Instructions

Make the dough

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add in the warm water, honey, 1/4 cup bread flour and Red Star Platinum Superior Baking Yeast packet. Gently stir together. Add in the rest of the flour and fit your mixer with a dough hook.
2. Mix on low just until loosely combined gently scraping down the sides. Add in the oil while the mixer is running stopping if need be to scrape down the sides. After 3 minutes of mixing, add in the salt. Mix until a soft, smooth elastic ball forms; ~8-10 minutes. The dough should pull away from the sides (though it may not be fully pull away) of the bowl but still be wet/tacky to the touch. Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a very lightly floured surface. Place in a lightly oiled bowl (at least 2-3 times bigger than the ball) and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise until doubled in size; about 60-90 minutes.
3. Remove from the bowl onto a lightly floured surface. Roll out the dough into a 15×12” rectangle. Divide the dough in thirds (visually). Place 2 tablespoon of the butter pieces from the pizza recipe in the middle of the dough. Fold 1/3rd of the dough over top of the butter (as if you are folding a letter). Place the remaining 2 tablespoon of butter pieces over top of that fold. Grab the remaining fold and fold that over top. Essentially, you have a layer of dough, layer of butter, layer of dough, layer of butter and layer of dough.
4. Roll out the dough in a larger rectangle (it should only expand out a 2” on each side). Turn the dough 90 degrees, fold in half and roll out again into a rectangle. You want to repeat this two more times until you end up with a rectangle 15” x 12” (approximately). Divide the rectangle in two, pick up one dough, tuck the ends underneath, and shape into a ball. This recipe makes 2 pizzas. Gently stretch (or roll out) the one ball into a 12” round circle. Place the dough into a 12” cast iron pan that is coated in canola or vegetable oil. Do not use butter or olive oil as it will burn. Gently push the dough to the ends of the pan and slightly up the sides. Cover the pan/dough with plastic wrap and allow to rise another hour.

Creamy Spinach & Artichoke Béchamel Topping

1. In a medium sauté pan over medium heat, add the oil. When the oil starts to shimmer add the shallot and salt. Sauté for 5-7 minutes or until soft and tender. Add in the spinach and stir. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until the spinach has wilted. Once wilted add in the halved artichoke hearts, stir and remove from the heat to allow to cool slightly.
2. In the same pan, over medium heat melt the butter. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the paste cooks and bubbles a bit, but don’t let it brown — about 2 minutes. Add in the milk whisking the entire time until it forms a sauce and begins to thicken. Reduce the heat to low.
3. In a separate bowl, add the cream cheese, grana Padano, parmesan cheese, pepper, red pepper flakes and spinach mixture. Mix to combine; taste for seasoning. Stir this mixture into the thickened milk mixture. If it’s too thick add in a tablespoon or two more milk. The mixture should be thick and spreadable. Stir in 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella. Taste for seasoning. Remove to a bowl and allow to cool slightly.

Make the Pizza

1. Preheat the oven to 450F, rack in the middle. If you have a second oven rack, place that in the lower third of the oven. Gently push the dough so it covers the entire bottom of the pan and up the sides. Take a fork and make fork holes all along the bottom of the dough. You need this to allow the air to escape and cook the layers.
2. Place half of the Creamy Spinach & Artichoke Béchamel topping on top of the pizza leaving a 1/2” space free around the edge of the pizza. You essentially want to place 2-3 cups of the mixture on top of the pizza. Top with half of the remaining shredded mozzarella.
3. Put the cast iron pan on the burner and turn the heat on to medium-high. Cook for 5-10 minutes or until the oil starts to lightly bubble around the sides and, if a metal spatula is gently inserted between the dough and pan and a golden crust is starting to form.
4. Place the pan into the oven. Bake for 12 minutes on the middle rack. Move to the lower third rack for 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the crust is golden brown.
5. Remove the pan from the oven and using heavy duty spatulas remove the pizza from the pan and place on a cooling rack for minutes prior to cutting. Top with optional Garlic Butter Herb Shrimp and serve.

Garlic Butter Herb Shrimp

1. In a medium pan over medium heat, add in 4tablespoon of butter. Add the shrimp, garlic powder and parsley. Cook, stirring occasionally, until pink, about 2-3 minutes; set aside.
2. Add the remaining tablespoon of butter to the pan until melted. Pour the butter herb mixture over top of the cooked shrimp.