Crispy pizza crust is so satisfying. It’s essential if I’m going to give a pie a gold star, especially if we’re talking about the thick crust style, with the dough battling the toppings for a starring role.
The beauty of this little pizza, made in a piping hot cast-iron skillet, is that you can have it ready in less time than ordering takeout. And, because you’re making the pizza at home, it doesn’t get softened by delivery-box steam.
I looked at many variations of cast-iron skillet pizza, settling on one that I adapted below. (The original version called for whole wheat dough and kale.) I opted for easy-to-find store-bought white dough. I kept the 500-degree cast-iron skillet and fairly dry toppings. It baked in 15 minutes.
Pizza dough is easy enough to make at home. (Read how in my colleague Becky Krystal’s pizza primer: How to master homemade pizza, from crust to toppings.) The pizza dough you’ll get will be superlative, but you’ll be adding many more minutes to the recipe preparation. Lots of folks make their dough in advance and store it in the refrigerator or freezer, so it is ready to roll when they walk in the door at 7 p.m. on a weeknight.
Otherwise, look for a ready-to-bake dough at your grocery store. You can use the pop-open-can brands like Pillsbury. Or, try dough made at grocery stores, such as Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s. You also can swing by your local pizzeria on your way home and see if they’ll sell you a ball of dough — some parlors are happy to do that.
Keep in mind, though, that the golden key to unlock the crunch in this recipe is the blazing hot cast-iron skillet. When the raw dough hits the hot metal, it almost immediately begins forming a crust.
The other key to that crunch is to keep the toppings mostly dry. Rather than a sauce, this recipe calls for diced, fire-roasted canned tomatoes that are drained. Because the pizza cooks at such a high temperature, it’s important to layer the ingredients as directed, start with tomatoes, then layer cheese, sausage, cheese, sausage. Do not end with cheese on top because it will burn at that high heat.
The 12-inch cast iron skillet heats up in a 500-degree oven while you prepare the toppings, so it is essential to be prepared. Gather everything you’ll need to protect your hands (sturdy oven mitts) and your counters (a heatproof surface, such as cookie rack) before pulling that hot pan out of the oven.
Don’t have a cast-iron skillet or just don’t want to deal with that heavy, hot metal? You can still make a quick, delicious pizza. In addition to the cast-iron method, we also tested this recipe using a lightly oiled sheet pan. We baked our pizza at 375 degrees for 35 minutes. It wasn’t as crunchy or deep-dish, of course, but we still had a delicious dinner on the table in, well, minutes.
