chicago style pizza

Here's a Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza recipe you can make at home. Try this easy, detailed recipe with step-by-step directions for a thick and buttery, flaky crust and a rich, chunky tomato sauce, with plenty of gooey cheese.

Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza Recipe

all-purpose flour

cornmeal

.25-ounce

rapid rise yeast

white sugar

salt

water ((at room temperature))

unsalted butter ((melted and cooled slightly))

unsalted butter ((at room temperature))

olive oil

unsalted butter

onion

pepper

Italian seasoning

red pepper flakes

garlic ((minced))

can crushed tomatoes, no salt

basil

Italian sausage ((casings removed))

olives

mozzarella cheese

Parmesan cheese

Using a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the flour, cornmeal, yeast, sugar, salt on low speed until blended. Add the water and melted butter. Mix until combined, about 1 to 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again until well blended. Increase speed to medium and knead until the dough is shiny and smooth and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 4 to 5 minutes.

Coat the sides and bottom of a large mixing bowl with 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Transfer the pizza dough to the clean, oiled bowl and turn to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rest at room temperature until nearly doubled in size, about 1 hour.

TO MAKE THE PIZZA DOUGH:

While the dough rises, prepare the pizza sauce. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter. Add the minced onion crushed red pepper, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes and sugar and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring frequently, until the sauce has reduced to about 2 1/2 cups, about 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the fresh basil and olive oil. Check the seasoning and add salt if needed. Cover and set aside.

TO MAKE THE PIZZA SAUCE:

Adjust the oven rack to the lowest position and preheat oven to 425 degrees. Turn the dough out onto a clean countertop. Roll the dough into a 15 by 12-inch rectangle. Using an off-set spatula, spread the softened butter over the dough leaving a 1/2-inch border along the edges. Starting at the short end, tightly roll the dough into a cyclinder. With the seam-side down, flatten the dough into a 18 by 4-inch rectangle. Cut the rectangle in half crosswise. Working with one half at a time, fold the dough into thirds like a business letter. Pinch the seams together to form a ball. Repeat with the remaining dough and transfer the balls to the oiled bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise in the refrigerator until nearly double in size, 45 to 50 minutes.

While the dough rising, cook the Italian sausage in a large non-stick skillet. Break the sausage up into chunks and sauté until cooked through. Drain well and set aside.

TO LAMINATE THE PIZZA DOUGH:

Coat two 9-inch cast iron skillets or cake pans with 2 tablespoons of olive oil each.

On a clean countertop, roll one of the dough balls into a 13-inch round disk about 1/4-inch thick. Roll the dough loosely around the rolling pin and transfer to the prepared skillet. Unroll the dough and lightly press into the pan, making sure you work it into the corners and 1-inch up the sides. If the dough resists, allow it to rest for 5 minutes before trying again. Repeat with the remaining dough ball.

Sprinkle each pizza with 2 cups of the shredded mozzarella. Divide the sauce between the two pizzas, spreading with the back of a spoon until evenly distributed over the cheese layer. Divide the cooked Italian sausage between the two pizzas, scattering to cover the sauce. Top with the olives, then the Parmesan cheese.

Bake until the crust is golden brown, about 20 to 30 minutes. If over-browning, tent the pizza with foil until cooked through. Remove the pizza from the oven and cool for 10-minutes before serving.

TO ASSEMBLE AND BAKE THE PIZZAS:

https://embed.mediavine.com/videos/yxpfumkmr6q6jr5ae1kv

Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza is an amazing pizza recipe with homemade dough and the best fillings and sauce.

Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza

HOW TO MAKE CHICAGO STYLE DEEP DISH PIZZA – THE REAL THING: This recipe should help you achieve the best deep-dish pizza you will ever bake at home. Please take the time to read through the entire recipe before you start.

