Pizza Night

I'm originally from northwest Indiana while Dave's from the east (Where they don't make good deep dish pizza :P ). We both love a good deep dish pizza. The one shown in the picture is topped with cheese, sausage, and pepperoni. Ashley and her 3 friends were coming to spend the night because they were driving from Florida (Lexington is a nice stop along the way). So I thought it would be great to make 2 deep dish pizzas. The recipe below is for one pizza though. I just doubled everything and it all came together.

Ingredients
For the dough:
1 1/2 cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/8 teaspoon instant yeast
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons water, at room temperature
1 1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

For the sauce:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/2 medium onion
Pinch of dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 clove garlic, pressed
1 (14.5 oz) can petite-diced tomatoes
Pinch of sugar
2 tablespoons chopped basil leaves
1 1/2 teaspoon olive oil
Ground black pepper, to taste
Salt, to taste

For assembling and topping:
2 tablespoons olive oil
8 ounces Mozzarella, shredded (about 2 cups)
4 ounces Pepperoni
1/2 pounds Sausage
1/4 ounce Parmesan cheese, grated (about 2 tablespoons)

Dough
My suggestion would be to make the dough a day ahead and leave in fridge or if your unemployed like me at lunch time.

Whisk together the flour, cornmeal, salt, sugar and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer, until well blended. Attach the dough hook and mix in the water and melted butter on low speed for 1 to 2 minutes. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Increase the speed to medium-low and knead until the dough is glossy and smooth, about 3 to 4 minutes.

Coat a medium bowl with 1 teaspoon of the olive oil. Transfer the dough to the bowl, turning once to coat with oil. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until nearly doubled, about 60 minutes.

Once dough is risen, turn it out onto a dry work surface and roll into an 8- x 6-inch rectangle. To laminate the dough, spread the softened butter over the surface, leaving a 1/2-inch border around the edge. Starting at the short end, roll the dough into a tight cylinder. With the seam side down, flatten the cylinder into a 9- x 2-inch rectangle, then fold into thirds like a business letter. Pinch the seams to form a ball, and return to the oiled bowl. Cover tightly again with plastic wrap and let rise in the refrigerator for 40 to 50 minutes. (Mine did not double in size, but it rose to about size and a half.)

Sauce
In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the onion, oregano and salt. Saute until the onion is golden brown, stirring often, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook just until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the tomatoes and sugar, then increase the heat to medium-high. Bring the mixture just to a boil, then lower the heat to medium-low and continue to simmer until reduced to about 1 1/4 cups, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the basil and oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. In a medium frying pan, cook sausage by breaking it up into small pieces. Draining the fat after finished.

Assemble and top the pizza:
Preheat oven to 425˚F. Coat a 9-inch round cake pan with pam spray and sprinkle with yellow cornmeal Move the dough to a dry work surface and roll out into a 13-inch disk. Carefully transfer the dough to the pan and lightly press to line the bottom of the pan and 1 inch up the sides. If the dough resists stretching, wait 5 minutes before trying again.

Sprinkle most of the shredded Mozzarella over the surface of the dough, then layer the pepperoni, sausage, and then sauce over the cheese. Top with the rest of the Mozzarella and Parmesan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until crust is golden brown. Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.


Everyone said the pizza turned out great. You can alter the toppings as you see fit. Next time I think we'll be adding spinach.

Original idea and recipe came from http://penniesonaplatter.com/2011/01/24/chicago-style-deep-dish-pizza/