Chicago-Style Deep Dish Pizza – Illinois

Cathy: What would a trip to Illinois be without a shot at Chicago style deep dish pizza?

Throughout the late 1800s and early 1900s, Neapolitan immigrants arrived in the US, like many Europeans of that time, in search of factory jobs. Before long, Chicago was home to a thriving community of first and second-generation descendants, hungry for the thin pizzas that represented their culture and culinary roots. Eventually two entrepreneurs, Ike Sewell and Ric Riccardo, decided to create something different: an Italian-American version of pizza. In 1943, the pair opened Pizzeria Uno in the Chicago’s Near North Side neighborhood, serving a new style pizza with a deeper dish, crunchier crust and inverted layers – a far cry from the classic Neapolitan version.

Slice into a deep-dish pizza and your knife sinks through layers of meat and vegetables, thin tomato sauce, dense mozzarella cheese and finally, a resistant cracker-like crust. The cake-like pan is first coated in olive oil, then topped with a white and semolina flour dough mixture, which gets pressed against the deep pan’s round bottom and edges. The olive oil slightly fries the dough during the baking process, giving it a distinct golden crunch. Before hitting the oven, a layer of sliced mozzarella is covered with vegetables and meats, typically Italian sausage, then topped with a sweet layer of crushed tomatoes. The inverted layers of ingredients prevent the cheese from burning, while the meat, vegetable, sauce and crust marry their flavors.

More like a savory layer cake, Sewell and Riccardo achieved their dream to create a pizza unlike any other. And Chicagoans bit (literally). Soon, deep-dish pizza was no longer considered an immigrant tradition, but a Chicago-born icon.

This recipe makes two, 9-10″ pizzas Takes about 4 hours including 2 rising sessions

Pizza Crust

• 3 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 Tbs sugar
• 2 and 1/4 tsp yeast (1 standard packet)
• 1 1/4 cups slightly warm water
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, divided (1/4 cup melted, 1/4 cup softened)
• Olive oil for coating

Tomato sauce for both pizzas

• 2 Tbs unsalted butter
• 1 small onion, grated (about 1/3 cup)
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (optional but recommended)
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes
• 1/4 tsp granulated sugar

Toppings for both pizzas

• 4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• Optional – pepperoni, bacon, sausage, sliced green peppers, onions, mushrooms (whatever you like as toppings)

You will need two deep dish round cake pans – I used two 10 1/4″ springform pans

1. For the crust: Combine the flour, cornmeal, salt, sugar, and yeast in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment (if you don’t have stand mixer, use a hand mixer, if you don’t have that, use a large bowl and mix by hand). Give these ingredients a quick toss.
2. Add the warm water and 1/4 cup melted butter. The warm water should be around 90 degrees F. If it’s too hot, it will kill the yeast. Also let the melted butter sit for about 5 minutes before adding. On low speed, beat (or stir) the dough ingredients until everything begins to be moistened. Continuing on low speed, beat the dough until it is soft and supple and gently pulls away from the sides of the bowl and falls off the dough hook, about 4-5 minutes. If the dough is too hard, beat in 1 tsp of warm water. If it feels too soft, beat in 1 Tbs of flour.
3. Remove the dough from the bowl and form into a ball. Lightly grease a large mixing bowl with olive oil and place the dough inside, turning it around so that all sides of the dough are coated in the oil. Cover the bowl tightly with aluminum foil and allow to rise in a warm environment for 1-2 hours or until double in size.
4. Once the dough is ready, lightly flour a large work surface. Remove dough from the bowl, set the bowl and aluminum foil aside (to use again). Gently punch down the dough to remove any air bubbles and roll the dough into a large 15 X 12″ rectangle. Spread 1/4 cup of the softened butter on top of the dough. Roll it up lengthwise. Cut the dough log in half. Form the two pieces of dough into balls and place back into your greased bowl. Cover with aluminum foil and allow to rise in the refrigerator (not a warm place) for 1 hour until they are puffy as you make the sauce.
5. For the sauce: Place butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat and allow to melt. Once melted, add the grated onion, salt oregano, and red pepper flakes. Once the onion has slightly browned after about 5 minutes, add the garlic, tomatoes, and sugar. Turn the heat down to low-medium and allow it to simmer until it’s hearty, fragrant and thick – about 30 minutes. You’ll have about 2 to 2 1/2 coups of sauce at this point. You can store the sauce in the refrigerator for up to 2 days or even freeze it if you need to.
6. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
7. Assemble the pizza: After the dough balls have risen in the refrigerator, they should be puffy. Keep one ball of dough in the refrigerator as you work with the first one. Roll it out on a lightly floured work surface, working it into a 12-in circle (or if you’re using a 10″ pan, make a 13-14 in circle). Place dough circle over the cake pan and using your fingers, press the dough into the cake pan. Make sure it is nice and tight fitting inside the pan. You need a uniform line of dough to go up the sides of the cake pan not to exceed about 1 1/4 inches. Repeat with the second dough. Brush the top edges of the dough with a little olive oil, which gives the crust a beautiful sheen. Fill each pizza with 1/2 of the cheese (about 2 cups per pizza), then your optional toppings. On top of the toppings is the sauce. Pour 1/2 of the sauce on top of each pizza. Sprinkle each with 1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese.
8. Bake for 20-28 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Feel free to loosely cover the pizzas with aluminum foil after the 15 minute mark to prevent any heavy browning. Remove the pizzas and allow to cool in the pans for about 10 minutes. Slice and serve!

Thank you to @sallysbakeblog and www.sallysbakingaddiction.com for the recipe.