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A Chicago-style deep dish pizza with a slice missing sitting on a wooden cutting board.

Chicago-Style Deep Dish Pizza

Course: Pizza / Italian
Cuisine: American, Italian
Prep Time: 3 hours
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 3 hours 45 minutes
Servings: 8 people
Calories: 693kcal
Author: Kris Longwell
Chicago-Style Deep Dish Pizza is nothing like thin-crust New York Pizza. But it is amazing...so much flavor from the wonderful crust, to the cheese, toppings, and zesty sauce. Baked to perfection!
Print Recipe

Equipment

  • 1 12-inch deep dish pizza pan, or 2 9-inch cake pans with 2-inch straight-edge sides

Ingredients

FOR THE DOUGH

  • 3¼ cups all-purpose flour
  • ⅓ cup medium-ground cornmeal
  • 1½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • ¼ oz. rapid rise yeast 1 package
  • 1¼ cups warm water 90 to 100 F
  • ¼ cup unsalted butter melted and cooled to 90 F
  • ¼ cup unsalted butter softened
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil for coating the pan

FOR THE SAUCE

  • ⅔ cup tomato paste
  • ¼ cup ground tomatoes
  • ¾ teaspoon oregano dried
  • ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
  • ½ teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 28 oz. can whole tomatoes drained and hand-crushed

TOPPINGS

  • 4 cups mozzarella fresh, sliced or mozzarella
  • 14 oz Italian sausage hot or sweet, removed from casing and crumbled
  • ½ cup Parmesan cheese grated

Instructions

MAKE THE DOUGH

  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough attachment, add the flour, cornmeal, salt, sugar, and yeast. Mix on low until combined.
  • Turn the speed to medium and add the melted butter and then warm water. Continue mixing until the dough has come together and is smooth and not too sticky to the touch, about 5 minutes. Remove from the bowl, and use your fingers to form a ball, turn the edges under to smooth it out. Place in a large greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm, draft-free area until doubled in size, 90 minutes to 2 hours.
  • Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface, and gently punch the dough a few times with your hands. Roll the dough out to a 10" x 16" rectangle.
  • Smear the softened butter all over the dough. Starting at the short end of the rectangle, use your fingers to roll the dough, jelly-roll style, into a log. Lift the dough from the surface and form into a ball. Place back into the bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator for 45 to 50 minutes.

MAKE THE SAUCE

  • In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the tomato paste, ground (or crushed) tomatoes, oregano, salt, and oil until completely mixed. Use your hands to crush the whole tomatoes into the bowl. Stir again until all is incorporated. Set aside.

ASSEMBLE THE PIZZA

  • Preheat oven to 475°F.
  • Remove the dough from the refrigerator and transfer it to a lightly floured surface. If using a 12-inch pan, use a rolling pin to roll the dough out to an 18 to 20-inch diameter. If using 2 9-inch pans, divide the dough in half, and roll them out to 15 to 16 inches in diameter.
  • Fold the dough in half to create a semi-circle. Then fold it again, into a quarter-circle.
  • Lightly oil the pizza pans and then gently transfer the dough to the pan. Unfold the pizza and use your hands to press the dough into the sides of the pan. Use a knife, or kitchen shears, to clip away excess dough that's hanging over the edge of the pan.
  • Add the mozzarella over the dough, and then pinch off pieces of the sausage and cover the cheese. Spread the sauce over the top, and then sprinkle on the Parmesan cheese.
  • Bake for 28 minutes, loosely covering the pizza with foil once the dough is nicely browned, usually after about 15 minutes.
  • Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes.
  • Use a hot pat to hold the pan at an angle with one hand. With the other hand and a large spatula, carefully ease the pizza out of the pan onto a cutting board or pizza paddle. Use a serrated knife to slice the pizza. Serve at once!

Video

Notes

Let the melted butter cool to 90 to 100°F before adding to the mixer.  Heat the water in your microwave for about 10 to 15 seconds, until it's warm, about 90 to 100 degrees.
If using Active Dry Yeast, give the dough a little longer to rise and double in size, typically a couple of hours.
If you can't find ground tomatoes, use crushed tomatoes instead.
No need to cook the sausage before baking the pizza.
Remember to tent the pizza with foil after about 15 minutes of baking to prevent the edges of the dough from burning. 
To remove the pizza from the pan, gently slide a large spatula under one side of the crust.  You may need to use one hand to pull one side of the pizza away from the pan, allowing you to slip the spatula under the pizza.  The dough is sturdy, so it should not come apart when transferring to a board.   Alternatively, use a sharp knife and/or pizza cutter to slice the pizza still in the pan. 

Nutrition

Calories: 693kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 117mg | Sodium: 1498mg | Potassium: 450mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 1115IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 388mg | Iron: 4mg