Chicago Style Pizza Crust Food

CHICAGO-STYLE BUTTER AND GARLIC PIZZA CRUST

Steps:

• In large bowl, dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup lukewarm water.
• Add 1/4 cup flour and the sugar, stir together.
• Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 20 minutes.
• Stir the remaining 1 cup lukewarm water, 3 cups flour, the cornmeal and salt into the yeast mixture.
• Combine the butter and garlic; mix into the dough.
• Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until soft and elastic, 10-12 minutes.
• Lightly grease a large bowl, add the dough and turn to coat.
• Cover and set in a warm place until the dough is doubled in size, 1 hour.
• Punch dough down, then knead for 2-3 minutes.
• Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan, then press in dough to cover the bottom and 2 inches up the sides; let rise for 20 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.
• Top the pizza dough with your favorite toppings.
• Lower the oven to 450 degrees and bake for 30 minutes.

CHICAGO STYLE PIZZA

Steps:

• In a mixer combine the water and the yeast and allow the yeast to dissolve. Add the remaining ingredients except for the cornmeal and begin to mix the dough using a dough hook on low speed. Once a ball is formed mix on medium speed for 1 to 2 minutes until the dough becomes elastic and smooth. Remove from the mixer and place in a bowl coated with olive oil. Allow the dough to rest for approximately 4 hours. Once the dough is rested, place on flat surface and dust with some flour.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. In a deep baking dish or deep dish pizza pan, spread the dough using your fingers at the bottom of the pan and make sure to have enough dough to come up the sides of the pan approximately 1/2-inch high.
• Begin by placing a layer of the mozzarella cheese on the bottom of the crust. Add the tomato sauce and all of the toppings. Place in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes until golden and crispy.
• Serve pizza straight from the oven to the table.

THE REAL CHICAGO DEEP DISH PIZZA DOUGH

Steps:

• Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water in a bowl. Let stand for 5 to 10 minutes until the yeast softens and begins to form a creamy foam.
• Combine yeast mixture, flour, corn oil, and kosher salt in a large stand mixer with a hook attachment; knead until dough holds together but is still slightly sticky, about 2 minutes.
• Form dough into a ball and transfer to a buttered bowl, turning to coat. Cover bowl with a towel and allow dough to rise at room temperature until double in size, 6 hours.
• Punch down dough and let rest for 10 to 15 minutes. Press dough into a 10-inch deep dish pizza pan.

CHICAGO STYLE DEEP-DISH PIZZA DOUGH

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in1/4 cup of the warm water. Add the sugar and 1/4 cup of the flour and stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to combine.
• Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 20 minutes.
• Add the remaining 1 cup warm water and 3 cups flour, the cornmeal, salt, and 1/2 cup olive oil.
• Using a wooden spoon, mix the dough, incorporating as much of the flour as possible.
• Turn the dough out on a lightly floured work surface and knead until soft and elastic, 10 to 12 minutes. It will be a little sticky, but shouldn't stick to your hands.
• Add only a minimum amount of flour to the work surface to keep the dough from sticking.
• Lightly oil a large bowl. Add the dough and turn to coat on all sides.
• Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place a clean, damp, kitchen towel over the top.
• Set the bowl in a warm spot and let rise until doubled in volume, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. (For a slow rise, place the covered bowl in the refrigerator and let rise for 10 to 12 hours, returning dough to room temperature before using).
• When the dough has doubled in volume, punch it down and knead it for 2 to 3 minutes. Press the dough evenly into the bottom of an oiled 14-inch round deep-dish pizza pan.
• Let the dough rise in the pan for 15 to 20 minutes.
• Press the dough until it comes 2 inches up the sides and is even on the bottom and at the corners of the pan.
• Proceed with any deep-dish pizza recipe.

TRUE CHICAGO-STYLE DEEP-DISH PIZZA

Steps:

• Mix sugar, yeast and 11 ounces room temperature water (about 80 degrees) in a bowl and let bloom for 15 minutes. Combine flour, salt and cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Once yeast has bloomed, add to dry ingredients along with corn oil. Gently combine with a rubber spatula until a rough ball is formed.
• Knead on low speed with the dough hook for 90 seconds. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl and proof until doubled in size, about 6 hours. Punch down and let dough settle for 15 more minutes.
• Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 450 degrees F.
• Coat bottom and sides of a 12-inch cake pan or traditional Chicago style pizza pan with melted butter. Using your hands, spread out about three-quarters of the dough across the bottom and up the sides of the pan (save the remainder for another use). Cover entire bottom in mozzarella, all the way up to the edge. Cover half with a thin, even layer of raw sausage. Cover the other half with the pepperoni. Top with a couple handfuls of crushed tomatoes. Spread out with hands to the edge. Sprinkle top evenly with grated Parm.
• Bake, rotating halfway through, until golden around the edge, about 25 minutes. Let rest for about 5 minutes, then either gently lift pizza out of pan or just cut your slice out of the pan like a pie!

