CHICAGO - STYLE DEEP - DISH
PIZZA
 
About 3 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 packet dry yeast
1 1/2 tsp. salt (or part flavored salt)
1 1/4 c. warm water (120-130 degrees)
3 tbsp. oil

PIZZA FILLING:

1 lb. hot pork sausage (bulk style)
1 (28 oz.) can plum tomatoes, drained
2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. dried oregano, crumbled
1 tsp. dried parsley
1/2 tsp. dried basil leaves
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper (or dash cayenne)
1/2 lb. fresh mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
1 lg. green pepper, quartered, seeded, and thinly sliced
2 med. to sm. onions, thinly sliced
1 (8 oz.) pkg. sliced Mozzarella cheese
1 c. (4 oz.) shredded Mozzarella cheese
Grated Parmesan cheese (as desired)

Use 14 inch deep-dish pizza pan, 2 inches deep. Oven, 450 degrees. Yield: 6 to 8 generous servings.

First prepare the pizza dough. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, combine 1 1/2 cups flour, the dry yeast, and salt. Mix well. Add the very warm water and oil to the flour mixture. Blend at low speed; scrape bowl and beat at medium speed 3 minutes, continuing to scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula occasionally. By hand, gradually stir in enough remaining flour (about 2 cups) to make a firm dough. Knead on a lightly floured surface, at least 5 minutes. Cover dough with plastic wrap, then a towel and let rest 20 minutes.

After some of the elasticity of the dough has lessened, roll it to a 16 inch circle (or slightly larger than whatever baking utensils you're improvising with, if a 14 inch pizza pan is not available). Pull it up and place in the pan (greased first), pushing dough halfway up the sides of the pan. Cover; let rise in a warm place until puffy, about 30 minutes. Even if it's not puffy, proceed with the recipe after half and hour.

Brown the sausage, stirring to break up the lumps; remove to a plate with a slotted spoon. Add the sliced mushrooms, green pepper, and onions rings to the sausage drippings an saute briefly, no more than 2 minutes. Set aside. Drain the plum tomatoes, reserving the juice to add to soup or beverage. Chop the tomatoes, draining again. Stir in the sugar, herbs, garlic salt, and cayenne or crushed red pepper.

To assemble the pizza, place the sliced Mozzarella in a single layer on top of the pizza dough. Tear the slices to fit, so most of the surface of the dough is covered. Distribute the browned sausage over the cheese, then the sauteed vegetables mixture (still crisp, but draining off any moisture that has accumulated). Add half of the chopped tomato mixture, distributing it evenly over the vegetables. Sprinkle on the shredded Mozzarella and distribute the remaining tomato mixture. Sprinkle the top generously with grated Parmesan cheese.

Bake in a preheated 450 degree oven about 25 minutes or until the edge of the dough is browned and the cheese is melted. If the vegetables have cooked out a lot of juices, tip the pizza and add to the reserved tomato juice (great soup stock). Slice into thick wedges to serve.

recipe reviews
Chicago - Style Deep - Dish Pizza
 #21170
 2Cats@Home (New York) says:
Drooling... Now i'm convinced (we) New Yorkers have no idea what really delicious pizza is. We rave about thin, crisp cracker-like crusts but a slice of this heaven is a meal! hard to believe this isnt originally from Italy-its a job to make, but might consider doing it! Thanks for sharing.
   #47869
 Ted (Pennsylvania) says:
This pizza was to die for. Felt like we were in Chicago.
 #57022
 Gayle Edwards (Tennessee) says:
We didn't like the cornmeal in this dough so we will go on to one of the others.
   #89834
 Nomad (Virginia) replies:
And if there was corn meal... just leave it out.
 #89886
 Cooks.com replies:
The cornmeal if any is meant to be a replacement for semolina flour which is what we use.
   #57748
 Thom Cook (North Carolina) says:
This dough is fantastic! I have lived in Chicago and this recipe takes me back there. I do not know what the other person was talking about there is NO cornmeal in this recipe!
   #110154
 Mike (Florida) says:
This is the best recipe for deep dish i've come across. I used the 50 cent powdered dough from Wal-Mart and it worked GREAT!
   #125497
 Ann DeHaven (Pennsylvania) says:
Hello! I wish to comment on this recipe. I followed it to a "T", not veering from the prescribed ingredients or amounts. The dish was dry and way too salty. It needs at least one more can of tomatoes. There was barely enough for one layer. The advice to drain everything well should be modified. A little moisture in this dish might help. The crust tasted rather bland. But I rarely use yeast recipes, so I may have to practice up on that skill. The time spent preparing this dish was not at all justified by the level of enjoyment. Thank you for your attention to this critique.
   #131940
 Nicole pavlinic says:
this recipe is THE BEST pizza recipe EVER!!! I have made it countless times! and I even added my touches to it as well... Like, before you put the hot water in I mix in a bunch of onion powder and garlic powder and a pinch of season salt. Then after I roll out the dough I brush olive oil onto the crust and sprinkle season salt on it! And I also make this dough with buffalo chicken pizza. U just take sweet baby rays hot wing sauce and brown cut up chicken in a frying pan with olive oil and put hot sauce first then u put chicken then mozzarella cheese! Holy crap is it good!!!
   #136800
 Tanya (Australia) says:
Best dough recipe ever. Never fails, always works every time. I do agree that the filling quantities are a bit out but easily fixed. I use this dough recipe as my go to recipe for any time I want to do pizza. Great idea to use onion or garlic powder in the dough itself. I also use melted butter instead of oil in the dough. Makes a nice crispy outside and really tender inside.

 

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