Hello all,
After a bit of research on the forum, I’ve made my first Chicago-style deep dish. I was basically trying to go for a Malnati’s clone.
I already had a recipe from King Arthur Flour that I wanted to try, but I modified it based on some of the research I did on the forum. I probably will continue to tweak it, but my wife and I were quite satisfied with how the pizza came out...in fact, I’d even say it was great!
Here’s my basic recipe:
Dough:
King Arthur Bread Flour: 17 oz.
Semolina Flour: 3 oz
Melted Butter: 4 tablespoons
Olive Oil: 4 tablespoons
Salt: 1 tablespoon
ADY: 1 tablespoon
Water: 8 oz.
I mixed all this together, and kneaded for just under a minute. I then put the dough in the fridge over night, taking it out about noon the next day and letting it sit out and warm to room temperature and rise a bit. (never really rose that much)
About 5:30 pm I rolled the dough out with a rolling pin (I was surprised how easy it worked, and no sticking to the pin or cutting board!) and then transferred it to my 12X3 inch deep dish pan, which had been sprayed with Pam cooking spray and then dolloped with a couple tablespoons olive oil.
After working the dough up the sides, I layered sliced mozzarella in the bottom, then pepperoni (sorry, I’m not a sausage guy) and then the sauce.
Sauce:
Muir Glen Organic Fire Roasted Chopped Tomatoes, drained: 3 cans (42 oz)
Dried Oregano: 1 tablespoon
Granulated Garlic: 1 tablespoon
I had hoped to try some 6-in-1 tomatoes, since they are raved about on this site, but couldn’t find any, so I settled for the Muir Glen, which I found at a local Central Market, and which were quite tasty. I’ve since ordered some 6-in-1 from their website, and will try them out next time.
After I sauced the pizza, I put it in an oven that had been warmed to 500F, then cut to 450F just before I put in the pizza. I let it cook 20 minutes, then turned it a half turn, threw on some sliced olives, and let it continue to cook for 15 more minutes, for a total of 35.
It looked perfect when it came out. I let it rest about 5 minutes, then sliced and served. Not quite Malnati’s, but very, very good. I particularly loved the crust, which was very buttery, with a bit of crunchiness on the bottom, but otherwise flaky and tender. The sauce was also quite good. The large, chunky tomatoes seemed to cook a bit in the oven (which makes sense), losing some moisture but gaining increased flavor, richer and much less acidic than straight out of the can.
I’m going to call this one a success, folks, but hopefully, it will just keep getting better.
Chris