CHICAGO STYLE DEEP DISH PIZZA CRUST

Steps:

• Whisk together water, yeast and sugar in a bowl and set aside to proof for 10 minutes.
• In a large bowl sift together flour and salt and sprinkle in thyme. Mix eggs into yeast mixture. Pour liquid into dry ingredients and mix until a soft sticky dough forms.
• remove dough to a lightly floured surface and knead 5 minutes, until dough is no longer sticky.
• Place in a well oiled bowl, turning to coat all sides, cover and allow to rise until doubled in bulk 2 - 3 hours.
• Punch dough down and place into a well oiled 12" pizza pan.
• using your hands, move dough around the bottom of the pan and 2/3 the way up the sides.
• Set aside and let rise 10 minutes.
• Brush crust lightly with olive oil and add toppings.

CHICAGO DEEP-DISH PIZZA

Steps:

• Pour water into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Sprinkle in yeast and let dissolve, about 10 minutes. Add olive oil, melted butter, sugar, salt, cornmeal, and most of the flour. Knead, stopping to scrape down the sides occasionally and adding more flour as needed, until smooth and elastic.
• Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface. Knead in extra flour if needed. Roll into a ball and place in a bowl greased with 1/2 teaspoon olive oil. Cover with a plate and let rise in a warm spot until doubled in volume, 1 to 2 hours.
• Meanwhile, let pizza sauce simmer in a pot over low heat until very thick, 60 to 90 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• Poke dough to deflate and turn out onto your work surface. Press and stretch out dough into a round shape 3 to 4 inches larger than a 12-inch cast iron skillet. Brush skillet with 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil. Place dough in the skillet; stretch and pull to evenly distribute it over the bottom and sides.
• Lay provolone cheese over the bottom of the crust. Scatter fresh mozzarella on top. Add Italian sausage and firm mozzarella. Ladle pizza sauce generously on top. Grate Parmesan cheese on top. Fold the edges of the crust in towards the center to seal in the sides. Drizzle crust and center with 1 tablespoon olive oil.
• Bake in the center of the preheated oven until crust sounds hollow and pizza is beautifully browned, about 35 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

RIDICULOUSLY EASY CHICAGO-STYLE PIZZA PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Bake the pie crust according to your package's directions. I usually prick the bottom and sides of the crust all over with a fork and bake it for 10 minutes, or until it becomes slightly golden. Remove, and set aside.
• Brown the sausage for about 5 minutes in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and mushrooms and cook for a further 5 minutes, or until the sausage is cooked and the onions are soft and translucent. Drain of any excess fat. (You can add salt & pepper at this point depending on how salty/spicy your sausage is- I usually don't).
• Sprinkle the mozzarella and parmesan on the bottom of your pie crust. Top the cheese with the sausage mixture, and spread it out evenly. Next, spread the pizza sauce over the top, making sure the filling is completely covered. Finally, you can sprinkle the Italian seasoning and grated cheese on top, if you wish.
• Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool for at least 5 minutes before serving.

CHICAGO STYLE THIN CRUST PIZZA

Steps:

• Mix the sugar into the water followed by the yeast and let it sit for 10 minutes, or until the yeast starts to foam/bubble.
• Mix in the butter followed by the mixture of the flour, cornmeal, and salt, until it forms a dough.
• Knead the dough on a floured surface until it is soft and elastic (a finger pressed into it will leave an indent that will bounce back out a little) before dividing in two and transferring to two greased bowls, covering it and letting it sit at a little higher higher than room temperature until it rises to double in size, about 2 hours.
• One at a time, knock the dough down, roll it out into a large disc, spread half the butter over half of the dough and fold the other half over onto the buttered half before folding in half again and again and again, before forming into balls and rolling them back out into thin discs and placing them onto large baking dishes.
• Spread the pizza sauce out over one of the crusts, sprinkle on the cheese and topping and bake in a preheated 500F/260C oven until the cheese has melted and the crust is crispy and golden brown, about 10 minutes.

