Author Topic: Uno/Malnati Style Deep Dish Pizza (Read 82433 times)

DKM · « **Reply #20 on:** January 22, 2006, 01:38:29 PM »

The vast majority of my recipes are not from books, but from someone who got it from someone and the like. I add salt to almost all my recipes because I prefer the flavor. I have a couple of recipes for Neapolitan pizza that include salt, but I have the feeling that was added later. None I have from Italy include salt.

As I understand Maltani's & Uno's use a very basic recipe and do not use salt.

I have also left the salt out of recipes before and my wife & I both notice and tend not to like the product. I made the recipe posted above and my wife told me how much she liked it and was schocked when I told her there was no salt.

DKM · « **Reply #21 on:** January 22, 2006, 01:43:01 PM »

Quote from: Pete-zza on January 20, 2006, 09:29:30 AM

DKM,

What is the depth of the particular deep-dish pan you used? It also looks like you stopped short of the top of the pan by about 1/2 inch or so. Is that about right?

Peter

Hey Pete,

Sorry I missed this the first time around.

2.25 deep, pulled up around 1.5 inches.

DKM

foodblogger · « **Reply #22 on:** January 24, 2006, 04:26:06 PM »

Wow! Amazing looking pie! It looks almost exactly as I remember Lou Malnati's looking, although I only ate there a few times. There wasn't a Malnati's downtown where I lived and I didn't make it out to the burbs much. I will definately have to try your recipe very very soon. I am hungry just thinking about it.

foodblogger · « **Reply #23 on:** January 25, 2006, 12:02:00 PM »

Quick question for you DKM -

Do you add the sausage raw or do you cook it first? I made up some dough according to your recipe/instructions last night and threw it in the fridge. I took it out of the fridge this morning to rise and I'll be eating it tonight. When I make a sausage pizza I usually take raw sausage and flatten it into mini patties like they do at Uno's in Downtown Chicago. How do you do it? Thanks in advance.

DKM · « **Reply #24 on:** January 25, 2006, 09:10:54 PM »

I use to cook it, but now I break up raw sausage and do pieces.

DKM

Randy · « **Reply #25 on:** January 25, 2006, 10:26:58 PM »

Made this recipe for supper tonight is was very, very good. DKM, I added one teaspoon of salt per your follow up post. Since I didn’t have a 13” pan I used two 9” cake pans. Will buy a 13” pan next time we go shopping. This is a keeper.

Looks like Buzz’s past post is right on the very short knead time.

Randy

DKM · « **Reply #26 on:** February 16, 2006, 09:48:21 PM »

I'm really learning to like this recipe. Although I am going to add 1/2 tsp of salt when I make it.

DKM

buzz · « **Reply #27 on:** February 17, 2006, 09:38:20 AM »

Randy--

The short knead time is the key to restaurant-style Chicago deep dish!

DKM · « **Reply #28 on:** February 17, 2006, 07:38:35 PM »

And yet some of the reastaurants don't use that short of a knead time.

DKM

buzz · « **Reply #29 on:** February 18, 2006, 12:05:11 PM »

Which ones?

The more you knead the dough, the more gluten forms, and the more bread-like the crust becomes. if you go to any of the big Chicago deep dish chains, their pies are very biscuit-like, and so a short knead.

I remember how frustrated I was when I first started trying to duplicate authentic Chicago deep dish, because I was relying on improper information from Jeff Smith, Pat Bruno, etc., who specified an 8-10-minute knead. It always came out like bread--not at all like what I had in the restaurant. The clue finally came from Tom Lehmann (who worked for years in the Chicago deep dish industry)--he said, "Your mother wouldn't knead her pie dough for 10 minutes, would she? If you want to make Domino's, then knead for a long time--if you want to make Chicago deep dish, keep it short!"

And that was the answer (along with the oil content)!

DKM · « **Reply #30 on:** February 19, 2006, 07:42:48 PM »

I have heard that Uno's and Gino's have a 5-7 minute knead time.

After watching them spin the dough on "Pizza in Paridse" at Giordano's I wonder about them. Try that with a biscut or pie dough and it would fall apart.

DKM

buzz · « **Reply #31 on:** February 20, 2006, 12:22:06 PM »

If you did a 5-7 minute knead time with a Uno's or Gino's-style dough, you would get bread!

I have watched the workers at Giordano's sheet their dough, then toss it across the room with no problem, and I know they have a very short knead time.

DKM · « **Reply #32 on:** February 20, 2006, 04:24:52 PM »

Yet, I have been told a person in the know that is what Uno's and Gino's uses.

DKM

buzz · « **Reply #33 on:** February 20, 2006, 05:50:09 PM »

Then they have a different means of production, because if you knead that long, you will get bread!

The only thing I can think of is that perhaps your contact is referrng to the mixing time required, as opposed to the kneading time. With my little ball of dough at home, I can mix the flour, liquid, etc. in about 30 seconds--but if you're working with huge batches of dough I suppose it would take a lot longer!

If I can perfectly duplicate Giordano's crust (which is very, very close to Gino's East) at home with a two-minute knead (1 minute is too short--it comes out too biscuity and resembles Uno's/Malnati's; and 3 minutes starts to push it into the bread category, so that the biscuit-like texture is lost), then obviously this is what they're doing in the restaurants. So, as I said, maybe your contact is referring to mixing time.

I'll ask a guy I know who used to own a Giordano's franchise and is now operating his own pizzeria with a pie almst the same as theirs.

DKM · « **Reply #34 on:** February 20, 2006, 09:59:10 PM »

For the record, my "source" is a guy that worked at Due's (? Uno's sister store) and Gino's East.

You are correct that it hard to compare large batches to small and other factors between a pizza shop kitchen and a home kitchen.

DKM

buzz · « **Reply #35 on:** February 21, 2006, 10:54:50 AM »

The batch size must make the difference, then!

You can't forget that these restaurants are extremely secretive about their formulas (so that they can't be stolen), and the big chains have commissaries in separate locations which prepare the dough and ship it to the outlets, so line employees (including store managers) have no inside information.

DKM · « **Reply #36 on:** February 21, 2006, 11:31:24 AM »

Oh I know all about what employees know and don't know. And this guy has been very honest about things he doesn't know.

DKM

bearfootie · « **Reply #37 on:** February 24, 2006, 02:56:51 PM »

Buzz and DKM,
So how does one balance between mixing and kneading. Another words when does too much handling start to become kneading? I do it all by hand so maybe I need a total handling time for a two pan pizza recipe for my Lou/Uno like crust.

Also DKM, your oil ratio is down on your Jan Post for Lou's verses your June Post for Lou's that I orginally used. Haven't tried this one yet, but is the crust lighter cause I really like the June recipe but always looking for the perfect Lou's! Definitely don't want a lighter crust so please advise!

Wazatron · « **Reply #38 on:** February 24, 2006, 09:15:30 PM »

Sorry, but I have a bit of a newbie question - I read the recipe (and it looks amazing) but I was wondering about the yeast - did you proof the yeast before mixing it togehter? If not, did you need to be sure the water was at a high temp before mixing everything together?

I'm just learning about yests and dough/bread making, and it seems the slightest thing you do makes a big difference from recipe to recipe, so I was curious about this one, since I'd like to try it!!

Thanks!

Chicago Rules!!! · « **Reply #39 on:** February 24, 2006, 10:09:36 PM »

Well two differences between active and instant yeast is that active is meant to be proofed and instant can just be added as a dry ingredient. Myself i use instant yeast for pizza and always proof it. But i think that it might turn out better if i start adding the instant yeast as a dry ingredient first and then addingthe warm water.