Chicago-Style Deep-Dish Pizza

I've always been a fan of deep dish pizza, from the takeout version to those I've sampled in restaurants.  Chicago-style deep-dish pizza is extra special because it has a buttery, flaky crust that is so good it would be a crime to not eat every bite.  With this recipe, making the dough involved a laminating process similar to making puff pastry and while this may seem labour intensive it is definitely worth it.

Another feature about Chicago-style deep-dish pizza is that the cheese is layered before the sauce in order to protect the crust.  The toppings to this pizza are rather simple but the flavours are so good that I adopted this pizza sauce as my new marinara sauce.  I realized that adding fresh basil really enhanced the sauce.  I liked pairing this dish with a simple green salad, which makes it a bit more of a balanced meal than eating it with fries or chicken wings.  This recipe yields two 9 inch pies and is best eaten the same day; I found that reheating them didn't yield the same flaky crust.

Chicago-Style Deep-Dish Pizza


Ingredients


Dough
3 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1 1/2 teaspoons table salt
2 teaspoons sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast
1 1/4 cups water, room temperature
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus 4 tablespoons, softened
1 teaspoon plus 4 tablespoons olive oil

Sauce
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup grated onion, from 1 medium onion
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
Table salt
2 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through garlic press
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Ground black pepper

Toppings
1 pound mozzarella cheese, shredded (about 4 cups)
1/2 ounce grated Parmesan cheese (about 1/4 cup)

For the Dough:
Mix flour, cornmeal, salt, sugar, and yeast in bowl of stand mixer fitted with dough hook on low speed until incorporated, about 1 minute.  Add water and melted butter and mix on low speed until fully combined, 1 to 2 minutes, scraping sides and bottom of bowl occasionally.  Increase speed to medium and knead until dough is glossy and smooth and pulls away from sides of bowl, 4 to 5 minutes.  (Dough will only pull away from sides while mixer is on.  When mixer is off, dough will fall back to sides.)

Using fingers, coat large bowl with 1 teaspoon olive oil, rubbing excess oil from fingers onto blade of rubber spatula.  Using oiled spatula, transfer dough to bowl, turning once to oil top; cover tightly with plastic wrap.  Let rise at room temperature until nearly doubled in volume, 45 to 60 minutes.

For the Sauce:
While the dough rises, heat butter in medium saucepan over medium heat until melted.  Add onion, oregano, and 1/2 teaspoon salt; cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid has evaporated and onion is golden brown, about 5 minutes.  Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Stir in tomatoes and sugar, increase heat to high, and bring to simmer.  Lower heat to medium-low and simmer until reduced to 2 1/2 cups, 25 to 30 minutes.  Off heat, stir in basil and oil, then season with salt and pepper.

To Laminate the Dough:
Adjust oven rack to lower position and heat oven to 425 degrees.  Using rubber spatula, turn dough out onto dry work surface and roll into 15- by 12-inch rectangle.  Using offset spatula, spread softened butter over surface of dough, leaving 1/2-inch border along edges.  Starting at short end, roll dough into tight cylinder.  With seam side down, flatten cylinder into 18- by 4- inch rectangle.  Cut rectangle in half crosswise.  Working with 1 half, fold into thirds like business letter; pinch seams together to form ball.  Repeat with remaining half.  Return balls to oil bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let rise in refrigerator until nearly doubled in volume, 40 to 50 minutes.

Coat two 9-inch rough cake pans with 2 tablespoons olive oil each.  Transfer 1 dough ball to dry work surface and roll out into 13-inch disk about 1/4 inch thick.  Transfer dough to pan by rolling dough loosely around rolling pin and unrolling into pan.  Lightly press dough into pan, working into corners and 1 inch up sides.  If dough resists stretching, let it relax 5 minutes before trying again.  Repeat with remaining dough ball.

For each pizza sprinkle 2 cups mozzarella evenly over surface of dough.  Spread 1 1/4 cups tomato sauce over cheese and sprinkle 2 tablespoons Parmesan over sauce.  Bake until crust is golden brown, 20 to 30 minutes.  Remove pizza from oven and let rest 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Source: America's Test Kitchen