Deep Dish Pizza

I made my very first deep dish pizza the other night.

I used my 12″ Lodge Cast Iron skillet and pre-made pizza dough.

After I did that (see picture above) with my dough, I looked at Griffin’s Grub’s blog and saw that he says not to do that.

Griffin specifically writes, “That’s it, don’t shape the dough, don’t knead it, don’t stretch it out. It will do that on its own.”

Once again, I didn’t follow directions.

I used my fist to spread out the dough.

I lightly brushed the crust with olive oil and 2 cloves of minced garlic before adding the cheese:

I used a combination of Gruyère and Manchego.

The toppings are all up to you — add as much or as little of your favorite toppings.

I used pepperoni, kalamata olives, and sautéed onions and shiitake mushrooms:

If you are using a red sauce, now is the time to add it. I had every intention of adding a red sauce, but I came home from the store without the necessary ingredients.

It happens.

Last but not least, top it off with more cheese. I started with goat cheese:

And then piled on some more Gruyère:

Cook in a 425F oven (or grill) for about 30 minutes.

The crust was golden brown:

And the inside was deliciously gooey.

Like I said, this was my first attempt and although it wasn’t perfect, it was tasty and a great learning experience.

Maybe I’ll add tomato sauce next time, but to be honest, we didn’t miss it.

HERE is a link to Griffin’s Deep Dish Pizza and a recipe for the dough he makes.