Deep Dish Pizza

Pizza shows up on our menu plan regularly, and we usually make it ourselves (especially during these months of COVID), but sometimes I want a bit of variety. While searching for a new recipe, I was reminded of the delicious pizza we had while visiting family in Ann Arbor. I found a Chicago-Style Deep Dish Pizza recipe over on the King Arthur website and made an absolutely delicious creation. While we may not have it very often, it's a nice addition to our rotation, and it fit perfectly with our skillet bread project.

Chicago-Style Deep Dish Pizza

• 1/2 cup lukewarm water
• 1 teaspoon yeast
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon cornmeal
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/3 pound sliced Mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 pound Italian sausage, cooked and sliced
• 1 can (15 ounce) crushed tomatoes, drained
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 2 cloves garlic, mixed
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/3 cup Parmesan or Asiago cheese, grated

Dissolve the yeast in the water, then stir in the flour, cornmeal, salt, olive oil, vegetable oil and butter. Knead until smooth, then let rise for an hour.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Roll dough out and fit into an oiled cast iron skillet. Let set for a few minutes, then stretch dough up sides of pan. Bake for 8 minutes. 

Remove and top with Mozzarella cheese and sausage (and other toppings, as you'd like). Combine tomatoes, garlic, Italian seasoning, and sugar and spoon on top. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over that, and drizzle with a bit of olive oil, if desired. Bake for about 20 minutes, until golden brown.

Carefully remove from pan and let set for 15 minutes before slicing and serving.

Today's version used our regular pizza sauce, and that works as well!