I had to post this one – pizza just doesn’t get much easier than this! I want to give thanks to Serious Eats for posting this recipe for ‘Cast Iron Pan and a Tortilla Pizza’ in under 12 minutes. As the author, J. Kenji López-Alt, states, with “the proper technique, a couple of tricks, and the aid of a cast iron skillet, flour tortillas are actually the best way to make quick thin-and-crisp, bar-style pizza at home…” Now that’s quite a statement!

Before delving into the recipe, the author makes it a point to note that you should not use a baking stone or steel for this recipe; this recipe is made to be prepared in a cast iron skillet. So without further adieu, heat up your skillet and commence to making your bar-style pizza!

Step 1: Oil and heat your skillet

Put a little oil into your skillet, then heat it over high heat until the oil just starts to shimmer. As soon as it does, reduce the heat to low and wipe out the skillet with a paper towel. This will help crisp up the bottom while making sure that it doesn't get too greasy.

Step 2: Add Your Tortilla (You want to find a skillet and tortilla combo such that the tortilla just fits into the bottom of the skillet.)

Add a store-bought flour tortilla to the bottom of the skillet.

The author adds, when you look at the tortilla, you'll probably notice that the two sides are a little different. One side will have tiny bubbles, while the other will have larger bubbles; You want the smaller bubbles to be on the bottom with the large bubbles facing upwards. That'll ensure that the bottom crust gets extra crisp with more surface area while the upper crust puffs a little bit to create some nice charred bubbles of dough. (Here’s where he eludes to the aforementioned ‘proper technique.’

Step 3: Sauce It

Spread on a thin layer of sauce. You can use store-bought pizza sauce, homemade pizza sauce, or simply some fresh, puréed canned tomatoes seasoned with a little salt.

Spread the sauce out with a spoon and make sure it gets all the way to the edges of the tortilla.

Step 4: Get Cheesy

The author likes to use a combination of cheeses. It is recommended to use Mozzarella in the blend for its good melting characteristics (the author uses whole-milk, low-moisture mozzarella grated by hand). And something hard and nutty for extra flavor, like Parmigiano-Reggiano or Pecorino Romano.

The mozzarella goes on evenly over the whole top surface. You want to keep it relatively light—the sauce should be peeking through over at least 50% of the surface area—as that cheese will melt and spread as it bakes. The Parmesan also goes over the surface, and I pay extra-special attention to getting it around the edges of the pizza, going so far as to intentionally sprinkle it around the edges directly onto the surface of the pan. This is going to magically transform as the pizza bakes.

Step 5: Top as Desired

You can choose to keep things simple by going with a plain old margherita-style pie with just a drizzle of good olive oil and a scattering of basil leaves. Or you can go all out with a supreme pie, made with chunks of fresh sausage (put 'em on raw so that they stay juicy as they cook), sliced pepperoni (use the nice curling kind), and diced peppers and onions.

“I really like the way diced peppers meld into the cheese and add flavor to every bite. It's a trick I cribbed from Adam's Love Supreme at Margot's Pizza (which, for the record, is the best bar pie you'll ever taste anywhere.)” says López-Alt.

Step 6: Bake!

Given that the cast iron pan was preheated, your pizza should have already begun crisping up on the bottom and around the edges, but we still need to get at that upper crust. The best, fastest way? Just stick the whole skillet under the broiler as close as possible until the cheese is lightly browned.

Your pie should pop out of the oven fully cooked in just about 3 minutes. I use a really thin offset metal spatula to gently release the crisp cheese edges from the pan, shaking the skillet a bit until the pizza slides around freely. You should be able to slide your pizza out directly onto a cutting board.

Step 7: Eat!

Can you believe this can come out of your kitchen in less time than it takes read this article?



López-Alt proceeds to examine the delicious creation, stating:  

Let's take a tour of its features, shall we? First up, those cheesy, crispy edges: Deeply flavored, sweet and nutty, and ridiculously crisp, this is better than a real pizza crust in my book. Next stop, the underbelly: Thanks to the skillet, the bottom of the pizza come out crisp, leopard-spotted, and browned. You've had floppy tortilla pizza in the past, right? Not any more. This is as crisp as it gets. Crisp enough to hold itself out horizontally, in fact. And unlike regular pizza, this stuff stays cracker-crisp even as it cools, making it perfect game-day or movie-night food (not to mention hangover morning).Not bad for a 15 minute recipe, right? Not bad at all.