This homemade recipe is so good that it will ruin take-out pizza forever (sorry about that).  And the easy yogurt dough means you can literally just mix it up with no forethought necessary.  The kids made the dough in the pizzas pictured here.  I jotted the recipe down for them and they whipped it up on their own in minutes. It is seriously simple, seriously good crust. 

Even though the dough is so fast to make, for some reason I usually forget how long it takes to prep all the toppings, however it goes quickly if you get the whole family involved. In our house the pizza theme changes with the seasons, but always includes our Trail’s End Beef Salami.  My meal “planning” extends to getting creative with whatever ingredients are on hand, so when we have one or two sticks of Salami left over I get inspired for pizza. Chopped up, and mixed with lots of veggies, a little bit of Salami goes a long way. 

Well-seasoned cast iron pans and a very hot oven are the secret to the perfect crust. Slide the pizzas out onto a cutting board to slice and serve. Enjoy!

Pizza Crust

pizza cast iron

Cast Iron Pizza with Yogurt Dough

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Prep Time 30 mins
Cook Time 40 mins

Ingredients
  

Yogurt Dough

  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 Tbsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 cups plain yogurt
  • 1/4 cup olive oil

Sauce

  • 1 jar thick pasta sauce OR
  • 1 can plain tomato sauce
  • 1 tsp each of basil, oregano, thyme
  • 1 tsp sugar/salt to taste

Toppings

  • 1 package Trail's End Beef Salami, chopped
  • 1-2 cups mozzarella cheese per pizza
  • chopped: olives, zucchini, garlic, mushrooms, artichoke hearts, kale, peppers.

Instructions
 

Yogurt Dough

  • In a large bowl gently mix the dry ingredients.
  • Add the yogurt and a generous drizzle of olive oil.
  • Stir well with a wooden spoon until the texture is thoroughly combined and doughy.
  • Add more olive oil as needed to ensure the dough is moist.
  • This recipe is easily doubled. A "2 cup" batch just works for our two biggest cast iron pans. We typically double the recipe and add a third pan.

Crust

  • Pre-heat oven to 425.
  • Drizzle a generous amount of olive oil in each pan, thickly coating the bottom and sides.
  • Wet your hands with water or olive oil and use your fingers to press the dough into the pan. It is a sticky, wet dough and tears easily, but can be patched up and stretched just to the edges.
  • Bake the crusts about 10 minutes. They will no longer be sticky, but not browned.

Pizza Assembly

  • Spread sauce over hot, pre-cooked crust. Add a thin layer of cheese to help ingredients stick.
  • Add toppings as desired.
  • Top with remaining cheese. For extra flavor finish with fresh ground black pepper, dried basil and/or oregano.
  • Bake the pizza for at least 30 minutes or until toppings are cooked through and the crust and cheese is browned and bubbling around the edges. Slightly over-cooked is better than under-cooked. Slide the pizzas onto a cutting board to slice.