Pizza dough is usually sold as a 1-lb. ball. You only need 12 oz. for this cast-iron pizza recipe; tear off 4 oz. for making garlic knots. We used a 10" pan, so if yours is bigger, use a bit more dough. Cooking sausage in the pan before adding the dough infuses the crust with porky flavor.
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What you’ll need
Jumbo Silpat Roul'pat
$67 At Food52
10.25" Cast Iron Skillet
$18 At Amazon
Small Offset Spatula
$9 At Amazon
Ladle
$27 At Amazon
Ingredients
2 servings
12
5
8
⅓
¾
½
3
Preparation
Step 1
Place a rack in top-most position of oven; preheat to 475°. Place dough on a work surface; drizzle with 1 Tbsp. oil, turning to coat. Stretch out to a 10" round and cover loosely with plastic wrap.
Step 2
Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium. Cook sausage, breaking up into small pieces with a wooden spoon, until browned in spots and cooked though, 5–8 minutes. Transfer sausage to a small bowl.
Step 3
Remove skillet from heat and carefully lay dough inside (use spoon to help you extend dough all the way to the edges). Season with salt, then spread marinara over entire surface of dough. Top with mozzarella, then fennel, garlic, and cooked sausage. Drizzle with another 2 Tbsp. oil. Peek underneath the crust—the bottom should be golden brown and crisp from residual heat in the skillet. If it’s not, set over medium-low and cook until crust is golden brown, about 3 minutes.
Step 4
Transfer skillet to oven and bake pizza on top rack until crust is golden brown around the edges and cheese is browned in spots and bubbling all over, 10–14 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes, then top with red pepper flakes and basil. Sprinkle with more salt and drizzle with remaining 1 Tbsp. oil.
How would you rate Cast-Iron Pizza With Fennel and Sausage?
Leave a Review
Reviews (64)
Back to TopI’m echoing the last few reviews. Never had a problem getting recipes or printing them. Suddenly I have to subscribe $?… I suppose I’ll rely on foodnetwork.com The pizza was amazing!
Anonymous
Portland,OR
1/28/2023
Hysterical on the "reviews"! I don't know what's going on with BA and Epicurious, but I've had a subscription to BA since my Mom first gave me one as a gift when I was a junior in college (in 1979) and you've just about lost me. Epicurious just blew up my recipe box and now BA won't let me print recipes. This is ridiculous.
Kim
Wisconsin
12/22/2022
I renewed my expired subscription a month ago; even rcv’d 1st new subscript issue!! But your site keeps telling me that I’ve received my “ last”free recipe!! Tired of that! Plzzz fix it!
Anonymous
OK
11/15/2022
I agree with my fellow cooks - not being able to save recipes is a huge detraction.
Nora
Italy
11/14/2022
I agree with Anonymous: I end up emailing myself these recipes, or worse - printing them out! Why can’t we have a “save” feature like The NY Times Cooking blog?
Anonymous
London
11/14/2022
It's so incredible frustrating that we cannot print recipes, there's no way to save favorites in your profile, like what? What's the point of paying for this if there's no standard user benefit like simply the ability to save a recipe.
Anonymous
9/27/2022
Pro-tip from an amateur baker: let the dough "proof" for a full 2 hours in a large bowl, so that it grows by 50-100% in volume and reaches room temperature. Putting it somewhere warm might help; my oven with the light on (but not turned on to bake) provided just enough heat. This helps the crust rise more during baking and is easier to stretch when putting it in the pan. Bain Marie, the olive oil prevents sticking. You shouldn't have any splits in the dough if you let it reach room temperature. It should be easy to stretch then. The cast iron shouldn't be "flaming hot," as the directions say to remove from (medium) heat, so you can easily use your hands or a spoon to lift up an edge. Flaming hot would scorch the dough. If it stuck badly to the pan, your cast iron may not be seasoned sufficiently.
James
Seattle
9/22/2022
Can’t wait to try it! Sounds delicious!
Betty M
Augusta, GA
4/4/2022
The concept is great and the pizza was flavorful and a hit at home. So why am I complaining? First of all, if a 12" pan is the size that fits 1lb. of dough (how it is usually sold) then let's specify a 12" pan. Secondly, why are we coating the dough with olive oil and rolling it around rather than just brushing olive oil on it once it's in the pan? Any split in the dough cannot be pressed back together if it's covered with olive oil. Thirdly, it's hard to "peek under" dough in a flaming hot cast iron skillet. And lastly, it stuck to the pan. Badly. A dusting of cornmeal under the crust would easily solve that. Anyway, it tasted good! Surprisingly my teenagers liked the fennel and the recipe could be customized with any topping you wish.
Bain Marie
San Francisco
10/3/2021
This is the best pizza ever! This pizza is the most requested dish from my family! Love the fennel…..cast iron skillet is an absolute must.
Kristi T
Chattanooga
6/13/2021
Adore this pizza!! So so delicious, so easy, and so few dishes that have to be washed. My go-to is usually new recipes, but I have made this pizza literally 4 times in the past 2 weeks.
Olivia
Rochester, NY
12/10/2020
I cannot say enough good things about this pizza! First of all, making pizza in a cast iron skillet has been an absolute game changer for me, the crust comes out so crispy and light it's amazing. This was my first time using fresh fennel bulb on anything and I have to say I was skeptical it would be a little too licorice-y tasting, but I will say this has converted me to a fennel lover! It compliments the sausage perfectly. This pizza is flavorful and delicious! Definitely make this as soon as you can!!
Anonymous
Rockville, MD
11/9/2020
This was excellent. We usually make pizza in a wood-fired oven, and this was our first time using cast iron. We made the recipe exactly to spec and served with a green salad.
Anonymous
St. Petersburg, Florida
11/3/2020
10/10 would definitely make again, like maybe tomorrow. We were almost done with the first piece before I realized I forgot the basil. It made it so much better. I also topped with raw honey, it was a perfect balance.
hriley613
Sahuarita, AZ
6/20/2020
Claire: This pizza was surprisingly wonderful, my wife , Tina, actually is the cook who followed the recipe. We were very happy with the results, the fennel bulb added the perfect partner in this recipe. Tina says (and I whole hardily agree) we will use this recipe again and again.
Anonymous
Bainbridge Island, WA
6/10/2020