pan pizza

The other adult likes to to throw a BYOP - Build Your Own Pizza - party where we have the dough ready - stretched to about 5-inch circle, 2 or 3 different sauces, many different toppings... and a really sizzling grill. Assemble as you please and he will throw it in the grill and cook it for you!

Pizza is a favorite at home, especially because we don't have it every day. None of the store pizzas really manage to satisfy us as the home-made ones - Boboli® crust seems to come close, but only if we are in a real rush... and even then we like to make our own sauce and add toppings.

My favorite is the Neopolitan pizza dough that came with one of my Italian recipes book. But, every once in a while, I like to use the recipe that came with the bread machine - with some modification, of course. I simply throw the ingredients together in the bread machine, set to dough-only cycle, and when it beeps, the dough is ready to be stretched, sauced, topped and baked.

Now the sauce varies depending on the mood and ingredients handy (so what's new, right?). Sometimes it is pesto, sometimes it is garlic sauce, but, usually tomato sauce.

What I like about this recipe is that the cast-iron skillet makes the crust really tasty - crisp on the outside, soft, fluffy and chewy on the inside. Also, the gluten gives the texture we like so much... of course, this recipe is not for all - especially people who are restricted to gluten-free diets - in which case, simply substitute gluten with the flour of your choice.

Ingredients:
for the dough:
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup water
½ cup vital wheat gluten
2 cups flour (I like a mixture of unbleached all-purpose and wheat flours)
2½ tsp rapid rise dry yeast
optional: stir in some grated Parmesan and dry herbs

for the tomato sauce:
1 can tomato paste
1 tsp dry oregano leaves
1 tsp dry marjoram leaves
1 tsp dry basil leaves
2 garlic cloves minced
salt to taste
(or, any other favorite herbs and spices)

for the toppings:
sun dried tomatoes, capers, pineapple, pickled jalapeño rings, pepperoncini, artichoke hearts, olives - anything is fine - maybe some soy sausage chunks, some spinach, feta, mozarella or even brie...

Preparation

Combine the ingredients in the bread machine and follow directions to set it to dough-only cycle.

Heat oven or grill to 400°F; grease one or two cast-iron skillet(s) and keep handy

combine the sauce ingredients with a little water at a time and simmer over medium-low till desired thick consistency

when dough is ready divide it into two portions - freeze one portion for later use, or, if two cast-iron skillets are handy simply stretch the dough into the skillet and leave it to rest for about 15 minutes

spread some sauce, add your favorite toppings; I prefer very little cheese so I just add a little crumbled feta, or little chunks of mozarella or brie that just melts and "seals" the toppings

bake in 400° oven/grill for about 20 mins, check about 15 minutes in