How to Make Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza – A Real Chicago Deep Dish Pizza Recipe

2.5 Cups All Purpose Flour

5.6 oz Water ((2/3 cup plus 2 tsp))

Tbsp Corn Oil (or vegetable oil)

tsp Yeast, Active Dry (you can also use Instant

tsp Fine Sea Salt (You

Sugar

tsp Cream of Tartar

Yellow Food Coloring (or egg shade dye)

16-20 oz Mozzarella Cheese, Sliced

12-16 oz Italian Sausage (optional)

Pepperoni, sliced (optional)

14-16 fluid oz Tomatoes, Crushed (or a combination of crushed and diced tomatoes)

Basil

Romano or Parmesan Cheese, Grated

Mushrooms, sliced

Sweet Peppers, sliced or diced

Onions, sliced or diced

Olives, sliced

Spinach

In a mixing bowl, dissolve sugar and salt into the lukewarm water.

Add yeast, oil, and a small amount of the flour.

Mix until you have a thick batter, then add the rest of the flour and continue mixing until combined.

Knead until the dough comes together into a smooth ball, then STOP. If the dough is a little shaggy, that&#039;s OK.DON’T OVER-KNEAD. Total mixing/kneading time should be no more than 2 - 3 minutes. *This step can also be done in a mixer with a dough hook in 1 - 2 minutes. If it looks smooth, but doesn’t form a ball, just take it off the hook and form into a ball)

Place the dough in a bowl (or keep it in your mixing bowl), lightly oil/spray the dough ball.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in a warm place. Let the dough rise for 1 to 2 hours (or until dough has doubled).

After the rise, you can use it immediately OR punch down the dough and repeat the previous step until you’re ready to use the dough OR place it into a plastic zip-top bag and into the refrigerator for up to 48 hours. Make sure dough is close to room temperature before use.

Part One: MAKING THE DOUGH

Place a pizza stone in the bottom rack of your oven (if you&#039;re using one). Place a sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil across the top rack. Preheat your oven to 500 degrees (F). It should take about 40 minutes to an hour to preheat a baking stone, so you may want to do this while your dough is rising. If you refrigerated your dough,take it out of the fridge while your oven is preheating.

Using a fine mesh strainer over a bowl, drain any excess liquid from your tomatoes (if necessary).

Lightly grease the bottom (not the sides) of your pan with oil, shortening or high-heat cooking spray.

Press out the dough in the pan from center to the edge, as flat and even as possible. Pinch up the sides into a paper-thin lip about 1 to 1-1/2 inches high.

Lightly press sliced mozzarella cheese into the dough, overlapping the slices until the entire bottom is covered.

Part Two: ASSEMBLING YOUR PIZZA AND BAKING

For traditional Italian sausage deep dish: Add small bits of sausage on top of the cheese, connecting the bits together into a loose web, until the entire bottom is covered.

Add any other ingredient that you want to protect from burning. If you don’t want your pepperoni to get crispy or charred, add it at this time. If adding basil or other herbs and spices, consider adding them now, or you can add the herbs last, along with the grated cheese.

If you are making an all-cheese deep dish, you can add more cheese if you like, then skip to the part about the tomatoes.

With a large spoon or ladle, top the pizza with the crushed tomatoes, spreading the sauce from the center out to the edge until the cheese and other ingredients are completely covered with sauce. You should need between 14 and 16 oz of tomatoes.

The Part About The Tomatoes

High moisture vegetables like peppers and onions can be put on top of or into the sauce, mushrooms are best if you add them in the last 15 minutes of baking time.

Sprinkle grated Romano (and/or Parmesan) Cheese sparingly, like snow, over the top of the sauce.

Turn oven down to 450 and place the pizza pan directly on top of the pizza stone on the lower rack (or on the lower rack if you are not using a stone). Bake for approximately 35 minutes. If your crust or toppings start to char on top, place a loose sheet of aluminum foil over the top of the pizza for the remaining baking time.

Remove from oven, let pizza rest for 5 minutes, then cut &amp; serve on a real plate with a knife &amp; fork.

The Rest of the Non-Tomato Instructions

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