Chicago Deep-Dish Pizza (America's Test Kitchen) Recipe
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Category: |
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Ingredients: |
Ingredients: DOUGH
3 1/4 cups (16.25 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (2.75 ounces) yellow cornmeal
2 1/4 tsp (about 1 envelope) instant or rapid-rise yeast
2 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp table salt
1 1/4 cups water, room temperature
3 Tbs butter, melted, and 4 Tbs butter softened
1 tsp plus 4 Tbs olive oil
SAUCE
2 Tbs butter
1/4 cup grated onion (grated on large holes on a box grater)
1/4 tsp dried oregano
table salt and ground black pepper
2 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1/4 tsp sugar
2 Tbs chopped fresh basil
1 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil
TOPPINGS
1 lb mozzarella, shredded (about 4 cups-- whole milk mozzarella or park-skim mozzarella-- don't buy pre-shredded)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Optional: additional toppings like cooked Italian sausage crumbles, pepperoni, pineapple, Canadian bacon, diced bell peppers, etc.
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Directions: |
Directions:MAKE THE DOUGH
1. MIx the flour, cornmeal, yeast, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. With a dough hook on low speed, mix for about 1 minute until everything is well incorporated. Add the water and melted butter. Mix on low speed until fully combined (1 to 2 minutes). Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Increase the speed to medium and knead until dough is glossy, smooth, and pulls away from the sides of the bowl while mixing (4 to 5 minutes).
2. Coat a large bowl with 1 tsp of the olive oil (using your fingers). Rub the excess oil from your fingers onto a rubber spatula. Using the oiled spatula, transfer the dough to the oiled bowl, turning the dough over once to oil the top. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise at room temperature until nearly doubled in volume (45 to 60 minutes).
SAUCE
3. While the dough rises, heat the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat until melted. Add the onion, oregano, and 1/2 tsp salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has evaporated and the onion is golden brown (about 5 minutes). Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, stirring constantly (30 seconds). Stir in the tomatoes and sugar, increase the heat to high, and bring to a simmer. Lower the heat to medium-low and simmer until the sauce has reduced to about 2 1/2 cups (25 to 30 minutes). Remove pan from heat. Stir in basil and oil, then season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Adjust an oven rack to the lowest position and heat oven to 425 F.
LAMINATING THE DOUGH
(This is how you get the dough to be really flaky and croissant-like.
5. Using a rubber spatula, turn the dough out onto a dry work surface and roll into a 15x12-inch rectangle. Use an offset spatula, your fingers, or a butter knife, spread the softened butter over the surface of the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border unbuttered around the edges. Starting at the short end, roll the dough into a tight cylinder. Turn the seam side down and flatten the cylinder into an 18x4-inch rectangle. Cut the rectangle in half crosswise (into two 9x4-inch rectangles). Set one half of the dough aside.
6. With each half of the dough do the following. Fold the rectangle into thirds like you would a letter. Pinch all the seams together to form a ball.
7. Put the two balls back into the oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in the fridge until nearly doubled in volume (40 to 50 minutes).
MAKING THE PIZZA
8. Coat two 9-inch round cake pans with 2 Tbs each of olive oil. Transfer one dough ball onto a dry work surface. Roll into a 13-inch disk about 1/4 inch thick. Transfer the dough round to a cake pan by draping it over your rolling pin and transferring it. Lightly press the dough into the pan, working it into the bottom corner and 1 inch up the sides. If the dough resists stretching, let it rest for 5 minutes and then try again. Repeat with other dough ball.
9. For each pizza, sprinkle 2 cups of mozzarella cheese onto the surface of the dough (putting the cheese first protects the dough from getting soggy from the sauce). Add other toppings on top of cheese, if using. Spread 1 1/4 cups of the tomato sauce over the cheese and toppings. Sprinkle 2 Tbs of parmesan cheese over the sauce on each pizza.
10. Bake on the bottom rack in the oven until the crust is golden brown (20 to 30 minutes). Remove the pizza from the oven and let sit for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
(A few serving notes: You really do need to let it rest or it will be a hot lava disaster. Also, I don't cut it in my cake pans because they are non-stick. I let it sit long enough that I can use a spatula to slide it out of the pan onto a platter or cutting board to slice. These pizzas look small but they are really rich and filling. One typical person can easily get full on 1/4 to 1/3 of a pizza, especially if served with salad etc.) |
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Personal
Notes: |
Personal
Notes: I had made this pizza one time before I took a trip to Chicago back in 2013. I loved this pizza so much, so I was thrilled to go to Chicago and look for an "authentic" version of the pizza I had just made. I didn't have many opportunities to go explore, however, because I was at a conference that served us most of our meals. On Sunday we decided to take a break from the conference to go to church. In the middle of sacrament meeting there was a really bad storm and tornado warning and we were all told to get home right then. We jumped in the car and headed back to the hotel. About halfway back, the rain got really insane and it was making our drive pretty risky. We decided not to drive any more so we stopped right where we were at an Italian restaurant to wait out the storm. I finally had my chance to order a Chicago pizza! But, wouldn't you know, even though it tasted alright (and it was fun to eat it while we watched the torrential downpour outside), this recipe I'd made before was much tastier. I was kind of disappointed, but glad to know that I didn't have to travel to Chicago to get the real thing.
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