Chicago-Style Deep Dish Pizza

How do you make a New Yorker really angry?  That's easy-tell them that Chicago has better pizza than New York does!  As a native New Yorker, I am definitely biased towards New York style pizza and still look forward to having pizza whenever I'm in New York.  Some people say it's the water that makes the difference, but who knows-whatever it is, there is some really good pizza in New York. 

Either way, before making this pizza, I never actually tried Chicago style pizza. Matt and I like to make pizza often, and I thought that deep dish pizza would be a great way to change things up.  I can honestly say that this was nothing short of amazing and we decided that we'll have to have Chicago-style pizza nights more often in our house!

This time around, I kept the toppings simple and just used cheese but I think an addition of veggies and/or meat would be great on this.  This pizza will fill you up-it is quite thick and hearty so even though the pie looks small, it really does make a lot.

Chicago-Style Deep Dish Pizza
For the dough:
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/8 teaspoons yeast
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water
1½ cups plus 2 tablespoons (8 1/8 ounces) all-purpose flour
¼ cup (1 3/8 ounces) yellow cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1½ tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

For assembling and topping:
Pizza sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
8 ounces mozzarella, shredded (about 2 cups)
¼ ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (about 2 tablespoons)
Any other toppings of your choice (vegetables, meats, etc)

To make the dough, combine the yeast, sugar and water in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook.  Lightly mix on low speed for a few turns. Allow the yeast to start to foam, about 10 minutes.  Add the flour, cornmeal and salt. Mix until blended, about 1 minute.  Add the melted butter and continue mixing on low speed until fully incorporated, 1-2 minutes, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl occasionally.  Increase the speed to medium-low and knead until the dough is glossy and smooth, and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, 4-5 minutes.

Coat a medium bowl with 1 teaspoon of the olive oil.  Transfer the dough to the bowl, turning once to coat with oil.  Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until nearly doubled, about 45-60 minutes.

To laminate the dough, turn the dough out onto a dry work surface and roll into a 8- by 6-inch rectangle.  Using an offset spatula, spread the softened butter over the surface of the dough, leaving a ½-inch border around the edges.  Starting at the short end, roll the dough into a tight cylinder.  With the seam side down, flatten the cylinder into a 9- by 2 inch rectangle.  Fold into thirds like a business letter, pinch the seams to form a ball, and return to the oiled bowl.  Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise in the refrigerator until nearly doubled in size, 40-50 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 425˚ F.  To assemble, coat a 9-inch round cake pan with 2 tablespoons of olive oil.  Transfer the dough ball to a dry work surface and roll out into a 13-inch disk about ¼-inch thick.  Transfer the dough to the pan.  Lightly press the dough into the pan, working into the corners and 1 inch up the sides.  If the dough resists stretching, let rest 5 minutes before trying again.

Sprinkle the shredded mozzarella over the surface of the dough.  Spread the tomato sauce over the cheese and top with Parmesan.  (I like to put the sauce down first followed by the cheese). Bake until the crust is golden brown, 20-30 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let rest 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Yield: 1 9-inch deep-dish pizza

Source: slightly adapted from Annie's Eats, as seen in Cook's Illustrated