Chicago Deep Dish Pizza Recipe
Authentic Chicago-style deep dish pizza featuring a flaky, buttery crust, a layer of melty mozzarella, savory sausage, and thick tomato sauce.
Servings: 8
Ingredients
For the Dough:
- 3 ¼ cups all purpose flour
- ½ cup yellow cornmeal
- 2 ¼ teaspoons instant or rapid rise yeast
- 2 teaspoons white sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons table salt
- 1 ¼ cups room temp water
- 3 tablespoons melted butter
- 4 tablespoons softened butter
- 4 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for the bowl
For the Sauce:
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small onion, minced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 28 ounces crushed tomatoes with juices
- ½ teaspoon white sugar
- 2 tablespoons dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- salt and pepper to taste
Toppings:
- 16 ounces ow-moisture whole milk mozzarella, 4 cups freshly shredded
- 1 pound bulk Italian sausage, browned and crumbled
- 4 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Make the Dough: In a stand mixer fitted with dough hook, mix the flour, cornmeal, yeast, sugar, and salt on low. Add water and 3 TB melted butter; mix 2 minutes, scraping down bowl as needed. Increase to medium speed and knead until dough is glossy and smooth, 4-5 minutes. Dough should be pliable and 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 are coated with oil. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until it has doubled in size, about 1 hour.
- Make the Sauce: Sauté onion and garlic in 3 TB olive oil over medium heat until soft. Add the crushed tomatoes, sugar, basil, and oregano. Simmer 25-30 minutes, or until reduced to 2 1/2 cups. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 425°F with rack on lowest position. Roll dough out onto a work surface, into a 15x12 inch rectangle. Spread 4 TB softened butter evenly over top of dough, leaving 1/2 in border along edges. Starting from the short end, roll dough into a tight cylinder.
- With seam side down, flatten cylinder to 18x4" rectangle and cut in half crosswise. Fold each half into thirds, pinch seams to form two dough balls. Place dough balls into oiled bowl, coat all sides with oil, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and chill in fridge for 40-50 minutes until doubled.
- Coat two 9-inch round cake pans with 2 TB olive oil each. Roll each dough ball into a 1/4" thick disk. Gently press into pans, working dough and up the sides. Tip: If dough resists stretching, let it sit covered for 5 minutes.
- Sprinkle 2 cups mozzarella into the bottom of each crust. Add browned sausage and any other toppings desired. Spread 1 1/4 cups tomato sauce per pizza. Sprinkle 2 TB Parmesan cheese per pizza. Bake until crust is golden brown about 20-25 min. Remove and let sit for 10 minutes before slicing.
Equipment
- 9 inch non-stick cake pans
Notes
- Feel free to play with the toppings, but do be sure to follow instructions for order of topping in regards to cheese vs. sauce.
- Prep time already includes time it takes for dough to rise.
- Dough: Make the dough through step 4, then cover tightly and chill in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. Let it sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before rolling.
- Sauce: Simmer the tomato sauce up to 3 days in advance and keep it stored in a sealed jar in the fridge.
- Freezing: You can bake the pizza fully, cool completely, wrap tightly in foil, and freeze for up to 2 months. Reheat at 350°F until warmed through.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 598kcal | Carbohydrates: 55.8g | Protein: 22.7g | Fat: 31.8g | Saturated Fat: 15.3g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 74.3mg | Sodium: 1103.8mg | Fiber: 3.3g | Sugar: 4.9g