Chicago-Style Deep Dish Pizza

Making deep-dish pizza at home turns out to be a lot of fun. It comes out delicious (especially if you follow some of the tips here!), and there's nothing like the sense of accomplishment that comes with making something that sounds complicated on your own. I took my recipe for the crust from the posters over at http://www.pizzamaking.com/ with slight modifications (the specific poster that I borrowed from is Buzz). I used a cast-iron pan to create this pizza, and I think that worked out especially well in giving a crispiness to the crust. Give it a try!


Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 packets yeast (instant)

1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
3/4 cup warm water
5 tbsp corn oil
1 tbsp olive oil

I started by mixing the all the dry ingredients (including the yeast). Use a whisk to make sure everything is distributed evenly. Then add the water (make sure it's fairly warm, as this is needed to activate the yeast). Stream in the oil, kneading the dough as you go. Once all the oil is added, knead the dough for about 2 minutes. You should get a smooth ball of dough by this point. Put it in a bowl and cover with a damp towel. Allow to rise for about 8 hours. The long rise time is necessary for deep dish.

Once the dough has risen, roll it out to 12-14" in diameter (it needs to overhang the baking vessel) with a rolling pin. Preheat the oven to 450. I buttered the cast-iron pan prior to putting the dough in. Once the dough is spread in the pan, crimp the edges that overhang to form the outer crust. Put the empty crust in the oven for 5 minutes. This is called blind-baking, and helps to prevent shrinking of the crust. Once the crust is blind-baked, brush it with butter (for flavor), and then add toppings. Instead of adding tomato sauce first, start with shredded cheese. Then add you favorite toppings (I used salami, pepperoni, proscuitto, sauteed mushroom and spinach). Add another layer of cheese, and then cover in tomato sauce. I like using a very chunky sauce for this recipe. Put the pizza in the oven and bake until the crust is golden brown, about 15 minutes.

When the pizza comes out, there's not much left to do but enjoy!