Chicago Deep Dish Pizza

 

Okay, so I have never been to Chicago and have never truly had Chicago Deep Dish Pizza.  But this recipe is supposedly as close as you can possibly get to the real thing.  It is from the America's Test Kitchen cookbook, which is basically my favorite cookbook ever.  This isn't like any other normal kind of pizza.  The crust has cornmeal and is laminated with butter, and the position of the cheese and sauce are reversed so that the crust doesn't get soggy.  You eat it with a knife and a fork instead of just using your hands.  But it is hands down one of the best things I make.  At least in my opinion.  And while I actually prefer it with just cheese, which makes it a meatless, vegetarian meal, you can add sausage, peppers, carmelized onions - basically any pizza toppings you can think of.

The laminating process is cathartic for me.  You get to roll out dough, spread it with soft butter, then fold it in out itself, let it rose and roll it out again.  It creates wonderful, buttery layers of crust that are totally unlike regular pizza.

And the homemade sauce is unbelievable.  I mean, its basically just tomatoes and fresh basil and garlic, but wow, it is just so, so good.

If you decide to do a sausage pizza, just sprinkle small chunks of sausage over the cheese layer before topping with sauce and baking the pizza.  The sausage will cook through in the time that it takes for the pizza to cook.  Of you can do the cheese layer, a sauce layer, and then put the toppings on top so you can see them.  It really doesn't matter.

Chicago Deep Dish Pizza (makes two 9-inch pizzas, serving 4-6)

Dough

3 1/4 cups (16 1/4 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (2 3/4 ounces) yellow cornmeal
1 1/2 teaspoons table salt
2 teaspoons sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast
1 1/4 cups water (10 ounces), room temperature
3 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted, plus 4 tablespoons, softened
1 teaspoon plus 4 tablespoons olive oil

Sauce

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup grated onion , from 1 medium onion (note, we left this out)
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
Table salt
2 medium garlic cloves , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes (see note)
1/4 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh basil leaves
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Ground black pepper

Toppings

1 pound mozzarella cheese , shredded (about 4 cups)
1/2 ounce grated Parmesan cheese (about 1/4 cup)
1/2 pound bulk Italian sausage
Pepperoni
Caramelized onions
Yellow, green or red peppers
Spinach
Mushrooms
Olives

FOR THE DOUGH: Mix flour, cornmeal, salt, sugar, and yeast in bowl of stand mixer fitted with dough hook on low speed until incorporated, about 1 minute. Add water and melted butter and mix on low speed 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. (Dough will only pull away from sides while mixer is on. When mixer is off, dough will fall back to sides.)

Using fingers, coat large bowl with 1 teaspoon olive oil, rubbing excess oil from fingers onto blade of rubber spatula. Using oiled spatula, transfer dough to bowl, turning once to oil top; cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let rise at room temperature until nearly doubled in volume, 45 to 60 minutes.

FOR THE SAUCE: While dough rises, heat butter in medium saucepan over medium heat until melted. Add onion, oregano, and 1/2 teaspoon salt; cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid has evaporated and onion is golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in tomatoes and sugar, increase heat to high, and bring to simmer. Lower heat to medium-low and simmer until reduced to 2 1/2 cups, 25 to 30 minutes. Off heat, stir in basil and oil, then season with salt and pepper.

TO LAMINATE THE DOUGH: Adjust oven rack to lower position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Using rubber spatula, turn dough out onto dry work surface and roll into 15- by 12-inch rec-tangle. Using offset spatula, spread softened butter over surface of dough, leaving 1/2-inch border along edges. Starting at short end, roll dough into tight cylinder. With seam side down, flatten cylinder into 18- by 4-inch rectangle. Cut rectangle in half crosswise. Working with 1 half, fold into thirds like business letter; pinch seams together to form ball. Repeat with remaining half. Return balls to oiled bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let rise in refrigerator until nearly doubled in volume, 40 to 50 minutes.

Coat two 9-inch round cake pans with 2 tablespoons olive oil each. Transfer 1 dough ball to dry work surface and roll out into 13-inch disk about 1/4 inch thick. Transfer dough to pan by rolling dough loosely around rolling pin and unrolling into pan. Lightly press dough into pan, working into corners and 1 inch up sides. If dough resists stretching, let it relax 5 minutes before trying again. Repeat with remaining dough ball.

For each pizza, sprinkle 2 cups mozzarella evenly over surface of dough. Spread 1 1/4 cups tomato sauce over cheese and sprinkle 2 tablespoons Parmesan over sauce. Bake until crust is golden brown, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove pizza from oven and let rest 10 minutes before slicing and serving.