No-oven skillet pizza

Edited 11-24-14: I have worked on this recipe some more because we use it constantly. Here are some improvements. If you like thicker crust pizza then you need to turn down the heat a bit. I have also been pressing out the dough on a piece of parchment paper and transferring the whole parchment paper onto the skillet. This keeps the bottom from getting too dark. When I do the flip, I remove the paper. Enjoy!
 
Before you discount this recipe just based on the title and what your personal pizza prejudices are, I dare you to try it. Honestly, I may never make pizza in the oven again. This was that good.  I started out by Googling "stove top pizza" because my galley oven is broken and we have yet to find the pieces to fix it. I ended up on the Pizza Lab's site and starting out with his idea I began to modify things for my own taste. Give it a shot and I promise you won't be disappointed!

Ingredients:

Pizza Dough Recipe: The recipe at this link is for 3 pretty large pizzas in the 14" range, depending on how thin you make it. I made 3/4 of this recipe and divided the raised dough in 4 balls and made 4 pizzas the size of the bottom of my cast iron skillet. It's really important to start out with a good dough recipe and this is the best one I've ever used.

Pizza sauce, small jar
Mozzarella or pizza 4-cheese mix grated, 8 oz
Pepperoni or whatever other toppings you like.




Directions:

Make the dough per the recipe. After it rises, divide it into 4 or 5 balls and set them aside. You need the heaviest skillet you have and I have found that cast iron works the best. Heat the skillet to 500°. This is very important. Check it with a digital thermometer - the laser type that we keep on the boat to check the engine temp is what I use. If the temp isn't evenly 500° over the skillet bottom, turn the pan until it's fairly even. The way that my burners are set up on my galley stove, the skillet can't quite get over the middle of the flame without bumping into the rails around the stove top so I have to turn mine frequently. When the skillet is almost ready, press one of the balls into a circle a little larger than the bottom of your skillet. The dough will shrink back as soon as it settles in the pan so you need to make it slightly larger than that diameter.

While you are waiting for the skillet to heat, heat up your sauce and toppings. If you're using veggies, saute them and keep them warm. If you're using pepperoni, toss it in a small skillet and heat it up till it just starts to crisp. Keep the toppings warm.








Once the skillet is hot, place it on a heat diffuser. Oil the skillet with olive oil and gently lower the circle of dough onto the skillet. Turn the skillet periodically to even the heat. Check the bottom of the crust with a spatula. It should take several minutes for the crust to  become golden brown and for bubbles to appear in the dough on the top.

Brush the top with olive oil and flip it over. Cook it for a few minutes until the places touching the skillet become golden brown and the remainder is no longer doughy.

Flip it back over, spread with your sauce, cheese, and toppings. Immediately turn the burner down to low and cover the skillet with foil or a lid that has a vent hole in it.

Let it cook a few more minutes until the cheese melts and the bottom is crispy but not burned. This recipe makes fantastic crispy crust, chewy inside pizza that is as good as any pizza shop!