recipe: chicago deep-dish pizza

I made this pizza for the first time after Tony and I got back to D.C. after Christmas. And I'm not ashamed to say that I made it again three days later because both of us were craving it. Tony has since declared this to be his favorite pizza ever.

I found this recipe when I was poking around the recipe pages of the King Arthur flour website. The crust is the best part about this pizza. It's thick like a Chicago pizza should be, and the bottom is crispy-fried. The sauce is the second best part about this pizza. It's chunky and spicy and unexpected.

Chicago Deep-Dish Pizza

Adapted from King Arthur Flour

Crust

• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons warm water
• 2 3/4 teaspoons yeast
• 4 cups flour
• 3 tablespoons cornmeal
• 1 3/4 teaspoons salt
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons olive oil for crust + 4 tablespoons olive oil for pans

Sauce

• 28-ounce can petite diced tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 garlic cloves, minced

Toppings

• 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
• toppings of your choice (I used 1 pound cooked Lightlife ground veggie sausage, 2 cans mushrooms drained and sauteed, and a handful of green olives and a handful of onions)
• 4 tablespoons olive oil to drizzle on top

Preheat oven to 200 degrees, and turn off when it comes to temperature.

Dissolve yeast in warm water.

In stand mixer bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, salt, butter, vegetable oil and olive oil. Add yeast mixture. On speed 2 with a dough hook, mix until dough comes together. Continue to knead for a few minutes after dough comes together.

Place dough in a greased bowl. Cover bowl with a towel, and place in warm oven for 1 hour.

Prepare 2 9-inch cake pans by pouring 2 tablespoons olive oil into each pan, and tilt pans, so oil covers the bottoms. (The original recipe calls for a 14-inch round pie plate, but I do not have that.)

Once dough has risen, divide in half and roll each half into a 11-inch circle with a rolling pin. Place the circles into the cake pans, and mold the dough up the sides of the pan.

Cover and let rise for 30 minutes.

Poke 10 holes in the bottom of each crust. Par-bake the crust for 10 minutes at 425 degrees.

For the sauce, drain the tomatoes thoroughly. In a large bowl, combine tomatoes, oregano, basil, hot pepper flakes, salt, sugar and garlic.

Cover bottom of each par-baked crust with 1 cup cheese. Add toppings. Add sauce. Add additional 1/2 cup cheese. (Original recipe called for grated Parmesan here, but I only had mozzarella.) Top with 2 tablespoons olive oil on each pizza.

Bake for an additional 25 minutes at 425 degrees. Use a spatula to transfer the pizzas to a cutting board. Cutting through the crust will require a big whack with a sharp pizza cutter.

Makes 2 9-inch pizzas.