Deep Dish Chicago Style Pizza

Last month, K and I celebrated our 5 years of being together, and I posted a celebration cake from my friend Lisa’s birthday. Now, I’ve talked before about how I keep getting behind (or ahead, depending on how you look at it) with posts on this blog. I’m about a month off just because I go on cooking frenzies. Sorry you get delayed notice. It also means that sometimes when WordPress and I have issues with the “schedule” button, you get sent emails telling you about some new recipe from me that isn’t actually supposed to be posted yet. Again, apologies. So, even though I made this pizza a month ago, you are just now seeing it. Hopefully it’s worth the wait!

Confession time…when K said he wanted to make this for our anniversary dinner, I just thought it was because he likes pizza a lot. I actually didn’t make the connection until I was already making the pizza that he wanted it because our first date was at Uno’s, which oddly enough is cited as an example by America’s Test Kitchen of what not to do. Oh well. We liked theirs anyway. So, apparently K was being super sweet and romantic, but I dropped the ball. I did make him ice cream, though, so hopefully that sweetened him up a bit. Another way I tried to sweeten him up was by using mushrooms and sausage on the pizza. Sausage is kind of a no-brainer for us. I like it better than pepperoni, and it has so much flavor. Now, mushrooms on the other hand are an issue for me. I loved mushroom pizza as a kid, but somewhere along the way my taste buds changed and I hated it. As much as I love mushrooms, I want them cooked until they are a nice dark brown. I can eat them if they are not as dark, but that’s how I prefer them. Normally on pizza, the mushrooms are not pre-cooked which means they end up being too mushy for me. K likes mushrooms on his pizza, though, so I decided to make them my way and we were both happy!

Notes: This recipe requires a bit of time, so allow for it, but you are not really working for most of it. I allowed about 3 hours because of all of the rising time. You can make this pizza without the toppings, or with different toppings. Also, K hates cornmeal, so instead of using it in the dough, I used graham flour. No particular reason other than I thought it would be nice and still add some texture like the cornmeal would. So, in place of the graham flour, feel free to use 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal instead. For leftovers, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and put the slices on a foil-lined pan (no spray necessary) until heated through (about 10 minutes).

Directions for Deep-Dish Chicago Style Pizza

Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated Magazine (February 2010 issue)

Dough

• 3.25 cups (16.25 ounces) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup graham flour (see note above)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 2.25 teaspoons instant yeast
• 1.25 cups room temperature water
• 3 Tablespoons melted butter (I used a butter substitute for this part), 4 Tablespoons softened (spreadable) butter
• Olive oil

In a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, mix on low speed both flours, salt, sugar, and yeast for one minute.

Add the water and melted butter, continuing to mix until fully combined (about 1-2 minutes).

You may need to scrape down the sides. Knead the dough on medium speed until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl (3-4 minutes). Coat a medium bowl with a small amount of olive oil. Transfer the dough to this bowl, turn the dough to coat all of the sides with the oil, then cover the bowl with clear wrap.

Let the dough rise at room temperature for 45 to 60 minutes until it is almost doubled.

When ready, roll the dough out into a 15 by 12 inch rectangle. Use an offset spatula to spread the softened butter all over the rectangle, leaving a 1/2 inch border around all of the sides.

Then, roll the dough like a jellyroll cake to create a long tube.

Place the seam down, then roll the tube into a rectangle that is 18 by 4 inches.

Cut the rectangle in half so that you have two long tubes.

Take one half and fold the dough in thirds.

Pinch the seams together tightly and make a ball. Do the same to the other half of dough. Return to the oiled bowl, again cover the bowl with clear wrap and let it rise in the refrigerator until nearly doubled, about 40 minutes.

 

Meanwhile, make the sauce.

Sauce

• Olive oil
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion (they said to grate it, but I think it is unnecessary)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• Pinch of salt
• Pinch of pepper
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 28 ounces crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 2 Tablespoons chopped basil

Heat some olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion, oregano, pepper, and salt. Once the onion is golden (a few minutes), add the garlic and stir for about 30 seconds.

Then, add the tomatoes and sugar. Increase the heat to medium high and bring the sauce to a simmer. Adjust the heat as necessary to maintain a simmer for about 25 minutes, lid either off entirely or loosely on to reduce the sauce to about 2.5 cups.

