Margherita Pan Pizza

The September Issue of Cooking Light has a super yummy looking pizza on the front. The pizza shown was a Deep Dish Mushroom and Onion Pizza but the photo made me think of pan pizzas I used to love as a kid.

So I decided to try to make my own in my cast iron pan (paid link) but give it a more “grown up” twist by making a Margherita Pan Pizza.

The result was a nice thick and chewy crust with the perfect amount of tangy tomato sauce, creamy melted mozzarella, and fresh basil!

Ingredients:

For the dough:

• 2 cups flour
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh active yeast
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup warm water (100-110 degrees F)

For the tomato sauce:

• 1 (15 oz) can tomato puree
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 bay leaf
• salt and pepper, to taste

Toppings:

• 8 oz mozzarella cheese, sliced
• 3 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped or julienned

To make the dough for your Margherita Pan Pizza, add the flour, yeast, sugar, salt, olive oil to a large bowl.

Heat your water to between 100 degrees F and 110 degrees F, then pour into the bowl. (Using an instant read thermometer – paid link – is helpful here.)

Mix to combine until it forms a sticky ball of dough.

Cover with a cloth and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour. It will puff up quite a bit over that time!

When you’re ready to make the pizza, preheat your oven to 525 degrees F.

While waiting for the oven to preheat, add the ingredients for the sauce (tomato puree, basil, parsley, oregano, onion powder, garlic powder, bay leaf, salt, pepper) into a small pot.

Stir to combine, bring to a simmer, cover, and cook for 10 minutes.

Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to your cast iron pan, coating the pan evenly using a brush (paid link).

Add the dough to the pan, pushing it out into a disk so that it evenly fills the bottom of the pan. (It’s ok if it doesn’t actually touch the sides, it will rise and fill the pan when baking).

When the pizza sauce is finished, top the dough with the sauce. (I use the whole thing, if you prefer less sauce, add as much or as little as you like). You can add ingredients all the way to the edges. There will be plenty of crust underneath!

Top the sauce with the mozzarella slices.

Add to the oven and cook for 20 minutes.

Carefully remove the Margherita Pan Pizza from the oven and top with the fresh basil.

The pizza crust is SO good. It crisps up on the edges and bottom in the olive oil but stays light and doughy in the middle.

This simple tomato sauce has nice flavor without the sugar that store bought tomato sauces add in.

The mozzarella melts perfectly into the sauce and the basil adds some freshness to the pizza.

I’ve already made this twice and I think it is going to be a staple in our house!

You can easily customize this pizza to fit your tastes. Add some veggies, pepperoni, different cheeses — go crazy!

Print

Margherita Pan Pizza

A grown up twist on a childhood favorite! Pan pizza made in a cast iron pan, topped with tomato sauce, mozzarella, and fresh basil

Course Main Course

Keyword Basil, Margherita, Mozzarella, Pan Pizza, Pizza

Prep Time 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 40 minutes minutes

Servings 8 servings

Author Kaitlin @ I Can Cook That

Ingredients

For the dough:

• 2 cups flour
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh active yeast
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup warm water 100-110 degrees F

For the tomato sauce:

• 1 15 oz can tomato puree
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 bay leaf
• salt and pepper to taste

Toppings:

• 8 oz mozzarella cheese sliced
• 3 tablespoons fresh basil chopped or julienned

Instructions

• To make the dough for your Margherita Pan Pizza, add the flour, yeast, sugar, salt, olive oil to a large bowl.
• Heat your water to between 100 degrees F and 110 degrees F, then pour into the bowl.
• Mix to combine until it forms a sticky ball of dough.
• Cover with a cloth and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour. It will puff up quite a bit over that time!
• When you’re ready to make the pizza, preheat your oven to 525 degrees F.
• While waiting for the oven to preheat, add the ingredients for the sauce (tomato puree, basil, parsley, oregano, onion powder, garlic powder, bay leaf, salt, pepper) into a small pot.
• Stir to combine, bring to a simmer, cover, and cook for 10 minutes.
• Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to your cast iron pan, coating the pan evenly using a brush.
• Add the dough to the pan, pushing it out into a disk so that it evenly fills the bottom of the pan. (It’s ok if it doesn’t actually touch the sides, it will rise and fill the pan when baking).
• When the pizza sauce is finished, top the dough with the sauce. (I use the whole thing, if you prefer less sauce, add as much or as little as you like). You can add ingredients all the way to the edges. There will be plenty of crust underneath!
• Top the sauce with the mozzarella slices.
• Add to the oven and cook for 20 minutes.
• Carefully remove the Margherita Pan Pizza from the oven and top with the fresh basil.

Notes

If you make this recipe, share a photo on Instagram and tag me @icancookthat!

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