Chicago Deep Dish Pizza

[knapplc]

Deep-Dish Pizza

 

Dough

2 packages quick-rise dry yeast

2 cups warm water (90 degrees F)

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup olive oil, plus more to oil the pans

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal

5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

4 teaspoons kosher salt

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, slightly softened

 

I used my bread machine's pizza dough setting. If you do not have a bread machine:

 

Dissolve the yeast and water in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the oils and mix for 30 seconds. Add the cornmeal, 3 cups of the flour and salt and beat for 5 minutes. Switch to the dough hook and mix in the remaining 2 1/2 cups of flour and knead, using the dough hook for 2 minutes. Add the butter and knead until incorporated. The dough is a very moist dough so do not add more flour unless absolutely needed.

 

Place the dough in a large bowl lightly oiled with vegetable oil, cover with plastic wrap or clean kitchen towels and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 45 minutes. Punch down the dough and allow to double in size again.

 

 

Tomato Sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 (32-ounce) can plum tomatoes coarsely chopped, no juice

2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh oregano leaves

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil leaves

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

 

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes and oregano, bring to a boil and cook until the mixture thickens, about 15 minutes. Stir in the basil and season with salt and pepper. Let cool slightly.

 

 

Filling

3 Sweet Italian Sausages

1 Red Pepper

1 White Onion (small)

1.5 Cups sliced portabella mushrooms

8 oz (one package) sliced pepperoni

3 balls fresh mozzarella, sliced

 

Remove the casings from the sausage, then slice into nuggets. Brown sausage in a non-stick pan, reserving the leftover fat. Remove from heat, and grind sausage with a wire potato masher to make bite-size pieces. Julienne the red pepper and onion, then saute in the sausage fat until the onion clarifies. Add portabella slices, saute for another two minutes, remove from heat.

 

 

 

Assembly

 

Preheat oven to 450 degrees, and place a baking stone on the rack. Generously coat a 14-inch (or two 9-inch) deep-dish baking pan with olive oil. By hand, spread the dough so that the circle is about four inches wider than the pan(s) you are using, making sure to keep your thickness even throughout. Place the dough over the pan so that the dough hangs over the side. Gently push the dough into the corners of the pan, then bake for three minutes. Remove blind-baked crust from oven and let it cool for about a minute. Remove any excess crust hanging over the side of the pan.

 

Fill the crust by layering cheese, sauce, sausage, vegetables and pepperoni, repeating (like a lasagna) if necessary depending on the depth of your pan(s). Cover the top layer of pepperoni with a ladle-full of sauce, and top with any remaining cheese.

 

Bake until golden brown, approximately 40 minutes (check often).