We all love pizza, but cooking a tasty one at home can be a bit difficult. The challenge lies not in the recipe but in the tools we use. With hundreds of different pizza pans and pizza stones to choose from, how do you decide? Do certain styles yield different results? In this article, I’ll discuss cast iron pizza pans.
The most common approach to making delicious pizzas at home is to use a pizza stone. They are inexpensive, and you can create some fantastic pizzas with them. However, pizza stones are large and cumbersome, making them difficult to move when hot. An alternative is a pizza pan, which can also be used for a variety of other purposes.
Does a Cast Iron Pizza Pan Actually Make Good Pizza?
A cast iron pan is a perfect retainer and conductor of heat, which makes it ideal for pizza-making. These features, coupled with the slight lip that most pizza pans of this sort have, make cast iron pizza pans particularly suited to pizza types that require a significant amount of heat. They can also easily handle a pizza with a thinner crust, with the high heat conductivity and retention of the cast iron pan ensuring a crispy base, a feature many people enjoy.
Can You Use Pizza Pans for Other Purposes?
Yes, a cast iron pizza pan is not only suited for making excellent pizza but also for many other meals. It can function as both a pizza pan and a griddle. Many of them incorporate portable handles, enabling you to use them both in the oven and on the stovetop. This versatility means that you can not only use it to make great crispy-based pizza but also to cook, roast, make french fries, vegetables, kebabs, roast chicken, pancakes, crepes, and more.
What Else Should You Know About Pizza Pans?
Cast iron is a brittle metal, so care should be taken when moving and storing your pizza pan. Enamel and cast iron surfaces should be cut on with a cast iron-friendly cutter – never use a stainless steel cutter.
Pizza pans are not suitable for baking bread; the thin metal surface can burn the base of the bread before the inside has a chance to cook.
While cast iron pizza pans are generally more expensive than pizza stones, they are more portable and easier to handle, albeit heavier. Pizza pans are often smaller than pizza stones, which makes them ideal for smaller ovens.
In summary, a cast iron pizza pan is a reliable alternative to the traditional pizza stone. A pan with a ceramic coating offers even more versatility.
Before buying a new pizza pan, consider the following:
- The type of crust you want to prepare. Different types of pizza pans are best suited for different types of crusts.
- The number of people you want to feed. If you have a large family, you may want to choose a 16-inch pan. Conversely, a 14 or 12-inch pan would work great for smaller families.
- The metal that works best for the type of pizza you want to prepare.
- Read reviews. If you’re still unsure about the type of pizza pan you need, reviews can provide a wealth of information about the different types of pans available?
