olive oil. The dough will come together when a ball is formed and pulls cleanly from the sides of the mixing bowl. If the dough is too wet, simply add a touch more flour until it pulls cleanly.
• Grease the inside of a large bowl or deep container with cooking spray. Add the dough to the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Place in a warm area until the dough doubles in size, 60 to 90 minutes. The dough can be refrigerated until ready to use, with a damp cloth over it.
• For the sauce: In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the chile flakes and garlic and cook until the garlic softens, about 1 minute. Add the tomato puree and basil sprigs. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Let cool completely in the fridge. Remove the basil from the sauce before using.
• For the crust: Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Prepare a 12-inch cast-iron pan by greasing the interior with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil.
• Divide the dough into 2 portions and roll out 1 portion on a floured surface, making a round sheet roughly 14 inches wide. (Wrap the other dough portion in plastic wrap and freeze for another use.) Place the dough sheet over the greased pan, lightly pressing the interior corners into the pan to prevent pockets. Place the strips of smoked mozzarella around the interior of the pan, making a circle with the strips along the entire edge. Cut the dough approximately 1 inch above the level of the cheese. Roll the dough over the cheese, lightly tucking the edges underneath to form a stuffed crust. Brush the stuffed crust with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil.
• For the toppings: Ladle the sauce into the center of the pizza, creating a thin layer that barely covers the pizza. Finish by topping with the torn mozzarella, olives, and onions.
• Place the pizza pan over medium heat and cook until the bottom of the crust begins to brown lightly, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to the oven and bake until the crust is golden brown and the center is bubbly, about 20 minutes.
• Use a large metal spatula to remove the pizza, then top with the torn basil and a drizzle of olive oil. Allow it to cool for 10 minutes, then cut into portions and serve.

MOZZARELLA STICK STUFFED CRUST PIZZA

Steps:

• For the pizza: Put the pizza dough in a large bowl and coat with the oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit in a warm place until slightly puffy and at room temperature, about 30 minutes.
• Spread the butter all over the inside of a metal 8-by-8-inch baking pan and put the dough in the middle. Starting from the middle of the dough, and using your fingertips, push the dough out to the corners of the pan and all the way up the sides.
• Make a pepperoni border (slightly overlapping the meat) around the bottom edge of the dough (about 8 pepperonis per side). Put 1 cheese stick on top of the pepperoni on each side, then fold down the dough from the edges of the pan to cover them. Push the dough with the pepperoni and cheese inside back tightly against the sides of the pan. Seal the dough around the pepperoni and cheese by pressing and pinching the dough together. You now have a stuffed crust. Cover the dough in the bottom of the pan (but not the crust) with the remaining pepperoni.
• Pull each of the remaining 4 cheese sticks into 4 long pieces. Put half the cheese pieces evenly on top of the crust along the edges of the dough so that they are touching the sides of the pan. Put the remaining cheese pieces over the pepperoni in the middle. Sprinkle the entire pizza with Parmesan. Cover with plastic wrap and keep in a warm place until puffy, about 30 minutes.
• Position an oven rack in the bottom third of the oven, put a baking sheet on the rack and preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Put the pizza on the preheated baking sheet and bake until edges are dark golden and the cheese is melted and bubbling, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make the meat sauce: Heat the oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the sausage and cook, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, until lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic, bell pepper and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the moisture has evaporated from the pan and the onion is soft, about 3 minutes. Add the tomato paste, 3/4 cup water, a pinch each of red pepper flakes and salt and several grinds of black pepper. Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, uncovered, stirring often, until thick, about 5 minutes.
• Remove the pizza from the oven and loosen the sides and bottoms from the pan with a metal spatula. Slide the pizza onto a cutting board and spoon the sauce in the center of the pizza. Sprinkle with more Parmesan and cut into squares for serving.

EASY CAST-IRON SKILLET PIZZA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• Brush a 12-inch (30.5-centimeter) cast-iron skillet with 1 tablespoon of the oil.
• Mix the yogurt, flour and salt together in a medium bowl with your hands until it becomes a ball, then flatten into a disk and press into the skillet.
• Brush the pizza dough with the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil. Spread the pizza sauce over the dough, leaving a 1-inch (2.5 centimeter) border around the sides, for the crust. Sprinkle the cheeses evenly over the sauce. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until bubbly and lightly browned, then let cool in the pan for 3 minutes.
• Carefully slide the pizza out onto a cutting board. Top with more grated Parmesan, slice and serve.