Over the past few years, I've been honing my techniques and ingredients in pursuit of the perfect pizza. I don't think I've achieved perfection yet, but there are 5 things I've learned so far that have greatly improved my results. Here they are!
1- Heat
Preheat cast iron skillets at 500 degrees.
I turn the oven on to 500 degrees and place 2 cast iron skillets in the oven to preheat at the same time.
The combination of high heat plus using the cast iron skillets creates an evenly cooked crust with a crisp bottom. Because the pan is already hot when the dough hits it, I don't have any problems with sticking.
2- Dough
Stretch the dough- don't roll it.
I use this sourdough pizza crust recipe halved. Half of her recipe will make enough dough for 2 pizzas in a 12 inch skillet.
After the oven (with the pans) has preheated to 500 degrees, it's time to assemble the pizzas. I have found that stretching the dough balls into a circle by hand rather than rolling them with a rolling pin, yields a fluffy and bubbly crust, because air bubbles don't get pressed out by the rolling pin.
The crust begins to cook and bubble up as soon as it hits the hot pan, so I work quickly to get the toppings on.
3- Sauce
Freeze pizza sauce in ice cube trays.
Since I don't use a whole jar of pizza sauce at one time, I freeze the rest in ice cube trays. Each pizza uses 1-2 "ice cubes" of pizza sauce.
4- Meat
Use Lindy's pasture raised Italian sausage.
This was a game changer because it made my homemade pizza taste like restaurant style pizza- but made with clean ingredients. Lindy's pasture raised Italian sausage has no MSG, artificial flavors, or preservatives. The ingredients are: pork, bay leaf, garlic, paprika, thyme, red pepper, fennel, black pepper, and salt. I crumble and brown it in a pan, then freeze any leftovers.
5- Cheese
Use jack or cheddar instead of mozzarella.
While mozzarella is the standard pizza cheese, we have not had good success with it. Using a block of mozzarella that I shredded myself yielded a tough mat of cheese that pulled from the pizza when we ate it. Fresh mozzarella was too watery. I have had the best success with monterey jack and/or cheddar. It's melty, stretchy, and turns golden without getting tough like mozzarella.
After the pizza is assembled, slide the skillet back in the oven at 500 degrees. Watch carefully and remove when the cheese begins to turn golden. It doesn't take long for it to bake, probably only 5-10 minutes!
There you have it! I hope this helps you have a more satisfying family pizza night. Let me know what tricks you have found for your own homemade pizza!