There are hundreds of pizza videos out there covering every conceivable kind and flavor of pizza. Some are actually good and many others are just garbage time. Recently there has been a flurry of 'upside down' pizzas with advocates claiming they are the best ever. For now I am going to call bull shit on this one, it is hard enough to make a good pizza without doing it backwards.
I have been making pizza for over 50 years and occasionally get one right but still am no expert. I am however, better than I was last year so I am making some progress. When I left in November for my winter quarters I failed to bring my peel and my pizza steel thinking perhaps I could just use my favorite decades old cookie sheet. I didn't like the results so the next attempt was with a big cast iron skillet. It tasted good, all the flavors were there but it just wasn't good pizza. But I saw hope and assumed that some better oven management was on order to get the desired results.
Then I started watching vids on making cast iron pizza and must have watched at least 25 of them trying to sort out best practices from someone just hoping to get a few views on YouTube. It didn't take long to separate good technique from someone throwing a bunch of toppings on some dough and hoping for the best. I made the best possible dough I could and cold fermented it for 24 hours. It was superb! Light and airy inside but crisp outside it had remarkably good flavor. The pizza was formed in the skillet in a pool of EVOO and given enough time to relax right out to the edge of the pan without shrinking. I found some Italian pizza sauce that is really good and was generous with it then added a generous amount of pizza seasoning, garlic and Aleppo pepper. Instead of Mozzarella I used Fontina cheese with just a small amount of Mozz and some Parmesan. The meat was Italian sausage that I cooked enough to remove the pink before adding. Into the oven at 500 degrees for about 12 minutes finished the top to absolute perfection, the bottom was heated on the stove top for about 2 minutes.
The net result was one of the best I have ever made of any type. I ate half of it on Saturday with an ale and the other half on Sunday with a glass of wine. Reheated in the air fryer it was even better the 2nd day. I am anxious to see if I can duplicate it on the next attempt, I will use the same exact ingredients in what I hope is the same proportion and hope for the best.
I have been making pizza for over 50 years and occasionally get one right but still am no expert. I am however, better than I was last year so I am making some progress. When I left in November for my winter quarters I failed to bring my peel and my pizza steel thinking perhaps I could just use my favorite decades old cookie sheet. I didn't like the results so the next attempt was with a big cast iron skillet. It tasted good, all the flavors were there but it just wasn't good pizza. But I saw hope and assumed that some better oven management was on order to get the desired results.
Then I started watching vids on making cast iron pizza and must have watched at least 25 of them trying to sort out best practices from someone just hoping to get a few views on YouTube. It didn't take long to separate good technique from someone throwing a bunch of toppings on some dough and hoping for the best. I made the best possible dough I could and cold fermented it for 24 hours. It was superb! Light and airy inside but crisp outside it had remarkably good flavor. The pizza was formed in the skillet in a pool of EVOO and given enough time to relax right out to the edge of the pan without shrinking. I found some Italian pizza sauce that is really good and was generous with it then added a generous amount of pizza seasoning, garlic and Aleppo pepper. Instead of Mozzarella I used Fontina cheese with just a small amount of Mozz and some Parmesan. The meat was Italian sausage that I cooked enough to remove the pink before adding. Into the oven at 500 degrees for about 12 minutes finished the top to absolute perfection, the bottom was heated on the stove top for about 2 minutes.
The net result was one of the best I have ever made of any type. I ate half of it on Saturday with an ale and the other half on Sunday with a glass of wine. Reheated in the air fryer it was even better the 2nd day. I am anxious to see if I can duplicate it on the next attempt, I will use the same exact ingredients in what I hope is the same proportion and hope for the best.