HOW TO MAKE CHICAGO-STYLE DEEP DISH PIZZA

Steps:

• Please use my step-by-step photos below this written out recipe as a guide to making the pizza. For best results and ease of mind, read through the recipe completely before beginning. You will need two deep dish 9×2 inch round cake pans if you are making both pizzas at the same time. You can also use 9 inch springform pans.
• Combine the flour, cornmeal, salt, sugar, and yeast in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. If you do not have a stand mixer, use your hand mixer and a very very large bowl. If you do not have any mixer, you will do this all by hand. Again, use a very large bowl. Give those ingredients a quick toss with your mixer on low or with a large wooden spoon. Add the warm water and 1/4 cup of melted butter. The warm water should be around 90°F (32°C). Make sure it is not very, very hot or it will kill the yeast. Likewise, make sure the butter isn't boiling hot. If you melt it in the microwave, let it sit for 5 minutes before adding. On low speed, beat (or stir) the dough ingredients until everything begins to be moistened. Continuing on low speed (or remove from the bowl and knead by hand if you do not own a mixer), beat the dough until it is soft and supple and gently pulls away from the sides of the bowl and falls off of the dough hook- about 4-5 minutes. If the dough is too hard (it will be textured from the cornmeal), but if it feels too tough, beat in 1 teaspoon of warm water. Alternatively, if it feels too soft, beat in 1 Tablespoon of flour.
• Remove the dough from the bowl and form into a ball. Lightly grease a large mixing bowl with olive oil and place the dough inside, turning it around so that all sides of the dough are coated in the oil. Cover the bowl tightly with aluminum foil and allow to rise in a warm environment for 1-2 hours or until double in size.
• Once the dough is ready, lightly flour a large work surface. Remove dough from the bowl, set the bowl and aluminum foil aside (to use later). Gently punch down the dough to remove any air bubbles and roll the dough into a large 15×12 inch rectangle. Spread 1/4 cup of softened butter on top of the dough. Roll it up lengthwise per the photos below. Cut the dough log in half. Form the two pieces of dough into balls and place back into your greased bowl. Cover with aluminum foil and allow to rise in the refrigerator (not in a warm place) for 1 hour until they are puffy as you make the sauce.
• Place butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat and allow it to melt. Once melted, add the grated onion, salt, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Once the onion has slightly browned after about 5 minutes, add the garlic, tomatoes, and sugar. Turn the heat down to low-medium and allow it to simmer until it's hearty, fragrant, and thick- about 30 minutes. You'll have about 2 and 1/2 cups of sauce at this point. If you have more than that, keep simmering until the amount has reduced. Remove from heat and set aside until ready to be used. You may store the sauce in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days if planning to make the pizza another day. You may freeze this sauce for up to 2 months as well.
• Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C).
• After the dough balls have risen in the refrigerator, they should be puffy. Keep one ball of dough in the refrigerator as you work with the first one. Roll it out on a lightly floured work surface, working it into a 12-inch circle. Using your rolling pin as a guide (see photos below), place over a 9×2 inch deep dish cake pan. Using your fingers, press the dough into the cake pan. Make sure it is nice and tight fitting inside the pan. Trim any excess dough off the edges with a small knife. Repeat with 2nd dough. Brush the top edges of the dough with a little olive oil, which gives the crust a beautiful sheen. Fill each pizza with 1/2 of the cheese (about 2 cups/8 oz per pizza), then the pepperoni and bacon or your desired toppings. Pour about 1 and 1/4 cups (300ml) of sauce evenly on top of each. If you do not like that much sauce, you can reduce to 3/4 cup (180ml) per pizza and have leftover sauce. Sprinkle each with 1/4 cup (22g) of grated parmesan cheese.
• Place the cake pans on top of a large baking sheet, which will catch anything potentially spilling over the sides of the pans. (Nothing usually does.) Bake for 20-28 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Feel free to loosely cover the pizzas with aluminum foil after the 15 minute mark to prevent any heavy browning and uneven baking. Remove the pizzas from the oven and allow to cool in the pans placed on a wire rack for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, slice, serve, and enjoy. Place any leftover pizza in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 5 days. Reheat leftovers in a 300°F (149°C) oven for 15-20 minutes or until hot.

