Italian Sausage and Fennel Garlic Skillet Pizza

Directions

1. For pizza dough:
2. In a clean bowl, whisk together flour, salt, yeast until combined. Add water and incorporate it into the flour using your hands. Continue to work the dough using your hands until there is no dry flour at the bottom of the bowl. Once all the dry flour has been incorporated, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for 4-8 hours. You can also keep the dough in the refrigerator overnight for better results!
3. Once the dough has risen, turn the dough onto a floured surface and divide into 2 equal amounts. Shape each amount into a ball. Cover each dough ball and let it rest on the countertop for 20 minutes.
4. On a floured surface and using a rolling pin, roll out each dough into 10 inch circles.

1. For pizza topping:
2. Preheat your oven to 450ºF. Using a cast-iron skillet, heat 1 Tbsp of oil and saute the italian sausage on medium-high heat. Make sure to break up big pieces of sausage, just enough to have the appropriate bite size pieces. Continue to cook the sausage until browned and slightly crispy on the edges. Once the sausage is completely cooked, transfer to a clean bowl.
3. Remove the skillet from the heat onto a heat-safe surface. Carefully transfer the rolled-out pizza dough into the skillet. Drizzle some olive oil over the entire surface of the dough. Evenly sprinkle the finely minced garlic onto the entire surface. Finish topping the pizza dough with the sliced mozzarella, then the sausage and fennel. Season with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to taste.
4. Using a spoon or tongs, slightly lift the edges of the pizza dough to see if the bottom has caramelized to a golden-brown. If not, transfer the skillet to a stove top and continue to crisp the crust on a low-medium heat, just for 2-3 minutes.
5. Transfer the skillet to the top rack in the oven. Continue to bake until the pizza crust is golden-brown, about 12-15 minutes depending on your oven. Let cool for a few minutes and cut to serve!