Deep Dish Pizza - Chicago Style

Name: Deep Dish Pizza - Chicago Style
Prep time: 2 h
Cook time: 25 min
Yield: 8 serving
Ingredients: 3 ¼ cups all-purpose flour; ½ cup cornmeal; 2 ¼ tsp instant; 2 tsp white sugar; 1 ½ tsp table salt; 1 ¼ cups water; 3 TB butter; 4 TB butter; olive oil; 3 TB olive oil; 1 onion; 4 cloves garlic; 1 can; ½ tsp white sugar; 2 TB basil; 1 tsp oregano; salt; black pepper; 1 lb mozzarella cheese; 1 lb Italian sausage; 4 TB Parmesan Cheese

User Reviews

5

10 reviews

Excellent

Prep Time
2 hrs
Cook Time
25 mins
Servings
8
Calories
598 kcal
Course
Main Course
Cuisine
Italian-American Fussion

Deep Dish Pizza - Chicago Style

Iris Warren

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Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza is made with a sturdy dough enriched with cornmeal and butter, rising to form a thick, crispy crust. The savory sauce is cooked from crushed tomatoes, onion, garlic, and herbs, simmered to a rich consistency. Layers of browned Italian sausage and plentiful mozzarella cheese fill the crust, creating a hearty pizza with defined layers of dough, cheese, meat, and tomato sauce.

Description

This deep dish pizza dough incorporates cornmeal for texture and is kneaded to a glossy, smooth dough with butter and yeast. After rising, it is rolled and placed to line a pan creating deep edges. The sauce, flavored with sautéed onion, garlic, and herbs, is cooked down to a thick tomato base. Italian sausage is browned separately, providing robust meatiness.

The assembly involves layering cheese, sausage, and then the sauce on top, contrasting the usual pizza construction. Baking at 425°F on the lowest oven rack produces a golden crust with melty cheese beneath and a pronounced tomato topping. This pizza slices into thick, satisfying portions with a crispy bottom and cheesy interior.

Following topping order is important to ensure appropriate texture and moisture balance. Prep time includes dough rising, so plan accordingly.

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Ingredients

Servings

For the Dough:

3 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup cornmeal yellow
2 ¼ tsp instant rapid rise yeast
2 tsp white sugar
1 ½ tsp table salt
1 ¼ cups water room temperature
3 TB butter melted
4 TB butter softened
olive oil

For the Sauce:

3 TB olive oil
1 onion minced, small
4 cloves garlic minced
1 can 28 oz crushed tomatoes with juices
½ tsp white sugar
2 TB basil dried
1 tsp oregano dried
salt to taste
black pepper to taste

Toppings:

1 lb mozzarella cheese 4 cups, freshly shredded
1 lb Italian sausage browned and crumbled, bulk
4 TB Parmesan Cheese freshly grated

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Instructions

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For the dough:
Using stand mixer and dough hook, mix flour, cornmeal, yeast, sugar, and salt on low until combined. Add water and 3 TB melted butter and mix 2 minutes, scraping down bowl as needed. Increase speed to medium and knead until dough is glossy and smooth, 4-5 minutes. Pliable dough should pull away from sides of bowl.
Coat large bowl with olive oil and place dough ball in bowl. Turn dough around in the bowl to ensure all sides of dough are protected by oil. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let rise at room temp until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
For the sauce:
Saute minced onion and garlic in 3 TB olive oil over medium heat until soft. Add rest of sauce ingredients, except for salt/pepper. Bring sauce to simmer and cook until reduced to 2 1/2 cups, about 25-30 min. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and set aside.
Heat oven to 425F with rack on lowest position. Turn dough out onto large surface. Roll into 15x12 inch rectangle. Spread 4 TB softened butter evenly over top of dough, leaving 1/2 in border along edges. At the short end, roll dough into a tight cylinder (see photo.)
With seam side down, flatten cylinder to 18x4 in. rectangle. Slice rectangle in half crosswise. Working with one half at a time, fold dough into thirds and pinch seams together into a dough ball. Return dough balls to oiled bowl, ensure all sides of the dough are protected with oil, and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let rise in fridge until doubled, 40-50 min.
Coat two 9-inch round cake pans with 2 TB olive oil each. Transfer one dough ball to large surface and roll into disk, 1/4 in. thick. Transfer to cake pan and gently press into pan, working into corners and up sides. Repeat with other dough ball. (If dough resists stretching, let it sit for 5 min covered and try again.)
Divide the 4 cups mozzarella in half and sprinkle on top of each pizza dough. Follow by browned sausage (plus any other toppings desired.) Next, spread 1 1/4 cups tomato sauce per pizza. Last, sprinkle 2 TB Parmesan cheese per pizza. Bake until crust is golden brown about 20-25 min. Remove and let sit for 10 min. before serving.

Notes

You can customize the toppings, but maintain the cheese-sausage-sauce layering to preserve texture.
Prep time includes dough rising, so account for that when planning.
Let the pizza cool slightly before slicing to help the layers set.

Nutrition Information

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Calories 598kcal (30%) Carbohydrates 55.8g (19%) Protein 22.7g (45%) Fat 31.8g (49%) Saturated Fat 15.3g (77%) Trans Fat 0.4g (20%) Cholesterol 74.3mg (25%) Sodium 1103.8mg (46%) Fiber 3.3g (13%) Sugar 4.9g (10%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 8Serving

Amount Per Serving

Calories 598 kcal

% Daily Value*

Calories	598kcal	30%
Carbohydrates	55.8g	19%
Protein	22.7g	45%
Fat	31.8g	49%
Saturated Fat	15.3g	77%
Trans Fat	0.4g	20%
Cholesterol	74.3mg	25%
Sodium	1103.8mg	46%
Fiber	3.3g	13%
Sugar	4.9g	10%