Simply Impressive's Chicago deep dish recipe

If you are from Chicago, you know that it's difficult to get a great deep dish pizza anywhere in the Phoenix area.  There are a few places that have 'okay' Chicago style pizza, but none that 'float my boat'.  So I dug through lots of old recipes  I've collected over the years and pieced together a few of them to come up with what I think is a fantastic deep dish pizza

A few things to know…our recipe is for a 14" deep dish pizza. You can buy special pans to make this, or you can use what you already have in your kitchen. We often use a springform pan since it works well, but you can use a large cake pan if you'd like. If you don't have a 14" pan, just use smaller ones and make a few of them.  This crust recipe makes 2 10-inch and 1 8-inch pizzas.  Just note you may need a little more cheese than the recipes call for if you break out into smaller pans.

What makes deep dish pizza different from the others is its flaky crust and the fact that it's built upside down. The cheese is on the bottom and the sauce is on the top. Restaurants put raw sausage on their pizza, but at home, our ovens don't get as hot and the sausage may not be cooked through, so we pre-cooked our sausage.

First, let's make the crust.  To make a Chicago deep dish pizza, you need to use a dough that's different than 'regular' pizza dough.  It's thick and crunchy and delicious.   We found that springform pans made a great substitute for regular deep dish pans  If you have one hanging around your house, use it.  You can also use a 2" deep cake pan.

Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza Dough

Makes One 14" Pizza

• 3 3/8  tsp Quick acting yeast
• ½ cup Warm water (105° to 115°)
• 1 tbsp Granulated sugar
• 3 ½ cups Unbleached all purpose flour
• 1 ½ tsp Kosher salt
• ½ cup Cornmeal
• ¼ cup Extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
• ¼ cup Vegetable oil
• ½ cup Warm water

Proof the yeast in warm water with sugar. Stir and let sit for about 5 minutes.

To make the crust in a food processor:

Place a dough blade in your processor. Add the flour, salt and cornmeal. Process for a few seconds to combine ingredients. Add in the yeast mixture, oils and remaining water. Process until a ball of dough is formed. If the dough does not come together add warm water, a tablespoon at a time, until it forms a ball. If the dough is still wet, add a tablespoon of flour, and process until it becomes a ball. Knead the dough by processing it for another 30 seconds. Remove the dough from the food processor and place on a lightly floured surface. Knead by hand for another minute or two until the cough is smooth and supple. (Sort of like a baby's behind.)

Oil a bowl at least twice the size of your ball of dough. Cover the dough with olive oil and place in the bowl. Cover with a towel and place in a warm place for about 1 ½ hours. It should double in size. The dough is now ready to use.



To make the crust without a food processor:

If you do not have a food processor, just mix the ingredients in a large bowl until the dough comes together.  Remove to a floured counter and knead for about 10 minutes.  Oil a bowl and let the dough rise as shown in the food processor method.

Now, on to making the actual pizza.  You can prepare many of the ingredients while the dough is rising.

Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza

Makes One 14” Pizza

• 28 oz Crushed tomatoes, well drained
• 2 tsp Italian seasoning
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 tsp Fresh basil, optional
• 8 oz Italian sausage
• Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling and oiling the pan
• 1 recipe Chicago Style Pizza Dough
• 10 oz Mozzarella cheese, sliced preferred
• ¼ cup Grated parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 475°. Place a rack on the lowest part of your oven and another in the middle of the oven.
2. Empty the can of crushed tomatoes into a strainer lined with dampened paper towels. Place over a bowl and allow the tomatoes to drain for a few minutes. Discard the liquid that comes out of the tomatoes. Add the Italian seasoning, kosher salt and black pepper to the tomatoes. Taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary. Add fresh basil to sauce, if using. 
3. If the sausage is in links, remove the Italian sausage from the casing. Sauté until the sausage is completely cooked without browning. Remove the sausage from the grease. This also works well with chicken Italian sausage that I purchase from Sprouts for a much lower fat version. 
4. Use a 14” deep dish pizza pan, cake pan that is 2” deep or a springform pan. (note: if you use a smaller pan than 14”, just use less of the crust and filling to make this pizza and use the remaining ingredients to make a mini pizza.)
5.  
6. Lightly oil the pan on the bottom and sides. Place the dough into the pan and allow it to rest for a few minutes. After resting, use your fingers to press the dough on the bottom of the pan, then use your fingers to press it up the side of the pan for at least 1”. Make sure the dough is even all over.
7. Place the pan on a baking sheet and bake on the bottom rack of preheated oven for 5 minutes. Remove pizza from oven.
8. Next, build the pizza. These instructions seem backwards, but they are correct!
9. Drizzle the partially baked crust with olive oil and brush it over the crust to make sure it is evenly disbursed. Place the mozzarella slices directly onto the oil-drizzled crust making sure to cover the bottom crust entirely. You can also use shredded mozzarella, but it does not melt as well as slices. Spoon about half the tomatoes over the cheese. Sprinkle the cooked sausage over the tomatoes and top with the remaining tomatoes. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
10. Place pizza back in the oven on the middle rack. Bake for about 25 to 30 minutes or until the crust is nicely browned. Let the pizza rest for a few minutes before cutting.

Some items of note:  Don't forget to par-bake your pizza on the lower part of the oven so the crust can begin baking. Otherwise you will have a gooey crust.  Also, let your pizza rest a few minutes after it comes from the oven or the filling will ooze all over.

This pizza is pretty filling so you won't need a lot to be filled up.

Enjoy this pizza on New Years Eve or any time.  It's always on the menu at our house on New Years.