Deep Dish Skillet Pizza

For the pizza dough:
1. Mix sugar, water, and yeast in a large bowl. Let sit for 5 minutes for the yeast to activate.
2. Stir olive oil and salt into dough. Stir in 2 and 1/4 cups of the flour with a spoon or spatula.
3. Knead in remaining flour by hand or with a dough hook in a stand mixer. Knead until dough is smooth and elastic, about 3 minutes.
4. Cover dough with a towel and let it sit for at least 5 minutes. (I usually let it sit between 10 and 30 minutes, although you can also do the traditional two rises if you’ve got the time).

For the pizza:
1. Press pizza dough into a 10-12″ cast iron skillet. (If you don’t have cast iron, use a pot with very thick sides. The pizza has to bake for a long time so you want the heat to distribute very evenly. A ceramic casserole dish would also do the trick. A too-thin pan will burn the crust; you want it soft and chewy!) Flatten dough against the bottom of the pan and press it all the way up the sides of the skillet.
2. Spread 1/4 cup of the pizza sauce on the pizza. Then, spread a layer of 3/4 cup mozzarella. Continue layering by adding the sausage, and top the sausage layer with the remaining mozzarella cheese.
3. Spread the remaining pizza sauce on top of the last layer of cheese.
4. Bake at 375ºF for 35-45 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Slice and serve immediately.