Use this amazing pizza recipe to make pizza night a family favorite! You will fall madly in love after making this pizza dish, so beware! Every bite of this crispy crusted pizza with bacon and pimento cheese takes you on a flavorful trip. Made of cheese, mayonnaise, and pimientos, pimento cheese is a favorite spread in the Southern United States that adds a little acidity and spice to food.

We used a Lodge Cast Iron Skillet to get the ideal crispy pizza crust. To get a crispy pizza crust, the material must have both equal heat distribution and heat retention capabilities. Bake this delicious pizza for yourself as a treat or to wow your visitors!

16 hours, 20 minutes for preparation; 24 minutes for cooking; serves 2–4 times.

Ingredients:

Regarding the crust:

Two cups King Author All-Purpose Unbleached Flour
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon active dry yeast
¾ cup warm water
One tablespoon olive oil plus one and a half teaspoons for the skillet

Regarding the garnishes:

Six ounces of shredded mozzarella (about a quarter cup, packed loosely)
½ cup sauce for pizza
1/4 cup of pimento cheese
½ cup bacon crumbles

For the Cheese with Pimento:

One cup of sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
¼ cup mayonnaise (we love Duke's mayo in the South)
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
1 roasted jalapeño, seeded and diced
3 tablespoons diced pimentos
Salt and pepper

Method:

Prep Directions:

In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt, yeast, water, and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. For about a minute, stir everything together to form a shaggy, sticky dough mass free of any dry flour spots.
Gather the dough into a ball after scraping down the edges of the basin. For five minutes, cover.
Take off the bowl's lid and insert your hand between the dough and the bowl's side, as if you were trying to remove the dough. Stretch the bottom of the dough up and over the top rather than lifting it. Turn the bowl 90 degrees each time you repeat this three times.
After five minutes, cover the bowl and give it another fold. After waiting five minutes to repeat, wait five more minutes for the fourth and last fold. For forty minutes, keep the bowl covered and let it rest. Refrigerate for a further 12 to 72 hours.
Three hours before you wish to serve your pizza, prepare your skillet. Transfer the leftover 1/4 cup of olive oil into a 26-inch Cast Iron Skillet Dredge the sides and cooking surface with oil.
Turn the dough once to coat it with olive oil after transferring it to the pan. Using the tips of your fingers, press the dough into the pan's edges, giving it a dimpl effect.
Cover and allow to rise at room temperature for two hours.

Cook Directions:

One rack should be placed at the top of the oven and one at the bottom thirty minutes before baking. Set oven temperature to 232°C.
When baking time comes, evenly distribute one cup of mozzarella over the whole crust.
Place little portions of the sauce on top of the cheese. Add the remaining mozzarella over top. Top the pizza with a few little spoonfuls of pimento cheese and bacon.
Place the pizza on the lowest rack of the oven and bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbling and the crust's borders and bottom are golden brown.
Take out of the oven the pizza. To keep the pizza from sticking, carefully run a knife over the edge and the side of the skillet. Move to a chopping board or cooling rack. Present and savor!

Pro Tip: It's okay if the dough starts to shrink again. Simply put a lid on it and let it to rest for around fifteen minutes, then continue dimpling until the dough reaches the pan's edges.

Pro Tip:Place the pizza on the top rack for two to four minutes if the top isn't done. Pizza should be left on the bottom rack for two to four minutes if the top is done but the crust still needs to brown.