There have really only been two good things that have come out of quarantine for me in the last 4-plus months: more time to cook and experiment with new recipes, and more time to video edit and upload to my YouTube channel. One recipe that has long been on my to-make list is the Serious Eats pan pizza recipe: I have a cast iron pan and an oven, and once you have yeast, this attempt is a no-brainer. I started the pizza dough the day before to allow for a 24-hour proof, which would yield a tastier, more complex base, and also adjusted it to 30% whole wheat flour (in an attempt to eat more whole grains). I used slightly less olive oil on the pan (2 tsp vs. 1-2 Tbsp) to avoid any difficult oven cleanup after, and dusted my kneading station with semolina flour instead of all-purpose. I topped the pizza with homemade tomato sauce, shredded mozzarella, pre-roasted king oyster mushrooms from the day before, basil, and grated parmigiano reggiano cheese. After finishing it over the stove for a few minutes to crisp up… this was the perfect first-attempt of pan pizza. I can totally see myself making this more regularly than.. once ever. It was crispy, flavorful, and so, so satisfying.

Pan pizza on a Monday. That would normally never happen on a regular work week.