Chicago-style Deep Dish Pizza

By RoketJSquerl

The secret to the dough is a process known as laminating the dough, which is similar to how you make croissants (although not nearly as involved or time-consuming). You basically roll out the dough, slather it with lots of butter, and then roll it and fold it in such a way that the butter ends up in thin layers within the dough, which creates a wonderfully flaky texture – one of the key components to a great deep-dish pizza.

Ingredients

• For the Sauce:
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh garlic
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 (28-ounce + 14-ounce) cans plum tomatoes, coarsely crushed
• 2 tablespoon dry red wine
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
• Toppings:
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 pound mozzarella cheese, sliced
• 8 ounces pepperoni, thinly sliced
• 8 ounces mushrooms, wiped clean and thinly sliced
• 1 green bell pepper, cored and cut into thin rings
• 1 yellow onion, cut into thin rings
• 1 cup thinly sliced black olives
• 1 pound crumbled (half hot, half sweet) Italian sausage
• 1 cup grated Parmesan Reggiano
• For the Dough:
• 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup semolina or yellow cornmeal
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
• 1 1/4 cups water, room temperature
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon + 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided

Details

Servings 1
Preparation time 50mins
Cooking time 80mins
Adapted from foodnetwork.com

Preparation

Step 1

For the Dough:

1. Make the Dough: Whisk together the flour, semolina, salt, sugar, and yeast in a large bowl. Add water and melted butter and mix on low speed, using a dough hook, until fully combined, 1 to 2 minutes, scraping sides and bottom of bowl occasionally. Increase speed to medium and knead until dough is glossy and smooth and pulls away from sides of bowl, 4 to 5 minutes. (You can easily make this by hand, mixing in the water and butter with a spatula and then kneading by hand.)

2. Coat a large bowl with 1 teaspoon olive oil. Using greased spatula, transfer dough to bowl, turning to coat the dough in oil; cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let rise at room temperature until nearly doubled in volume, 45 to 60 minutes.

3. Make the Sauce: While the dough is rising, make the tomato sauce. In a medium saucepan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the herbs, seeds, salt, and black and red peppers, and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes, wine and sugar, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool completely before using.

4. COOK THE SAUSAGE, THEN DRAIN AND SET ASIDE.

5. Laminate the Dough: Turn the dough out onto dry work surface and roll into a 15×12-inch rectangle. Using an offset spatula, spread the softened butter over the surface of the dough, leaving a ½-inch border along the edges. Starting at the short end, roll the dough into a tight cylinder. With seam side down, flatten the cylinder into an 18×4-inch rectangle. Fold into thirds like a business letter; pinch seams together to form ball. Return ball to oiled bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let rise in refrigerator until nearly doubled in volume, 40 to 50 minutes. Meanwhile, adjust oven rack to lower position and preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

6. Bake the Pizzas: Coat a 14-inch deep dish pizza pan with 2 tablespoons garlic infused olive oil. Transfer the dough ball to dry work surface and roll out into a 16-inch circle. Transfer dough to the pan by rolling the dough loosely around a rolling pin and unrolling into pan. Lightly press dough into pan, working into corners and 2 inches up sides. If dough resists stretching, let it relax for 5 minutes before trying again. PAR-BAKE THE CRUST FOR 5 MINUTES.

7. Layer the mozzarella cheese all over the bottom of the pies. Top with the pepperoni, mushrooms, bell pepper rings, onions, black olives and sausage. Ladle the sauce evenly over each pizza and top with Parmesan Reggiano.

8. Bake on lower rack until the top is golden and the cheese is bubbly and the crust is golden brown, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, slice and serve hot.