Cast-iron pan pizza: three minutes on the hob before the oven

01Abstract

Three 300 g dough balls were pressed into a 12 in skillet with 12 g of grapeseed oil and baked at 250 °C with toppings. One started in a cold pan, one had 3 minutes on the hob at medium-high before the oven, and one had 6 minutes. Base crispness, browning and centre doneness were compared; only the 3 minute version had a crisp base with no burnt spots.

02Variables

Hypothesis A skillet pizza gets its crisp base from the hob minute before the oven, not from the oven heat alone, because the iron is the only surface heating the dough from below.

03Process

1. Bring the dough to room temperature for 2 hours. Cold dough springs back and will not stay pressed to the rim.
2. Put 12 g of grapeseed oil in the cold skillet, set the dough in, and press it outwards from the centre with your fingertips until it reaches the rim.
3. Hob at medium-high for 3 minutes. You should hear a faint fry — if it is silent the heat is too low, and if it spits the dough has a hole.
4. Sauce and cheese on, then the pan into a 250 °C oven for 12 minutes on the top third of the rack.
5. Lift the edge with a spatula at 8 minutes to check the underside; it should be deep gold, not brown.

04Observations

• 0 minutes on the hob: the base came out pale and floppy with no crisp layer at all; the cheese was ready before the dough was.
• 3 minutes on the hob: the base was deep gold across the whole surface, crisp, with no dark spots, and the rim had puffed to 22 mm.
• 6 minutes on the hob: the base had three black spots where the oil pooled and the centre was already set before the oven, so the rim puffed less.
• The oil needed to be 12 g. At 20 g the dough slid instead of gripping and the rim spread flat.
• The 3 minute version released with a spatula in one piece; the 0 minute version came out with the centre still stuck to the pan.

05Conclusion

Three minutes on the hob is the step that turns a baked dough into a pan pizza. It sets the base against the iron, which is the only heat source below the dough, and it is what produces a crisp underside in 12 minutes of oven time. Zero minutes gives a floppy base; six minutes burns the oil that pools at the edges and sets the centre before the rim can puff. Twelve grams of oil, three minutes, then the oven.