Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza

Being a Chicago Native, it can sometimes be difficult choosing your favorite pizzeria. So I combined a few favorites into one great pizza. Lou Malnatis, Gino's East, Giordanno's and Pequods. This pizza was definitely to die for.

FOR THE CRUST

8 1/4 oz warm water between 110-115 degrees.
1 packet active dry yeast
1 tsp sugar
12.5 oz All purpose flour
2.5 oz yellow corn meal
1.5 tsp kosher salt
1/3 cup plus 2TBSP vegetable oil

FOR THE SAUCE
28oz can of whole San Marzano Tomaotes
1/2 yellow onion
3 cloves roasted garlic along with oil
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp oregano (dried)
1 tsp basil (dried)
3 TBSP tomato paste
1 TBSP sugar
1 TBSP olive oil to coat cast iron skillet

FOR TOPPINGS

1/2 lb Uncooked mild Italian sausage
1lb Deli style Provolone cheese
1 lb Deli style Mozzarella cheese
Grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS FOR SAUCE
1. Add a 28oz can of whole San Marzano tomatoes into a bowl and crush by hand until the tomatoes are bite-sized pieces.

2. Finely chop half a yellow onion and add roasted cloves of garlic. Into a high walled sauté pan, add a few tablespoons of olive oil and heat, Next add in onions and roasted garlic, then cook until onions become translucent.

3. When fragrant, add crushed red pepper flakes, oregano, and basil, and 2-3 tablespoons of tomato paste. Cook together for one minute.

4. Add the crushed tomatoes along with a tablespoon of sugar. Simmer for 20-30 minutes over medium heat, stirring regularly to prevent scorching, until the raw tomato flavor has cooked off and the sauce is thick. You can test by dragging spoon through the sauce and it parts.

DIRECTIONS FOR PIZZA CRUST

1. Add 1 packet (2 ¼ teaspoons) of active dry yeast and a teaspoon of sugar to 8 ¼ ounces of room temperature water in a measuring glass. Let bloom for 10 minutes until foamy.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk together 12 ½ ounces of all-purpose flour, 2 ½ ounces of medium grind cornmeal, 1 ½ teaspoons of kosher salt, and ⅛ teaspoon of cream of tartar. Pour dry ingredients into yeast mixture. Then add ⅓ cup plus 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. 

3.. Using a dough hook, stir the mixture on low speed for 1-2 minutes until dough is off the side of the bowl. Then, amp speed to medium for 7-8 minutes to knead until smooth and elastic. If the dough is too hydrated, lightly flour a cooking surface and knead by hand for an additional 1-2 minutes until consistency is soft and tacky, but not sticky.

4. Stretch dough into a ball and put it into a lightly oiled bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and sit out at room temperature for 60-90 minutes, or until it has doubled in size. 

5. Oil a 12-inch cast iron skillet with vegetable oil. Grease your hands and coax the dough out of the bowl and into the pan. Lay dough in cast iron, let rest under cover of plastic wrap for 20-30 minutes.

6. After resting, press dough to sides of the pan, and it should easily hold its shape. Only come half way up the sides.

7. Place a layer of deli-style sliced Provolone cheese on top next, then follow with a thick layer of low moisture mozzarella layering above the dough. ( I made about 3 layers)

8. Add thin layer of sausage covering the entire surface, then generously top sausage with tomato sauce until sausage is hidden. Then, sprinkle pre-grated parmesan on the sauce.

9. Put into 425°F oven for 25-35 minutes, rotating once during baking until cooked through. Run a thin spatula around the outside edge to make sure that there’s no sticking. Slide pizza out the pan and wait at least 10 minutes before cutting and serving pizza.

Take plenty of pictures for the Gram, and Enjoy!