Day 187: Gino's Deep Dish Chicago Style Pizza

Today's recipe is a deep dish pizza.  I've never made one before, in fact, I've never had one before.  Supposedly this is Chicago style pizza.  Now, I've never been to Chicago, unless you count the 10 minutes I spent on the runway at O'Hare airport on the way to Boston.  So I can't vouch for the authenticity of this recipe, but I can vouch for the deliciousness of it.  I found this one at Favorite Family Recipes.

Gino's Deep Dish Chicago Style Pizza
12" dutch oven

Crust:

1 c. water
1 package yeast
1/3 c. corn oil
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp cream of tartar
1 lbs Bread Flour

In a bowl, put water (luke warm), then yeast, oil, cream of tartar, and sugar. Mix with hand until yeast dissolves. Then, pour in Bread Flour a little at a time. Mix with your hand. Just curve your hand like a dough hook and hold the bowl and mix. Then, knead it until it gets firm. Add more flour if needed. The secret is the kneading. Knead it for about 10 minutes straight. Then, roll it into a ball, and put it in a bowl with oil brushed in the sides. Cover with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel. Let sit overnight unrefrigerated. Only let it rise once. Portion and use.

Toppings:

Pizza sauce (Just use your favorite or make you own)
16 oz. (about 4 c.) Low-moisture part skim mozzarella (NOT low fat.)
Pepperoni
Italian sausage, uncooked, pinched into little pieces  (I cooked mine)

After the dough has risen coat your dutch oven with a healthy later of Crisco or butter. Roll the dough out to about 3 inches larger than the bottom of the pan and pinch the dough up along the sides of the pan. Now put your cheese in (right on the crust). Then add your pepperoni and sausage pieces, and finally your sauce (Don't worry, the sausage will cook through completely in the oven). Bake at 350°, using 1 1/2 rings on top and 1 ring on the bottom, until the crust is starting to brown and cheese is starting to bubble up through the sauce. The little edges of the pepperoni should also be starting to crisp and the sausage should be cooked through (about 45 minutes).

The Finished Product

I forgot to put the sausage on before the sauce, so my sausage is on top.

The Review

I think this was the best pizza I've ever had!  I used a different crust recipe because I didn't plan ahead, so I don't know how this crust recipe is.  I really liked having the cheese on the bottom and the sauce on top.  It made it really gooey and cheesy.  I didn't use enough topping on mine, so be sure to use the full 4 cups of cheese for optimum gooeyness.  Use good quality Italian sausage as well.  I used Johnsonville mild sausage, the kind in the casings.  I just removed the casings and fried it in my dutch oven.  You could use any toppings you want.  Next time I'll try a veggie pizza.  We gave this one an A.