Skillet Pizza

The other night, I had a craving for homemade pizza... but I didn't have any dough.

Which is usually enough to dissuade me from making pizza, because I hate making my own dough.

I don't know about you, but yeast and I have never gotten along real well.  I pretty much avoid it at all costs.

Plus, it takes too long to let the dough rise.  After a long day at work, I don't have time for those shenanigans. 

Recently I signed up for a year's subscription to Cook's Country online, so I checked their website for any homemade pizza recipes that didn't take all night to make.

There I found this recipe that uses a very interesting ingredient - beer.  Apparently, it gives the taste of a yeast bread, but without all the work.

I was definitely on board for that.  Not to mention the fact that it was made in a skillet, which was very intriguing (apparently, I'm on a roll lately with the skillet dinners?)

I must say, the result was pretty awesome.  Mr. V and I both enjoyed the twist on traditional pizza, as without the yeast the dough is very thin and cracker-like.

It was also nice to have two personal pizzas so I could put some different toppings on mine... like feta cheese & roasted red peppers.  Mmm :)

Skillet Pizza

Dough

• 1 C. flour
• 1/2 t. baking powder
• 1/2 t. sugar
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1/3 C. beer (rich, brown ale is recommended but I used Yuengling)
• 1 T. olive oil (plus 4 T. more, for cooking)

Toppings

• 1/2 C. tomato sauce
• 1 C. mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 3 T. parmesan cheese, freshly grated
• any toppings of your choice - pepperoni, olives, roasted red peppers, cooked sausage, spinach, etc.

Combine flour, baking powder, sugar & salt in food processor.  With processor running, slowly add beer and 1 T. olive oil.  Process until dough pulls away from sides & shaggy ball forms, about 1 minute.  Using floured hands, form dough into tight ball & cover loosely with plastic wrap.  Let rest 10 minutes.  (Dough can also be wrapped tightly and frozen for up to 1 week).

Divide dough in half. On lightly floured surface with floured rolling pin, roll each half into very thin 9-inch round. Heat 2 T. olive oil in 10" nonstick skillet over medium heat until just smoking. Transfer one dough round to skillet and cook, poking any air bubbles that form with fork, until bottom is deep golden brown and crisp, 3 to 4 minutes.

Flip dough and cover with 1/4 C. of sauce and half of cheeses/toppings. Reduce heat to low and cook, covered, until second side is crisp and cheeses have melted, about 5 minutes. Transfer pizza to cutting board. Wipe out pan and repeat with remaining oil, dough, and toppings. Slice into wedges. Serve.

Makes two 9" pizzas. 

Recipe Adapted from Cook's Country