Whip up a Chicago-style Deep Dish Pizza
CAINTA, Philippines — Acknowledged as a center of pioneering architecture, Chicago, the "Windy City," is famous for its diverse culinary traditions.
It is best known for being the home of the Chicago Deep Dish Pizza. It is baked in a pan so its dough gets its characteristically high edge from the pan. The "crater" gives the pizza ample space for chunky tomato sauce, loads of different cheeses and other stuffing. Sometimes, it is simply called "stuffed pizza."
This recipe of Chicago Deep Dish Pizza comes from a pizza-making demonstration held at The Peninsula Manila whose theme was “Chicago.”
Enjoy!
Chicago Deep Dish Pizza
Ingredients:
For the dough:
6-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
3 tsps. table salt
4 tsps. sugar
5 tsps. instant or rapid-rise yeast
2-1/2 cups warm water
6 Tbsps. unsalted butter, melted, + 8 Tbsps., softened
2 tsps. + 8 Tbsps. olive oil
For the sauce:
4 Tbsps. unsalted butter
1/2 cup grated onion (using large holes)
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. table salt to taste
4 pcs. medium-sized garlic cloves, minced
1 56-oz. can crushed tomatoes
1/2 tsp. sugar
4 Tbsps. coarsely chopped fresh basil leaves
2 Tbsps. extra virgin olive oil
ground black pepper to taste
2 lbs. whole milk mozzarella cheese, shredded or sliced
1 oz. grated Parmesan cheese (using a Microplane grater)
Procedure:
1. For the dough, combine flour, cornmeal, salt, sugar and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Mix on low speed until fully combined, about 1 to 2 minutes, scraping sides and bottom of bowl occasionally.
2. Increase speed to medium, and knead until dough is glossy and smooth and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 4 to 5 minutes.
3. Using fingers, coat a large bowl with 1 tsp. olive oil, rubbing excess oil from fingers onto the blade of a rubber spatula. Then, using the oiled spatula, transfer dough to the bowl, turning once to let even the top be coated with oil. Cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let rise at room temperature until nearly double in volume, about 45 to 60 minutes.
4. Now, prepare the sauce. Heat butter in medium-sized saucepan over medium heat until butter is melted. Add onion, oregano and 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 mixture to a simmer. Lower heat to medium-low and simmer mixture until reduced to 2-1/2 cups, about 25 to 30 minutes. Off heat, stir in basil and olive oil. Season with salt and black pepper.
5. Laminate the dough. Adjust oven rack to lower position and heat oven to 425?F. Using a spatula, turn out dough on dry work surface. Knead into a ball.
6. Roll out dough into a 15x12-inch rectangle.
7. Using offset spatula, spread softened butter over surface of the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border along the edges.
8. Starting at a short end, roll dough into a tight cylinder.
9. With seam side down, flatten cylinder into 18x4-inch rectangles. Cut in half crosswise.
10. Working with one half, fold it into thirds like a business letter, and pinch seams together to form a ball. Repeat procedure with the other half.
11. Return balls to oiled bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let rise in refrigerator until nearly double in volume, about 40 to 50 minutes.
12. Coat two 9-inch round cake pans with 2 Tbsps. olive oil each. Transfer one dough ball to a dry work surface and roll out into a 13-inch disk about 1/4-inch thick. Transfer dough to pan by rolling dough loosely around rolling pin and unrolling onto pan. Lightly press dough onto pan, working into the corners and 1-inch up the sides. If dough resists stretching, let it relax for 5 minutes before trying again. Repeat with remaining dough ball.
13. For each pizza, sprinkle the crust with 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese or layer with sliced mozzarella cheese to cover the whole surface of the dough. Spread 1-1/4 cups tomato sauce over the cheese, and sprinkle 2 Tbsps. Parmesan cheese over the sauce.
14. Bake until crust is golden brown, about 20 to 30 minutes.
15. Remove pizza from the oven and let rise before slicing and serving.
