Lodge Cast Iron Pizza Pan, 15 inch

Everything we’ve made on this pizza plate has come out perfectly crisp and done on the bottom! I use a lot of cast iron, mostly because it can go from cooktop to oven to bake or broil, sears beautifully, distributes heat evenly, and has high heat retention. That said, I’m opting more as I age for less heavy pots and pans (e.g., SS). This plate is going to give me a hernia because my oven’s waist high and I can only access the oven rack from the side. At the same time, I’d love if the plate had 1” or so high sides on its circumference so food didn’t fall off so easily. Too, we’d use it frequently for appetizers, stuff that rolls, and steaks and fish.

Ive been making homemade pizza for years in my oven. While it’s been delicious, it has always seemed like it was missing that pizza joint quality. I did my research and was on the fence between the 1/2” steel, Hexclad pizza pan and this lodge pizza tray. I decided to go with the Lodge since I already have one of their skillets and it has been fantastic. I also chose the Lodge because it is 4 times less than the other two. I received it last night and used it to make pizzas for lunch today. I am absolutely floored at how amazing the pizza dough turned out. Cooked the pizza in 4 minutes at 550°. The top wasn’t quite as brown as I like so for the second pizza I heated the oven to 550°, then turned on the broiler and allowed the Lodge to cook the dough while the broiler took care of the cheese on top. Crust came out sturdy golden brown on the bottom. Super crisp light and airy around the edges. As far as the quality, it is cast iron and very sturdy and it is larger in person than I expected. The surface was smoother than I thought it was going to be which was really nice as well. Cleanup is easy enough with hot water and a little gentle scrubbing. I sincerely can’t say enough about how great this was after only one pizza making session.

Excellent pizza stone/pan. Really heavy which means no more soggy crust! The trick is to heat it before putting the pizza on it. It cleans up beautifully unlike most pizza stones.

I totally love this pizza pan. Takes high heat..crisps handmade and store bought pizzas. Cleans up in a snap. Am a big iron skillet user and this fits right in. If you are not a purest I can see using for pancakes..french toast..grilled sandwiches..etc. No lip around the edge so dough keeps sauce on the pizza pie.

I’ve tried various methods of pizza making. Pizza oven, pizza stones and didn’t like them because you can’t wash the stones. If sauce or cheese gets onto the stone it bakes in and stains the stone. I finally decided to try a cast iron pizza pan and let me tell you, this one is a game changer! Best pizza we ever had, bar none! I heated my oven to 500 with the pan in the oven. Be careful when you remove the pan because it’s HOT! I placed the dough on the pan, put it back in the oven for about 10 minutes, then took it out and put the sauce and cheese on the partially cooked dough. Cooked until the cheese melted and this pizza was PERFECT! Dough was crispy, cheese was all melty . Delicious. And pizza slid right off. Wiped the pan with a damp cloth. That was it! My family was wild for this pizza. I cooked the dough partially, without the sauce and cheese, bc we don’t like burnt cheese.

I've gotten on an "Italian" bread and pizza kick, and after my pizza stone shattered, looked for something more durable. The cast iron pan has done great for what I've used it for, though I've yet to do an actual pizza. It would be too awkward to try to transfer to a round steel, but maybe that's just me. So I stick with strombolis, calzones, and the like. Works amazingly well, and things slide right of the steel, no sticking. The problem is with the handles. They're awkwardly shaped, have tiny slits in them that serve no purpose I can see. So removing the steel when it's blisteringly hot is somewhat risky. If I had better ventilation in my kitchen I'd just slide out whatever I was cooking and leave the steel in the oven until it cooled, but I can't because any oils I used will smoke me out of the house unless I remove it as soon as I'm done with it. Based on my current and future usage, I wish I'd gotten a cast iron pan instead. Would have been the perfect size, oils wouldn't drip off the pan, and handles would be "normal".

Yes, it's heavy but FAR FAR the best of the five or so pans I've had over the years. Built to last forever.

Not only good for pizzas. But also good for making and heating up tortillas. Which is why I got it.