Quick Weeknight Pizza
I have yet to meet someone that doesn’t eat pizza. With so many crust options and topping choices, pizza seems to be something that can be served to any crowd. However, problems can be found when looking at the cost. Growing up in Germany I remember a small cheese pizza costing around $2-3. In recent years, the lowest priced pizza in stores seems to go for $6, but the norm is more around $8-20 when you go out or order from the big chain pizza places. And on top of that there’s no controlling the exact ingredients or where they were sources from.
To reduce cost and to be able to use the ingredients of my choosing I decided years ago to make pizza at home as often as possible. It is also such a fun activity for the entire family. Making the dough, rolling it out, and then “decorating” it based on your taste that day. It never fails to put smiles on peoples faces.
Sometimes, I make the dough fresh and sometimes I use previously frozen dough. What makes this an easy dish during weeknights is to have premade dough in the freezer. It thaws so fast if you portion it out prior to freezing.
The other day my son really wanted to have a pizza and movie night and since I had frozen dough, canned sauce, and frozen shredded cheese it was an easy and fun dish to put together.
I started by pulling the frozen dough from the freezer to let it thaw for an hour on the countertop. If I know we want pizza I sometimes place the dough in the fridge the night before or in the morning. It slows down any additional fermentation.
About an hour before we want to eat, I set the oven to 500-525 degrees Fahrenheit and place my cast iron sheet on the middle rack to preheat. I had two pizza stones before, but both eventually broke down the middle. I wanted something that could last longer, potentially forever. I much prefer buying something only once. So after a little research I settled on this cast iron stone and am so very happy with it. It heats up to any temperature your oven can handle, never warps, and hasn’t shown any sign of breaking. It’s a workhorse for sure. It’s time to give it a good scrub and work out a few spots that came up from storing it with a damp baking sheet by accident. Learning from mistakes can teach the best lessons at times.
Next, roll out the dough yourself or let a kid do it. I love to see what shape the dough will have when it gets rolled out thin. The uneven form is just one of those special homemade details in my mind. My kid loved doing it when he was little, then had a year or two where he didn’t want to help and now, he’s back to jumping into the kitchen with excitement. So, if your kiddos stop wanting to help, no worries, they might just come back after seeing you do it all the time. It’s also a way to spend time together and create some of those special memories.
Now it’s time for the fun part. Decorating your pizza. I prepare the final step directly on my pizza paddle. I add a little fine cornmeal onto the paddle before I add the pizza crust on top of it. This prevents the dough from sticking and therefore helps to slide the pizza onto the cast iron in the oven. When it comes to your toppings, the sky is the limit here. Add different sauces, such as tomato, barbeque or white sauce, top it with cheese or leave it off, add vegetables and or meats. One of my favorite pizzas growing up was topped with Bolognese sauce and broccoli.
I usually shake my pizza paddle gently over the counter first to check that the pizza is not stuck. Then I give it a quick shake and pull over the cast iron in the oven to transfer the pizza from paddle to cast iron. Since the oven is heated to such a high temperature and the cast iron is really hot at well, the pizzas only bake for about 5 to 7 minutes. You can make it as light or dark as you prefer your pizza. While one pizza is in the oven, I move on to decorating the next. It goes fast once you start and get the hang of it. I hope you get to try this and find it as enjoyable as we do.
