Homemade Deep Dish

As sad as I was to move away from Minnesota 4 year ago Chicago had one redeeming characteristic right from the start...amazing deep dish pizza. One of the first questions we asked our landlord when moving in (after "where's our mailbox" and "what the heck is up with the wacky on street parking") was "where is the best pizza joint in town". By a crazy stroke of luck the BEST place in Oak Park (and some say the whole city) was blocks from our casa. Nearly every week we'd order a thick dish of deep Chicago pizza, switching up the toppings but never our satisfaction and delight.

Then came the recession. This terrible recession that has seen so many amazing small businesses go under. I was in shock when we called for our normal Friday indulgence and a sad recorded message greeted us. They never said they closed, but after 2.5 years of no pizza I'm thinking the deal is done.

I mourned the loss of that pizza, still do. While we had a few good options around, nothing measures up and definitely not in the deep dish department (stuffed pizza is NOT deep dish Chicago!).

So after sulking and whining for far too long I decided to do something about it. Well actually, the solution kind of fell in may lap. "MAKE it Becky, make it."

Now I've made homemade pizza before. We actually make calzones and pizzas fairly regularly. I make the dough and we add the stuff and bake and whalla, totally acceptable pizza, but nothing great.

So last week I was clearing out our DVR in anticipation of switching from Comcast to At&t this week (best decision of our lives) and stumbled across some back episodes of America's Test Kitchen. The first episode I screened was how to make deep dish pepperoni pizza. I watched, I jotted, I bought ingredients and last night we tested out the product. OH MY GOODNESS. Crunchy thick crust, soft bubbly cheese, lots and lots of pepperoni. I may never miss that old pizza joint again.

Enjoy.

American's Test Kitchen

Deep Dish Pepperoni Pizza

Ingredients

Dough

* 1/2 cup olive oil
* 3/4 cup skim milk plus 2 additional tablespoons, warmed to 110 degrees
* 2 teaspoons sugar
* 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour , plus extra for counter
* 1 package instant yeast
* 1/2 teaspoon table salt
Sauce
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 2 cloves garlic , minced
* 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
* Salt and pepper

Toppings:
# 1 (3.5-ounce) package sliced pepperoni
# 1 1/3 cups tomato sauce (see related recipe, "Basic Pizza Sauce")
# 3 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Directions

Instructions for Basic Pizza sauce:
* Cook oil and garlic in medium saucepan over low heat until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add tomatoes, increase heat to medium, and cook until slightly thickened, 10 to 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Instructions for dough:

* 1. To make the dough: Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 200 degrees. When oven reaches 200 degrees, turn it off. Lightly grease large bowl with cooking spray. Coat each of two 9-inch cake pans with 3 tablespoons oil.
* 2. Mix milk, sugar, and remaining 2 tablespoons oil in measuring cup. Mix flour, yeast, and salt in standing mixer fitted with dough hook. Turn machine to low and slowly add milk mixture. After dough comes together, increase speed to medium-low and mix until dough is shiny and smooth, about 5 minutes. Turn dough onto lightly floured counter, gently shape into ball, and place in greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and place in warm oven until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
* 3. To shape and top the dough: Transfer dough to lightly floured counter, divide in half, and lightly roll each half into ball. Working with 1 dough ball at a time, roll and shape dough into 9 1/2-inch round and press into oiled pan. Cover with plastic wrap and set in warm spot (not in oven) until puffy and slightly risen, about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, heat oven to 400 degrees.
* 4. While dough rises, put half of pepperoni in single layer on microwave-safe plate lined with 2 paper towels. Cover with 2 more paper towels and microwave on high for 30 seconds. Discard towels and set pepperoni aside; repeat with new paper towels and remaining pepperoni.
* 5. Remove plastic wrap from dough. Ladle 2/3 cup sauce on each round, leaving 1/2-inch border around edges. Sprinkle each with 1 1/2 cups cheese and top with pepperoni. Bake until cheese is melted and pepperoni is browning around edges, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven; let pizzas rest in pans for 1 minute. Using spatula, transfer pizzas to cutting board and cut each into 8 wedges. Serve.

I made a few changes that worked well. I let the milk sugar yeast concoction sit for about 5 minutes until it got all bubbly and activated before adding it to the dry ingredients. Then I used TJs Basil marinara for the sauce instead of making my own and I used their 4 cheese Italian blend in lieu of plain mozzarella, I like a little variety in my pizza cheeses. I'm sorry I didn't take photos, but I will next time because it's the prettiest bestest pizza around.