Numero Uno (sorta) style - Cooks Illustrated Deep Dish Recipe

[jordanzimmerman]

I made the Cooks Illustrated deep dish pizza recipe again and took pictures this time. I doubled the recipe to make 2 pizzas. Instead of stewed tomatoes, I decided to use a 6-in-1 based sauce (2 cans of 6-in-1, a bunch of crushed garlic and some dried italian seasoning). The first pizza was topped with pepperoni and the second with some Irish rashers bacon that found in a local store.

Super-yummy. This beats any Chicago style I've ever had.

Photos to follow...

[jordanzimmerman]

Fully risen, relaxed dough in pans.

[jordanzimmerman]

After pre-baking (recipe calls for it).

[jordanzimmerman]

Sauced, and cheese and toppings. Before final bake.

[jordanzimmerman]

mmm mmm mmm

[jordanzimmerman]

detail

[Trinity]

Wow!!!

 That looks so good!

[Pete-zza]

jordanzimmerman,

From the photos, it looks like you built up the pizza in the normal fashion (sauce first, followed by cheese and toppings) in what appears to be either cutter pans or shallow deep-dish pans. Is that correct? Also, can you indicate which issue of Cook's Illustrated you found the recipe? I was wondering also about the Irish rashers. Is that something sold domestically in the U.S.?

The pizzas do look great.

Peter

[chiguy]

Hi, Jordanzimmerman
your pizza does look good. I can tell you first hand no place here in Chicago puts the cheese over the sauce on a deep dish, that would be a crime. It's kinda like putting ketchup on a Chicago Style Hot Dog,it just does'nt happen. I have been to a Pizzeria Uno in Kansas City where i seen a par baked deep dish crust with the Cheese over the sauce. They have chains all over the country that are terrible and not authentic. I would try the sliced mozzerella, right on the non baked panned dough. Cover all the bottom with cheese.It will fuse itself with the crust,m mmmm!Then add sauce and topping's.And just bake all at once. If you dont put dough,cheese,then sauce you will not be able to achieve that fusion between the dough & sauce. It makes all the difference on Deep Dish.
                                                          Chiguy

[buzz]

I'm curious about the recipe you used, too. The only one I've seen from America's Test Kitchen (aka Cook's Illustrated) featured, as I recall, adding shaved russet potatoes to the dough and pouring half a cup of olive oil into the pan before baking. I'll have to check on this to see if memory serves correctly!

[jordanzimmerman]

Yes, it's the America's Test Kitchen recipe. You can get it from their website: http://www.cooksillustrated.com/ - you have to pay to get the recipe though. The recipe, once you register, is here: http://www.cooksillustrated.com/recipe.asp?recipeids=1616

Yes, the recipe calls for a potato. I cook it in the microwave and then use a ricer to add it to the dough.

The pans are deep dish pizza pans that I found online: http://www.shop.com/op/~Chicago_Metallic_4_pc_Nonstick_Premium_Nonstick_Pizza_Pan_Set-prod-6144092

These pizzas are similar to Numero Uno - not Pizzeria Uno. Numero Uno is a chain in Southern California. Normally, this pizza doesn't have any sauce at all - just canned whole tomatoes (chopped). I made the variation of adding the 6-in-1 sauce.

[jordanzimmerman]

The rashers can be found in good gourmet stores. I've seen them at Trader Joe's occasionally. Any English/Irish style bacon will do. It's much meatier than American bacon.

FYI - obviously, I cooked the rashers ahead of time.

[Navin Johnson]

Looks like a good pizza!

I'm not totally clear on copyright laws (U.S.) but I believe that ingredients and amounts cannot be copyrighted, so one could post them here.  The more fuzzy part would be whether a paraphrase of the instructions (which many of us could probably guess at anyway) would be legit or not.

As to whether this is "Chicago" or not -- I think it is representative of a certain deep dish style I've had in Chicago (Exchequer pub being the place that stands out the most), if it is not the stereotypical "Chicago" with cheese under the sauce.

-Eric

[jordanzimmerman]

I just sent them an email asking for permission to repost the recipe. Stay tuned...

[Pete-zza]

What Eric says about copyright is essentially correct. The expression (e.g., written instructions, photos, layout, etc.) might be protectible but not the recipe itself. That's why a book of recipes can be protected by copyright but not an individual recipe. It's also hard to keep readers from posting recipes on the internet and essentially putting them into the public domain. By way of example, out of curiosity I did a search this afternoon to see if I could find the recipe jordanzimmerman used, and I found this: http://www.biggreenegg.com/archives/2005/messages/181596.htm. I don't know if the content (recipe or expression) is the same as in the Cook's Illustrated article, but the recipe seems to be either identical or very close.

BTW, I once sent Cook's Illustrated an email to ask permission to post an article that they included in an email sent to me (as an inducement to become a subscriber) and I never got a reply. I think they realize that it is inevitable that articles and recipes they disclose as part of their marketing effort to get new subscribers will be republished in one way or another, including on the internet. Cookbook authors do this all the time as part of their efforts to promote a new book. They will usually give one or two "freebie" recipes from their book--just enough to induce someone to buy the book to get the rest of the recipes. I think they are also aware that any recipe can find its way onto the internet, just as the above example demonstrates.

Peter

[jordanzimmerman]

Yep, that link is the exact recipe that I used. So, there you have it

A few notes:

* I don't usually bloom the yeast. With Rapid Rise, it doesn't seem necessary.

* I end up using about twice as much water (close to 2 cups) as the recipe calls for. I guess Monterey, CA isn't as humid as the America's Test Kitchen.

I used to use a Cuisinart. But, I now have a Kitchenaide stand up and do everything in it. It's really a very easy recipe. I never put the dough on the table. It comes out of the Kitchenaide into a bowl for rising and then straight into the pizza pans.

[chiguy]

 Hello Jzimmerman
 The place i tried in K.C. is Uno Chicago Bar & Grill,ring any bells. The company is based out of Boston, MA. Uno's began franchising in 1980 and it has been down hill ever since. These franchises taste nothing like the real thing(a true Chicago Deep Dish). The crusts are par-baked,very bready, greasy. Not being chacteristic of a Chicago Deep Dish. Ike Seawell must be rolling over in his grave. Well anyway, goodluck perfecting your recipes.
                        Chiguy

[VICIII]

I wish i could eat my monitor..
Great looking pie.