My pizza is BLEEDING!

[GaryGreen]

Total nube here as far as pizza making goes and I need help.

Did my first attempt at Chicago style last night, dough with puff pastry like folds of butter.  An American Test Kitchen recipe.

Put the double risen dough into the 23cm spring pan.  Cheese in the bottom.  Slices of pepperoni sliced thin then over that layer of (all veggies uncooked) onion, green pepper, olive and mushroom..More cheese over that and then the sauce.  In the oven at 220 C and 30 minutes later out it came.

Let cool for 10 min then popped it out of the pan.  Looked okay, thinking the crust could have been darker. 

Sliced into it and out oozed oil, little bit of red but mainly oil, grease, water and it bled like this making a large puddle.  Bottom crust was soggy and yuck.  Side crust just fine.

Should have taken a pix of the oozing mess but forgot.  Here it was while it was still looking pretty.

What did I do wrong?  Precook the meat?  Put it on top?  All suggestions appreciated. 

Thank you.

[AimlessRyan]

Did my first attempt at Chicago style last night, dough with puff pastry like folds of butter.  An American Test Kitchen recipe.

First of all (and I don't mean any disrespect by saying this), that's not Chicago style deep dish. It's a pizza that may be made in a Chicago style pan, and its shape may be similar to Chicago deep dish, but it's not a Chicago style deep dish. If you want to make a great deep dish, let the boards on pizzamaking.com guide you, not America's Test Kitchen.

After a quick read, one thing that seems pretty clear to me is that your toppings add a lot of water to the pizza, and there's a good chance your sauce does, too. The grease is probably coming from both the cheese and the pepperoni, which may be fixed by using different brands or types of cheese and pepperoni.

[moose13]

What was your sauce recipe?
I use a cooked sauce in deep dish. Crushed tomatoes with salt and garlic.
Cook down in a pan till all standing water is gone. Takes about an hour on med-low.
For me, most store bought or neapolitan style sauces have too much water for a deep dish.
You want a sauce that will stay on top and not run into the bottom and become soggy.

Also try to keep watery veggies to a minimum, fresh tomatoes etc. Will make water when cooked.
I would try adding veggies to your sauce and cook it. Trying to remove am much liquid as possible.

Your crust looks very good!

[AimlessRyan]

You don't have to cook tomatoes to get the water out.

[rcbaughn]

If you want a bright uncooked sauce like Ryan mentioned you can put a can of crushed tomatoes in a fine mesh strainer and allow it to drain for a good long while. Most of the water will work its way out. I have even went ahead and added my salt to the mixture in the can before I pour it in the strainer and that seems to help pull more water out, although that may be my eyes playing tricks on me. This seems to work well for me when I've made Chicago style pies, although I've used cooked sauce and liked that okay but not as well since that pie bakes for a while and the uncooked sauce will cook itself. It's all what you want out of the pie though.

[GaryGreen]

What was your sauce recipe?

Also try to keep watery veggies to a minimum, fresh tomatoes etc. Will make water when cooked.
I would try adding veggies to your sauce and cook it. Trying to remove am much liquid as possible.

Your crust looks very good!

Thank you for kind words concerning the crust.  Best I've ever made, to date.  Too much corn meal though.  Will reduce it next time.

Sauce is just canned tomatoes with a bit of onion, garlic and spices and then cooked down so it's nice and thick.
My bleeding had very little red in it so it wasn't the sauce.
I think your idea of too much water from veggies could be it.  However, when I've had commercial pizza like Giordanno or Uno there has been watery veggies in the pizza but they didn't leak out like that.  I also think they don't pre-cook them to get the water out.  Wondering what the secret is here.
The cheese I used is the standard norwegian cheese in the store and I've melted it many times, no water or oil every came out so don't think that's it.
Next time put the pepperoni on top and see if I get the same bleeding.

[Chicago Bob]

What did I do wrong?  

Thank you.

The main thing you did wrong was not providing a slice pic of that pie.  
I'd venture to say you used much more of all those water ladened vegs. than the commercial places you mentioned that "don't pre cook to get the water out".But we can't see your amounts. Also, I'm not so sure they don't pre cook some of the items.
Oh, Chicago deep dish pizza doesn't use corn meal.
Did the pizza taste good?

[pythonic]

Grease came from the pepperoni most likely.  To reduce u can put pepperoni in microwave for about 10 secs then be sure to put pepperoni on top of the sauce.  Vegetables contribute to a lot of water as well so limit how many u put in there.

What are you baking the pizza on?  The rack or a preheated stone?  I do mine on a 500F preheated stone and it comes out fine.

Nate

[GaryGreen]

The main thing you did wrong was not providing a slice pic of that pie.
Oh, Chicago deep dish pizza doesn't use corn meal.
Did the pizza taste good?

Yes, agreed, should have grabbed a shot of that but I was just so crestfallen to see all that liquid ruining my crust it slipped my mind.
I'll try without cornmeal next time.  It was part of the recipe so I did it.
In all the videos I've seen and all the pizza places I've been in I've never seen precooked veggies.  They are sliced thin though and yes, I'm sure I put more on than would normally be done in a commercial place.
It did taste good.  I guess it's the crust that is bugging me the most.

Next time, less veggies and the pepperoni on top of the sauce.

Thank you for replying.

[GaryGreen]

What are you baking the pizza on?  The rack or a preheated stone?  I do mine on a 500F preheated stone and it comes out fine.
Nate

Thanks Nate.  Rack is what I have and so rack is what I used.  Next time hotter oven, put the pan right on the bottom of the oven.  No pizza stones to be found here in Moss, Norway.  Nowhere that sells Chicago pizza either.  Most of the pizza here in Norway is truly lousy.

[Chicago Bob]

Gary,
Many people will use semolina...not cornmeal. 220c is 428f I guess so if you can get say 475f you should be fine using the rack where it's at. I would NOT put that pan directly on the bottom of the oven. 30-40 min. is too long at 475 for the pepperoni on top...just use a 'lil less or do the microwave trick to first pull  some oil out of the pepperoni.

[moose13]

You don't have to cook tomatoes to get the water out.

never said you had to do anything, just what i do