With all due respect to the people of the great city of New York, Chicago pizza is the best stuff on the face of the earth! I love the crust’s cornmeal taste as well as the overall heft of these pies! This is deep dish, baby!
Unfortunately, making one of these pizzas by yourself at home can be an all-day process. The last time I made one – for my family’s Christmas Eve “Wrapping Party” – it took around four hours to make this from start to finish. But this is a labor of love; after all, any jackass with a phone and $20 can call Pizza Hut, but making a pie worthy of Gino’s East or Lou Malnati’s is something to be proud of!
Beware that you will need a deep dish pizza pan for this recipe; although you can buy a deep dish pan anywhere, I heartily recommend the Chicago Metallic brand, because they are the company that supplies Gino’s East. For what it’s worth, I bought my pan here and have no complaints about the service or price.
Dough Ingredients:
2½ to 3 cups all-purpose flour (plus extra flour for dusting surfaces)
¼ cup cornmeal
1½ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 packages active dry or quick-rise yeast
1 cup very hot water (120° F. – 130° F.)
2 tablespoons salad oil
4 teaspoons olive oil, divided
Topping Ingredients:
1 35 oz. can Italian plum tomatoes, chopped and well-drained
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried
1 teaspoon oregano
12 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
½ pound sweet or hot Italian sausage, casings removed
Hardware:
2 large bowls
1 mixer
plastic wrap
1 measuring cup
1 deep-dish pizza pan
1) In mixer bowl combine ½ cup flour, cornmeal, salt, sugar and yeast and mix well.
2) With mixer at low speed gradually add hot water and oil.
3) Increase speed to medium and beat 1 minute.
4) Stir in enough additional flour to make a soft dough.
5) On lightly floured surface knead 5 minutes.
6) Place dough in an oiled bowl, and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Turn bowl upside down to oil top.
7) Let dough rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in bulk, about 20 to 45 minutes.
8) Adjust oven rack to lowest position and preheat oven to 475° F.
9) Punch dough down, then cover and let stand for around 10 minutes.
10) Oil bottom and sides of a 12-inch deep dish pizza pan.
11) On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a 16″ circle.
12) Place dough in pan, pressing up sides of pan to form a 1 & 1/2-inch edge.
13) Prick bottom of crust with a fork and bake for 4 minutes.
14) Remove crust from oven and brush lightly with 1 teaspoon olive oil.
15) In a bowl combine tomatoes, basil, oregano and salt and pepper to taste.
16) Press Italian sausage into a uniform layer on the bottom of the crust.
17) Arrange mozzarella evenly atop sausage and spoon on tomatoes.
18) Sprinkle with Parmesan and drizzle remaining olive oil on top of pizza.
19) Bake 20 minutes or until crust is lightly browned and sausage is cooked through.