First deep dish pizza since the 1980s

[ogdred]

Deep dish basically disappeared in Toronto in the 1980s when we lost Frank Vetere's. It's never been my favourite style, but when I was a kid, it was always the type of pizza we had when we went out to a restaurant.

Anyway, here's my first ever attempt. I had no idea how much sauce was appropriate, and definitely overdid it on this one.

[CDNpielover]

too much sauce?  is that even possible?  LOL just kidding!    that pie looks awesome!  great work!  if i had to criticize something though, i would say that your crust is way too thick.  if you're trying for an authentic deep dish, you should see if you can make it a bit thinner next time.  either way, you did a great job and that looks tasty as heck!!!  

[widespreadpizza]

yes nice job for your first attempt.  I would say thats almost twice as much crust as you need,  and about the right amount of sauce.  It just needs to be thicker,  either use a thicker crushed tomato or drain through a strainer quite a bit of water out of those.  -marc

[ogdred]

I appreciate the kind words.

I wasn't too confident that the dough would hold up to the sauce, and I feared it ending up more lasagne than pizza. (I also par baked it, which I guess is verboten, and that caused it to get puffier than it otherwise might have.) Definitely too thick, though.

I am not too sure what the ideal target for the sauce is. Is it preferable to chop up a can of whole tomatoes? Most of the varieties of crushed or stained tomatoes I use don't have much in the way of visible tomato chunks left in them.

[CDNpielover]

try 6-in-1s for the sauce.

EDIT:  also, yea you shouldn't have par baked.  what recipe did you use?  If you look on the forums, there are good recipes that many, many people have used and honed.  if you follow a good recipe, you shouldn't need to be experimenting/reinventing the wheel with things like parbaking.  i'm not an expert on this style of pie, but the malnati clone from this site has worked great for me.   

[ogdred]

I have been looking around, but I can't find 6 in 1 tomatoes here in Toronto. Are they available in Alberta? I have been looking actively for alternative strained tomatoes, but none of the ones mentioned on US sites are readily available here, including at specialty Italian grocery stores.

(I have the same issue with commercial mozzarella. I have yet to find anyone suggesting the preferred Canadian brands.)

I will try the Moltani recipe next time.

[CDNpielover]

we do get 6-in-1s in Alberta, but you have to go to the italian import store to get them (not sure why since they are from California).

Do you have the new Classico crushed tomatoes where you shop?  As I understand it, they are made by the same company as 6-in-1s (Stanislas) and might even be the same exact product just rebranded.  I think they carry that brand at Walmart.

If you can't get 6-in-1 or Classico, you might try Great Value brand tomatoes from Walmart.  That brand is another very popular choice on these forums.  

EDIT:  just noticed you are from Toronto, so I'm not sure my Great Value recommendation applies.  The Great Value tomatoes available in Canada are from a different (Canadian) source than the ones available in the US, and I've tried them and didn't find them that great - i.e. nowhere near comparable to something like 6-in-1.

[vcb]

I have been looking around, but I can't find 6 in 1 tomatoes here in Toronto. Are they available in Alberta? I have been looking actively for alternative strained tomatoes, but none of the ones mentioned on US sites are readily available here, including at specialty Italian grocery stores.

I agree with the "too much dough/drain your tomatoes", consensus here.
Otherwise, looks like a darn tasty pie!

Maybe if you could go to your local grocery store and take a photo of the available brands of tomatoes, it might help us make a better suggestion for an alternate to 6-in-1 tomatoes.

I am not too sure what the ideal target for the sauce is. Is it preferable to chop up a can of whole tomatoes? Most of the varieties of crushed or stained tomatoes I use don't have much in the way of visible tomato chunks left in them.

Crushed or Ground (there is a slight difference between the two) or somewhere in-between, is pretty much the ideal texture, but everyone has a different preference for their sauce.
Some people like a lot of tomato chunks, adding additional diced tomatoes; others like a smoother sauce. From what I've seen of Pizzeria Uno (the original) and Lou Malnati's, deep dish sauce is more or less well-crushed tomatoes with a few random chunks in them. If you've ever seen a can of Lou Malnati's brand of canned tomatoes, they call it "random cut" tomatoes, and they are very close to if you had just crushed the tomatoes between your hands.

I might not be in the majority, but I actually prefer Muir Glen crushed tomatoes (with basil if you can find it) or the white label "San Marzano" tomatoes that are actually grown in California.

[ogdred]

I took it to the other extreme today. I used the small remaining amount of leftover dough from yesterday, which I was barely able to stretch out to the sides of the pan, let alone crimp against the edges of the pan. Since I used up almost all of my sauce yesterday, I took canned whole tomatoes and crushed them in a colander with a wooden spoon, using only a couple of tablespoons of the resulting liquid. I also used a lot more cheese in the base, with a fairly even mix of mozzarella and provolone.

I am ashamed to post this in the Chicago-style board, but it did taste very good.

[BTB]

No being ashamed.  It looked excellent.  Try adding a small can of a good quality "small-diced" tomatoes to that of a can of crushed tomatoes.

                                                                   --BTB

[Chicago Bob]

ogdred,

What BTB says.....add a lil "crushed" or "ground" to that an you will be golden! Also,do yourself a big favor and search function BTB for your deep dish dough needs....

Bob

[CDNpielover]

That last pie looks awesome.  I've got 2 hours to lunch, and i'm already hungry!