We survived the holidays! By the time they end every year, I am just so ready to resume routine. Even though I was a little sad to take down our tree and say goodbye to our baby’s first Christmas, I am so happy things are back to normal!
Our New Year’s was expectedly low-key. We celebrated at home with my brother and Nate and Michelle. Kaitlan, Michelle and I were out cold by 11pm so the boys had to celebrate at midnight without us haha!
Over the weekend we finally broke out our cast iron pan to make pizza in. No joke, we’ve had this thing for two years and are just now using it. In our defense, one of the years we owned it we couldn’t even use it because of our old stove, but still, no excuse for the past year. We knew it had to be seasoned, and just never took the time to look up how to do it.
It was seriously so easy. We simply seasoned it by coating it in oil (used grapeseed oil) and slowly brought it up to temp — starting on low, then medium, then high for a couple minutes on each. We then let it cool, washed it with hot water (no soap), and wiped it with a very thin layer of oil to protect it.
For our deep-dish crust )which made enough dough for two crusts for our 12-inch cast iron skillet) we used the following recipe:
- 2¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1¼ cups of warm water (110F)
- ½ teaspoon brown sugar
- 2-3 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons garlic salt
- 2 tablespoons butter (softened or melted)
- Mix together yeast, water, and brown sugar and let rest for 5 minutes.
- If you are using a mixer, add dry ingredients to mixer bowl (flour, garlic salt) and slowly pour in liquid mixture until dough forms using a regular mixing attachment. Once dough starts to form, switch to the dough hook attachment and continue mixing. Dough should be tacky but should not stick to your hands easily. If mixing by hand, add dry ingredients to bowl and slowly pour liquid into center. Working from the outside to center, mix.
- Form into ball and place in a medium/large bowl (mixer bowl is fine). Coat with a bit of oil and cover. Allow to rise for at least 1 hour.
- Punch down dough and remove from bowl. Split into two equally-sized dough balls and roll out to size.
- If you are using a cast iron skillet:
- Preheat oven to 500F.
- Oil skillet and spread out dough on the bottom and up the sides.
- Cook on stove top over medium-heat until the bottom of the dough browns (check every few minutes).
- After browned on the bottom, top with toppings and place in heated oven.
- Cook for at least 10 minutes, checking every few minutes until toppings appear golden brown and done.
So here I am again, a repeat offender of procrastinating on something I want to try or do and putting it off simply because it’s new and I’m either too lazy or intimidated to take the time. Other examples? My sourdough starter, kombucha (still perfecting), beauty regimen, and running hobby just to name a few. I think I found my New Year’s resolution…
Do you cook with cast iron? Any recipes we should definitely try next?
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