Foolproof Pan Pizza

Fantastic crust: crispy bottom and edges, chewy interior and surprisingly light despite its thickness.

I scaled the recipe up to fit my 12” pans “ easy to do when ingredient weights are provided “ and allowed the full 24 hour fermentation period. The dough was much more elastic than I expected a no-knead dough to be so once it was in the prepared pans, I had to allow ~5minutes for the gluten to relax enough before I could actually push/pull/stretch it to the edges. The topping amounts for the 10” pans (sauce & cheese) were generous even for the larger size so that’s all I used, adding some turkey pepperoni and token green pepper slices.

My oven is a little temperamental at 550F and tends to switch to broil on a whim so I baked the pizzas at 525F. Both cast iron and non-stick skillet pizzas were done in 18min and produced beautiful golden crusts.

Though the recipe doesn’t require much hands-on time, it does involve some advance planning: not only does the dough need to ferment for at least 8 hours, but the shaped crusts need to proof for 2 hours before topping and baking.

This is the best homemade thick and chewy crust I’ve ever had and will be the recipe I turn to when that’s what I’m in the mood for.