This recipe may seem a little
daunting, but it is worth it. This is a “show-off” dish! Your family will be
impressed---and you will definitely be well fed afterwards. People usually fight over the leftovers! We went to Chicago and had authentic Chicago-style
pizza. Then I became obsessed with
coming up with my own recipe. It took a
bit of trial and error—but I think you will find that this comes very close to
the real deep-dish pizza you can only find in Chicago. Enjoy!!
2 packages dry yeast
2 cups very warm water
1 T. sugar
1 t. kosher salt
*Mix the above ingredients
and let sit for about 5 minutes or until foam and bubbles form.
In a large mixing bowl,
combine:
5 and ½ cups flour
½ c. cornmeal
½ c. vegetable or canola oil
4 T. olive oil
*Using an electric mixer with
the paddle attachment, mix together and then add yeast mixture. Mix at high speed until a ball of dough
forms.
*Lightly oil a large
stainless steel or oven safe glass bowl with olive oil. Add the dough ball and turn once to coat the
other side. Cover and let rise in a warm
place for up to 2 hours until dough has doubled in volume. If my kitchen is cold, I place the bowl in a
warmed oven (achieved by turning the oven to 200 degrees and then turning it
off for 10 minutes before I put the bowl
in).
*When the dough has doubled
in volume, punch it down and knead it for 3 minutes.
*Divide the dough in half and
then roll out one of the halves into a large round. The round should be approximately ¼ to ½ inch
thick. Press the round evenly into the
bottom and up the sides of a 10 or 12 inch springform pan that has been lightly
sprayed with PAM. The round of dough
should hang over the side of the springform about 1 and ½ to 2 inches. Trim the rest away and save for another time.
*The second half of the dough
should be rolled out to approximately ¼-1/2 inch thick but needs to be the
diameter of your pan (if you are using a 10 inch springform pan---this round
needs to be 10 inches in diameter, and 12 inches in diameter for a 12 inch
pan). Set this round of dough aside---it
will be used as the top of the pizza.
*Turn your oven to 375
degrees---it can preheat as you fill your pizza.
*Place the springform pan,
with your bottom crust in it, on top of a large baking sheet that has been sprayed
with PAM.
Filling the pizza:
*You can use anything you
wish to fill your pizza. What I found to
be unique about the pizza I had in Chicago was the freshness of the ingredients
and the order of the pizza “toppings”. I
enjoy filling this pizza with the following layers:
1-Thin slivers of sweet
onions.
2-Thin strips of red and
yellow bell pepper.
3-Thin (almost shaved) slices
of black forest ham.
4-Thin rounds of Canadian
bacon.
5-Round slices of Provolone
cheese.
6-Finely grated Italian
Cheese (usually mozzarella and parmesiano-reggiano)
7-Thinly sliced ripe
tomatoes (be generous with this
layer—and overlap the tomatoes to really
make 2 layers if possible).
Finishing the Pizza:
*Press the pizza toppings
down a bit if needed before putting the top crust on to make it as level as
possible.
*Place the top round over the
tomato layer.
*Bring the dough that is
hanging over the edge of the pan up and over in order to create a finished
edge. You can crimp the edges if you
wish or just fold them over.
*Brush the entire top and
crimped or folded edges of the pizza with an egg wash (which is 1 egg with a few drops of water
beaten in). This will create a beautiful
shiny surface for your pizza.
*Bake at 375 degrees on the lowest rack in the oven for 40 minutes
or until hot throughout and golden brown.
Tent aluminum foil over the
top of the pizza if it becomes too brown during the baking process.
*When finished cooking,
remove pizza from oven and allow it to rest for 10 minutes before removing the
sides of the springform pan. Cut into
wedges and serve with salad. The
leftovers are delicious!!
