Deep-Dish Pizza No. 1

By chelyc13

This is as suthentic a Chicago deep dish pizza recipe as you will find. Using high fired rotating ovens or stacked ovens, pans that have turned black from heavy use, and giant mixers that do a superb job of kneading the dough gives a slight edge to the restaurant pizza maker. In spite of that edge, you can do a great pizza at home with this recipe.

Ingredients

• FOR DOUGH:
• 1 1/2 pkgs active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water (105-115F)
• 1 tblsp sugar
• 3 1/2 cups unbleached flour
• 1 teas salt
• 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup warm water
• FOR TOPPING:
• 1 28oz can 6-1 brand tomatoes or 1 28oz can italian style plum tomatoes
• 1 teas dried basil or 2 teas chopped fresh basil
• 1 teas oregano
• salt to taste
• 10 oz mozzarella cheese, csliced thin
• 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 1/2 lb italian sausage, casing removed
• olive oil

Preparation

Step 1

FOR DOUGH: Dissolve the yeast in the 1/2 cup of warm water. Add the sugar and stir well. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, combine 3 1/2 cups of flour, salt, and cornmeal. Make a well in the center of the flour. Add the yeast mixture, the vegetable oil, and the 1/2 cup of water. Stir and mix thoroughly until the dough cleans the sides of the bowl and a rough mass is formed.

Turn the dough out of the bowl onto a well floured work surface. Knead and pound the dough (dust with flour is the dough sticks to your hands) for 5-6 minutes until it is smootha nd soft. Dust the dough and a large mixing bowl lightly with flour. Place the dough in teh bowl and cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel. let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours.

After the dough has doubled in bulk, turn it out of the bowl and knead it for about 2 minutes. Oil the bottom and sides of the pizza pan. Spread the dough in the pan with your fingers and palm. (It will spread more easily if you let it sit in the pan for about 10 minutes.) Work the dough until it covers the bottom of the pan. Pull the edges of the dough up to form a lip or a pronounced border all around the pan. preheat the oven to 475. Prick the dough bottom with a fork at 1/2 inch intervals and parbake the crust for exactly 4 minutes in the preheated oven. Brush the crust lightly with olive oil.

FOR TOPPING: In a 2 to 3 quart mixing bowl, combine the tomatoes, basil, oregano, and salt. Set aside.

TO ASSEMBLE AND BAKE: Lay the slices of mozzarella cheese evenly over the crust. Spoon the tomatoes over the cheese. Sprinkle the grated parmesan over the tomatoes. next, add the Italian sausage - flatten the sausage pieces between your thumb and forefinger and distribute evenly over the tomatoes. drizzle about 1 tblsp olive oil on top.

Bake the pizza in a preheated 475 oven on the bottom oven rack for 5 minutes. Move the pizza to an oven rack 2 slots about the lower rack and bake an additional 30 minutes, until crust is lightly browned and sausage is cooked through.

NOTE: If used the canned plum tomatoes, drain off all the liquid, put the tomatoes into a mixing bowl, crush them with your hand, and add the seasoning.

In pizza restaurants the raw sausage is put on top of the cheese, not the tomatoes. They can get away with this due to the high heat in their ovens. Baking the pizza for 4 minutes on the lowest oven rack assures a better crusy bottom. Parbaking the crust is necessary to give the dough its initial spring; otherwise, the weight of the cheese and tomatoes will compact the dough and cause it to be heavy.