Three delicious skillet pizza variations – Puttanesca, blue cheese & pancetta, and goat’s cheese & salmon.
There’s always a day in late March or early April when winter tips into spring. If that day falls on a weekend you notice it immediately: coats get tucked away, the sky looks bluer and the sun has just enough strength to chase off the clouds. Parks fill with people soaking up the warmth, picnics reappear and barbecues are dusted off. Those fleeting sunny days are a reminder of summers spent outdoors — for me, that meant long, sunlit months on a Greek island, swimming, eating by the sea and sleeping on verandas in the heat. Those simple pleasures shaped how I cook and how I like to eat: communal, relaxed and often outdoors.
My own garden in London never matched a Greek backyard, but now that the kitchen has been remodelled and the folding doors open out to the garden, I’m dreaming of al fresco meals. A permanent barbecue or a fire pit might still be aspirational, but one thing I can (and do) bring inside to the doorway is a pan of sizzling skillet pizza. They’re quick, individual, versatile and perfect for casual spring evenings when you want something fresh, crunchy and shareable.
So what exactly is a skillet pizza? It’s a method that delivers a crisp, golden base without wrestling with sliding a dough circle onto a hot stone. The dough is partly cooked directly in a hot skillet on the stove so the bottom crisps and the edges bubble; once it’s firm enough you add toppings and finish the pizza in a very hot oven. Because the pizzas are small and individual, it’s easy to offer different flavours and let everyone choose their favourite.
Below are three favourite combinations — Puttanesca, blue cheese & pancetta, and goat’s cheese & smoked salmon. These are written for single skillet pizzas; scale the toppings if you prefer larger pies. The dough can be made by hand, in a stand mixer or in a bread machine. When the dough is ready, divide it, roll each portion out to roughly the size of your skillet (about 20cm/8in), cook briefly on the stove, add toppings and finish in the oven for a crisp, perfectly cooked result.
Three Delicious Ways with Skillet Pizza
By
Lucy Parissi | Supergolden Bakes
Lucy Parissi | Supergolden Bakes
Three tasty skillet pizza variations: Puttanesca, blue cheese & pancetta, and goat’s cheese & smoked salmon. Toppings below are for single, individual pizzas; increase quantities for larger pies or multiple servings.
Prep Time: 2 hours
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
Ingredients
- For the pizza dough: 500g strong white bread flour (plus extra for dusting), 360ml tepid water (you may need a little less), 3 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp honey or sugar, 2 tsp dried yeast, ½ tsp salt. Cornmeal or semolina for dusting the skillet.
- Puttanesca (single pizza): 2–3 tbsp passata or tomato sauce, 2–4 anchovy fillets (omit for vegetarian), 4–5 mini mozzarella balls (pat dry), a handful of cherry tomatoes (whole or sliced), a handful of pitted green and black olives (sliced), a sprinkle of dried oregano, fresh basil leaves, olive oil to drizzle, salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Blue cheese & pancetta (single pizza): 3 tbsp caramelised onion chutney, 4–5 tbsp crumbled blue cheese (eg. Gorgonzola), 3–4 strips pancetta, a handful of pine nuts, fresh rocket (arugula) to serve, optional.
- Goat’s cheese & smoked salmon (single pizza): 4–5 tbsp crumbled goat’s cheese or a mix of feta and goat’s, 4–5 strips smoked salmon (to taste), 2 tsp finely chopped red onion, a handful of mini capers, a sprinkle of finely chopped fresh chives, olive oil to drizzle, salt and freshly ground pepper.
Instructions
- Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl.
- In a separate jug, dissolve the yeast in the tepid water, then stir in the honey (or sugar) and olive oil.
- Gradually add the wet mixture to the flour and mix with a wooden spoon. Adjust water or flour as needed—the dough should be fairly tight, not overly wet.
- Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Shape into a ball.
- Place the dough in a large oiled bowl, turn it around to coat with oil, cover and leave to rise for 1–1½ hours or until doubled in size.
- When ready to make pizzas, have toppings prepped. Divide the dough into six pieces and roll one portion out to about 20cm/8in (roughly the size of your skillet). Keep remaining dough covered.
- Preheat the oven as hot as it will go and position a rack in the middle.
- Heat a skillet over medium heat on the stove. Lightly sprinkle semolina or cornmeal in the pan, then place the dough into the hot skillet, stretching it with your fingers to fill the pan. Be careful—skillet and handle will be hot.
- Drizzle a little olive oil over the dough. As the base begins to bubble and the edges crisp, add your chosen toppings and transfer the skillet to the hot oven.
- For Puttanesca: spread passata, season with salt, pepper and oregano, add anchovies, mozzarella, olives and cherry tomatoes, drizzle with olive oil and bake 8–12 minutes until cheese melts. Finish with basil leaves.
- For Blue cheese & pancetta: spread caramelised onion chutney, scatter crumbled blue cheese and pancetta, bake 8–12 minutes until cheese softens and pancetta crisps. Scatter pine nuts and rocket just before serving if desired.
- For Goat’s cheese & smoked salmon: drizzle a little olive oil on the base, add goat’s cheese and arrange smoked salmon strips, sprinkle red onion and capers, bake 8–12 minutes until cheese softens. Finish with chopped chives and a final drizzle of olive oil.
Notes
- Stand mixer: add dry ingredients, then wet; knead with a dough hook 5–7 minutes and proceed with shaping and proofing.
- Bread machine: check capacity first. Add water, oil, sugar/honey, flour, salt and yeast suitable for machines; use the dough or pizza setting, then shape and cook as directed.
- Skillet choice: cast iron works beautifully because it retains heat and gives a crisp base. Be cautious handling hot pans and use oven mitts.
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