Skillet Pizza

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I finally have found a homemade pizza recipe that I love! I have made many 'homemade' pizzas in the past using store bought crusts and have made pizza dough a couple of times too. Making pizza dough presents two problems for me: 1) our family prefers a thin crust and most of the pizza dough recipes make a thicker crust, and 2) it generally requires the use of yeast which is an ingredient I have not mastered.

This recipe includes making the dough from scratch but does not involve yeast. Yay! The yeasty flavor comes from beer. No rising, no punching down, just a quick whirl in the food processor and a rolling out and you have delicious dough. I could not believe how the beer really added a hit of yeasty aroma and flavor. The crust is the perfect thinness and is crusty and delicious.

I followed the recipe below for the toppings and added a bit of fried pancetta (kind of a BBT pizza Bacon Basil Tomato) and it was a great light supper. I am anxious to make this again using different toppings. You could definately add your favorite sauce to the pizza, but I really enjoyed it as is.

I suspect we will be having a lot more homemade pizza in our house with this gem of a recipe!

Skillet Pizza

Cook's Country, August/September 2008

Toppings

4 medium plum tomatoes

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup finely chopped fresh basil

Dough

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup beer

7 tablespoons olive oil

For the toppings:

Toss tomatoes and salt in large bowl, then transfer to paper towel-lined plate; let drain 15 minutes. Combine cheeses and basil in medium bowl, refrigerate while preparing dough. To save time, combine the cheeses and prepare the dough while the salted tomatoes are draining.

For the dough:

Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in food processor. With processor running, slowly add beer and 1 tablespoon oil, and process until dough pulls away from the sides and froms a shaggy ball, about 1 minutes. Using floured hands, form dough into tight ball and cover loosely with plastic wrap; let rest 10 minutes. (Dough can be wrapped tightly in plastic and frozen for up to 1 week.)

Divide dough in half. On lightly floured surface, roll each half into very thin 9-inch round. Heat 3 tablespoons oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat until just smoking. Transfer one dough round to skillet and cook, poking any bubbles that form with a fork, until bottom is deep golden brown and crisp, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip dough with tongs, and sprinkle half of the drained tomatoes and half of the cheese mixture. Reduce heat to low and cook, covered, until second side is crisp and cheeses have melted, about 5 minutes. Transfer pizza to cutting board. Wipe out pan and repeat with remaining dough, oil, and toppings. Sliceinto wedges. When popping the bubbles in the dough, do so gently to avoid scratching the nonstick pan.