At the end, stir in 1 teaspoon olive oil and the basil. As needed, add more salt or pepper.

Assembly

• 4 cups shredded mozzarella (or Italian cheese)
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
• Toppings you decide to use

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. If you want to make the pizza the same way that I did, saute sliced mushrooms in some butter until they are browned.

 

One cup of mushrooms should be perfect for a topping. If using the sausage, saute 1/2 pound ground sausage until fully cooked.

Coat 2 9-inch cake pans with olive oil. Roll out the balls of dough until they are about 13 inches across.

Transfer the disks to the cake pans. Lightly press them into the pan, crimping the edges at the top and removing any excess dough. If the dough resists stretching, let it rest for a few minutes.

Sprinkle each pizza with the mozzarella cheese.

Then, spread the sauce evenly over each.

Next, layer your toppings.

Finally, sprinkle the Parmesan cheese on top.

Baking on a sheet helps later when pulling them out of the oven.

Bake for about 20-30 minutes until the crust is golden brown. Let the pizza rest at least 10 minutes before cutting.

 

You can remove the pizzas from the pans first before cutting.

Directions for Deep-Dish Chicago Style Pizza (without pictures)

Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated Magazine (February 2010 issue)

Dough

• 3.25 cups (16.25 ounces) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup graham flour (see note above)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 2.25 teaspoons instant yeast
• 1.25 cups room temperature water
• 3 Tablespoons melted butter (I used a butter substitute for this part), 4 Tablespoons softened (spreadable) butter
• Olive oil

In a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, mix on low speed both flours, salt, sugar, and yeast for one minute. Add the water and melted butter, continuing to mix until fully combined (about 1-2 minutes). You may need to scrape down the sides. Knead the dough on medium speed until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl (3-4 minutes). Coat a medium bowl with a small amount of olive oil. Transfer the dough to this bowl, turn the dough to coat all of the sides with the oil, then cover the bowl with clear wrap. Let the dough rise at room temperature for 45 to 60 minutes until it is almost doubled.

When ready, roll the dough out into a 15 by 12 inch rectangle. Use an offset spatula to spread the softened butter all over the rectangle, leaving a 1/2 inch border around all of the sides. Then, roll the dough like a jellyroll cake to create a long tube. Place the seam down, then roll the tube into a rectangle that is 18 by 4 inches. Cut the rectangle in half so that you have two long tubes. Take one half and fold the dough in thirds. Pinch the seams together tightly and make a ball. Do the same to the other half of dough. Return to the oiled bowl, again cover the bowl with clear wrap and let it rise in the refrigerator until nearly doubled, about 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the sauce.

Sauce

• Olive oil
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion (they said to grate it, but I think it is unnecessary)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• Pinch of salt
• Pinch of pepper
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 28 ounces crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 2 Tablespoons chopped basil

Heat some olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion, oregano, pepper, and salt. Once the onion is golden (a few minutes), add the garlic and stir for about 30 seconds. Then, add the tomatoes and sugar. Increase the heat to medium high and bring the sauce to a simmer. Adjust the heat as necessary to maintain a simmer for about 25 minutes, lid either off entirely or loosely on to reduce the sauce to about 2.5 cups. At the end, stir in 1 teaspoon olive oil and the basil. As needed, add more salt or pepper.

Assembly

• 4 cups shredded mozzarella (or Italian cheese)
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
• Toppings you decide to use

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. If you want to make the pizza the same way that I did, saute sliced mushrooms in some butter until they are browned. One cup of mushrooms should be perfect for a topping. If using the sausage, saute 1/2 pound ground sausage until fully cooked.

Coat 2 9-inch cake pans with olive oil. Roll out the balls of dough until they are about 13 inches across. Transfer the disks to the cake pans. Lightly press them into the pan, crimping the edges at the top and removing any excess dough. If the dough resists stretching, let it rest for a few minutes.

Sprinkle each pizza with the mozzarella cheese. Then, spread the sauce evenly over each. Next, layer your toppings. Finally, sprinkle the Parmesan cheese on top. Bake for about 20-30 minutes until the crust is golden brown. Let the pizza rest at least 10 minutes before cutting. You can remove the pizzas from the pans first before cutting.