Stuffed Crust Cast Iron Pizza With Smoked Mozzarella Recipes

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.

MOZZARELLA STUFFED CRUST PIZZA

Steps:

• You can make the pizza dough up to 48 hrs before you want to cook the pizza. Warm the milk in a saucepan until steaming but not boiling. In a large bowl combine the flour, yeast, sugar and 1 tsp salt. Add 1/2 tbsp oil to the milk and leave to cool until just warm -when you place a finger in the liquid it should feel body temperature. Pour the liquid into the bowl and either mix with a wooden spoon or food mixer, until the ingredients are well combined. Tip out onto your work surface and knead for 10 mins, or continue mixing in the mixer for 5-7 mins, until you have a smooth and elastic dough. Clean and oil the bowl, return the dough and cover with cling film. Leave somewhere warm to rise for 1-2 hrs, until doubled in size, or place in the fridge for up to 48 hrs.
• Meanwhile, make the sauce. Pour the remaining oil and passata into a saucepan and add the squashed garlic, oregano and a pinch of sugar. Season well and simmer for 5-10 mins, until the sauce is thick. Remove the garlic cloves and set aside until you're ready to assemble the pizza.
• If the dough has been chilled remove from the fridge and leave at room temperature for 1 hr. Dust the work surface with polenta and tip the dough onto it. Punch the dough down to knock out the air bubbles then shape into a disk. Roll out the dough to a pizza base, about 35cm wide. Dust a large baking sheet with polenta and place the dough on top, making sure the dough can move around freely. Use 125g of the mozzarella to create a ring around the outside edge of the pizza base, leaving 1/2cm gap between the edge. Brush a little water inside the mozzarella ring then fold over the outside edge to enclose the mozzarella and create a stuffed crust. Press firmly to stick the dough in place.
• Spoon the sauce over the middle of the base and top with the remaining mozzarella. Scatter with your chosen toppings (save any fresh herbs for scattering over at the end) and brush the stuffed crust with a little oil, then lightly cover with oiled cling film and set aside for 20-30 mins, until the dough has puffed up a little. Meanwhile heat oven to 240C/220C fan/gas 9 with a large baking sheet on the middle shelf to heat up.
• When the oven is hot and the pizza dough has puffed up, quickly open the oven door and slide the pizza onto the hot tray. Shut the door and cook for 15-20 mins, or until bubbling and cooked through. Leave to cool for a few mins before eating.

DEEP-DISH CAST IRON PIZZA

Steps:

• Sprinkle yeast and brown sugar over warm water in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Let stand 5 to 10 minutes until the yeast softens and begins to form a creamy foam.
• Turn mixer to the lowest setting and slowly add 2 cups flour 1/2 cup at a time. Add garlic salt and 1/4 cup butter. Integrate remaining 2 cups flour and knead until dough is smooth and elastic, 5 to 7 minutes.
• Coat a large glass bowl with 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil. Shape dough into a ball and place in bowl, turning to coat all sides with oil. Spray a piece of plastic wrap with cooking spray and loosely cover bowl. Cover bowl with a towel and let rise in a warm area until dough has doubled in size, about 45 minutes. Punch down dough and allow to rest for 20 minutes.
• While dough is resting, heat a skillet over medium heat; cook and stir bulk sausage until browned and crumbly, about 5 minutes. Transfer cooked sausage to a bowl with a slotted spoon, retaining drippings in the skillet. Fry Italian sausage link in drippings until browned and no longer pink in the center, about 10 minutes. Slice sausage.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease a 12-inch cast iron skillet with 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil.
• Press dough into and up the sides of the prepared skillet. Poke holes in dough with a fork to prevent air bubbles. Spread pizza sauce around the base of the crust. Sprinkle 1/3 cup mozzarella cheese over sauce; layer half the bulk sausage, half the sliced sausage, and half the pepperoni over cheese. Repeat the layers of meat. Top with remaining 1/3 cup mozzarella cheese.
• Bake in preheated oven on the bottom rack until crust is golden brown, about 25 minutes. Brush crust with 1 tablespoon butter; season with Italian seasoning and garlic powder. Remove pizza from skillet and let rest for 3 to 5 minutes before slicing.