Chicago-Style Deep-Dish Pizza

By ezunich

Ingredients

• Crust
• 4 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 3 tablespoons yellow cornmeal
• 1 3/4 teaspoons salt
• 2 3/4 teaspoons instant yeast
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil or salad oil
• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons lukewarm water
• Filling
• 3/4 lb. mozzarella cheese, sliced
• 1 lb. Italian sweet or hot sausage,
• cooked and sliced; or about 3
• cups of the sautéed vegetables
• of your choice
• 28 -oz. can plum tomatoes, lightly
• crushed; or 28-ounce can diced
• or chopped tomatoes
• 2 to 4 garlic cloves, peeled and
• minced, optional
• 1 tablespoon sugar, optional
• 1 to 2 teaspoons Pizza Seasoning or
• mixed dried Italian herbs
• (oregano, basil, rosemary),
• to taste
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan or
• Asiago cheese
• 2 tbsp. olive oil, to drizzle on top

Details

Servings 12
Adapted from keyingredient.com

Preparation

Step 1

1) To make the crust: Mix the dough
ingredients, and knead to make a
smooth crust. This will take about
7 minutes at medium-low speed in a
stand mixer. You can also make the
dough in a bread machine set on the
dough or manual cycle.

2) Place the dough in a lightly oiled
bowl or 8-cup measure (which makes
it easy to track its rise), cover,
and let rise till very puffy, about
60 minutes.

3) While the dough is rising, ready
your 14" deep-dish pizza pan. Grease
it with non-stick vegetable oil
spray, then pour in 3 to 4 tbsp.
olive oil, tilting it to cover the
bottom of the pan, and partway up
the sides.

4) Stretch the dough to make as large a
circle as you can. You can do this
on a lightly oiled baking mat, if
you choose; or simply stretch the
dough in your hands.

5) Lay the dough in the pan, and
stretch it towards the edges till
it starts to shrink back. Cover, and
let it rest for 15 minutes. Start
preheating the oven to 425°F while
the dough rests.

6) Stretch the dough to cover the
bottom of the pan, then gently push
it up the sides of the pan. The
olive oil may ooze over the edge of
the crust; that's OK. Let the crust
rest for 15 minutes or so, as your
oven comes up to 425°F.

8) Bake the crust for 10 minutes, until
it's set and barely beginning to
brown. While it's baking, prepare
the filling.

9) Drain the tomatoes thoroughly.
Combine them with the Pizza
Seasoning or herbs, and the garlic
and sugar (if you're using them).
Add salt to taste; you probably
won't need any additional salt if
you've used the Pizza Seasoning.

10) Cover the bottom of the crust with
the sliced mozzarella, fanning it
into the crust. Add the sausage (or
sautéed vegetables), then the
tomato mixture.

11) Sprinkle with the grated Parmesan,
and drizzle with the olive oil.

12) Bake the pizza for about 25
minutes, or until the filling is
bubbly and the topping is golden
brown. Remove it from the oven, and
carefully lift it out of the pan
onto a rack. A giant spatula is a
help here. Allow the pizza to cool
for about 15 minutes (or longer,
for less oozing) before cutting and
serving.

Yield: about 12 servings.