CHICAGO STYLE PIZZA CRUST

Steps:

• In a mixer, combine water and yeast, allowing yeast to dissolve. Add the remaining ingredients (except cornmeal) and begin mixing the dough using a dough hook at low speed.
• Once a ball has formed, mix on medium speed for 1 to 2 minutes until dough becomes elastic and smooth.
• Remove from the mixer and place in a bowl coated with olive oil. Allow to rest approximately 4 hours.
• Once rested, divid into two portions, place on a flat surface and dust with flour.
• Preheat oven to 425°F Sprinkle the bottoms of two deep baking dishes or deep dish pizza pans (I use 10 inch springform pans) with cornmeal. Spread the dough, using your fingers, at the bottom of the pan making sure to have enough to come up the sides approximately 1/2 inch high.
• Layer first with mozzarella, then tomato sauce and toppings.
• Bake pizza for 30 to 40 minutes or until crispy and golden.

OLD WORLD CHICAGO-STYLE THIN CRUST PIZZA

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine the milk, water, yeast and sugar. Lightly whisk and let sit until bubbly and the yeast is bloomed, about 5 minutes. Add the oil.
• Mix the all-purpose flour and salt in a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Set the mixer to medium-low speed and slowly add the yeast mixture until entirely incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl to get everything homogenous. Knead on medium low until the dough is glossy and forms a rough ball, about 5 minutes. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Set it in a warm part of the kitchen until doubled in size, about 2 hours.
• Place a pizza stone on the bottom rack of the oven and preheat to 450 degrees F.
• Split the dough into 2 balls. On a lightly floured surface, roll one of the balls of dough as THIN as possible with a rolling pin. To get an even "trimmed" circle, use a large round lid to trim a rim around the dough. Sprinkle some semolina flour on a pizza peel. Carefully transfer the round of dough to the peel. Dock the crust with a fork or docker, poking holes all over the surface to keep it thin and crispy.
• Working quickly, add half of the pizza sauce almost all of the way to the edge of the crust, leaving about a 1-inch border. For the pepperoni side, place an even layer of pepperoni directly on top of the sauce on half of the pizza. Combine the skim- and whole-milk mozzarella in a large bowl and top the entire pizza with half of the cheese. Top the pepperoni side with some more scattered rounds of pepperoni. For the sausage side, spread half of the giardiniera on top of the cheese, then dollop with hunks of the Italian sausage on top. Transfer to the pizza stone in the oven and bake until golden and bubbly, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer the pizza to a cutting board with the pizza peel. Make another pizza with the remaining ingredients.
• Let the pizza rest for 4 or 5 minutes, then cut into small squares--never triangles. This is called the party cut. Why? Because no matter what's going on, when you're eating Chicago thin crust, it's always a big ol' party.

CHICAGO-STYLE DEEP DISH PIZZAS

Steps:

• While the dough is rising, make the tomato sauce. In a medium saucepan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the herbs, seeds, salt, and black and red peppers, and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes, wine and sugar, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool completely before using.
• Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F.
• Oil 2 seasoned 12-inch round deep-dish pizza pans with the extra-virgin olive oil. Press 1 piece of dough into each pan, pressing to the edge and stretching about 1 1/2 inches up the sides. Let rest for 5 minutes.
• Layer the mozzarella cheese all over the bottom of the pies. Top each with half of the pepperoni, mushrooms, bell pepper rings, onions, black olives and sausage. Ladle the sauce evenly over each pizza and top with Parmesan.
• Bake until the top is golden and the cheese is bubbly and the crust is golden brown, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, slice and serve hot.
• In a large bowl, combine the water, yeast, and sugar and stir to combine. Let sit until the mixture is foamy, about 5 minutes.
• Add 1 1/2 cups of the flour, the semolina, 1/2 cup of the oil, and the salt, mixing by hand until it is all incorporated and the mixture is smooth. Continue adding the flour, 1/4 cup at a time, working the dough after each addition, until all the flour is incorporated but the dough is still slightly sticky.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth but still slightly tacky, 3 to 5 minutes. Oil a large mixing bowl with the remaining 2 teaspoons oil.
• Place the dough in the bowl and turn to oil all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set in a warm, draft-free place until nearly doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Divide into 2 equal portions and use as directed.