Mangia Bene Pasta
Skillet Fried Pizza
Although you can make skillet-fried pizzas with store-bought pizza dough, here is an easy recipe for pizza dough.
You will need about 2 hours for the dough to rise before making the pizzas. I prefer using bread flour for a more
elastic dough but you can also use all-purpose flour. Note that the sauce and toppings should be warm since they
will only have a few minutes on the crust to heat while the cheese melts.
Dough:
2 cups all-purpose or bread flour
1 teaspoon rapid-rise yeast
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 to 3/4 cup water
3 tablespoons olive oil
Toppings:
About 2 cups pizza sauce or Traditional Tomato Sauce, heated
Shredded mozzarella cheese
Your choice of optional toppings: Pepperoni slices, prosciutto slices, crumbled cooked
meatballs, dried oregano, sauteed garlic slices, fresh basil, or your favorite pizza topping
For frying:
Olive oil
To make the pizza dough:
In a food processor, combine the flour, yeast, salt and sugar.
With the machine running, add 1/2 cup of water and the olive oil through the feed tube.
Process for 15-20 seconds, adding more water a little at a time, until the mixture forms into a ball.
If the dough seems to sticky, add a little more flour.
Transfer the dough to a lightly-floured surface.
Knead a few times just to get a smooth dough.
Grease a bowl with a little olive oil and transfer the dough to the bowl.
Turn once to coat all sides with the oil.
Cover the bowl and let rise until double in volume, 1-1/2 to 2 hours.
Punch down the dough and place it in a lightly-floured surface.
Divide the dough into 4 pieces.
Cover and allow to rest for 20 minutes.
When ready to cook, press each piece of dough into a round disk.
Roll into a 10-inch round.
Heat a 10-inch skillet over medium heat.
Add just enough olive oil to form a light film over the entire bottom of the skillet.
When the oil is hot, place one of the dough rounds into the skillet.
Adjust the heat so that the dough browns evenly without burning.
If large bubbles form in the dough, press them down with a spatula.
Cook the dough for 3-4 minutes until evenly browned.
Remove the skillet from the heat and turn the dough over.
Add the sauce, cheese, and your choice of toppings.
Return the skillet to the heat and cover the skillet. (See note below)
Continue cooking until the bottom of the dough is browned and the cheese on top is melted.
Remove the pizza and repeat with the remaining dough.
Note: If you have toppings that you would like to brown and crisp,
place the pizza under a broiler for a few minutes. Be sure that you have a skillet
that can take the high heat of the broiler.
Makes 4 (10-inch) pizzas