Lou Malnati's Deep Dish Pizza Recipe - "The Lou"

[pythonic]

No, it's spinach first (mixed with the shredded mozz or prov).  I thought it was written out pretty clearly.

Right.  From all the pics I've seen online the spinach is mixed with Mozz or prov.

[Garvey]

That's why I was originally worried about it being a wet pie, since the usual sliced cheese layer would seem to protect the crust.  But those fears were for naught. And having the sliced cheese layer in the middle, separating the spinach from the mushroom and tomato layer, added a nice casserole effect.  In a good way. 

[Garvey]

Ended up making something else but I'm glad I did because I didn't care for the 20% semolina dough.

I guess I should have added a 1/4 c. of ginger.   

All kidding aside, I ain't a DD dough master like you.  I don't make it more than a couple times per year, so I fall back on a BTB hybrid I started with a while ago.  Need to switch over to your dough recipe.  Can you point me to your latest iteration?  Thanks.

[pythonic]

I guess I should have added a 1/4 c. of ginger.   

All kidding aside, I ain't a DD dough master like you.  I don't make it more than a couple times per year, so I fall back on a BTB hybrid I started with a while ago.  Need to switch over to your dough recipe.  Can you point me to your latest iteration?  Thanks.

This ones pretty good.

http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php?topic=30152.0

[PIC 1]

PIC, that thing looks tasty!!!  BTW, why did you go cheese on top of the dough first instead of spinach?  Just curious. 

And Nate, where's yours, man?  120-hr cold ferment?   

Although Malnati's starts with the spinach with a grate of provolone, I elected to place the cheese first  and keep the spinach and mushrooms together. Similar to the stuffed style pies I've been making through the yrs....( Nancy's, Giordano's..etc)

[pythonic]

PIC,

What dough recipe did you use?  One of the recipes on this site?

Nate

[Garvey]

This ones pretty good.

http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php?topic=30152.0

Thanks.  Although converting to a 12" means, what, about 570g of dough or so?  Heh heh.  I think someone said, "Looks like a lot of dough" when I used 580g.  I guess it's that extra gram and a half per slice which put mine over the top?   

[pythonic]

Thanks.  Although converting to a 12" means, what, about 570g of dough or so?  Heh heh.  I think someone said, "Looks like a lot of dough" when I used 580g.  I guess it's that extra gram and a half per slice which put mine over the top?   

Try 275 total grams of flour for a 12 inch.

[Garvey]

Made this again last night.  I went with pretty much all the original measurements.  Since it had been so long, I needed to revisit my old baseline.  I did three small mods: (1) no semolina--just AP; (2) used 570g of dough instead of 580, (3) a 48-hr cold ferment.  After looking at all my old notes and this thread, I was worried that the dough was going to be too thick and bready.  Not at all!  The massive amounts of ingredients--seven layers of casserole on top of the crust!--ensures a good balance.

Turned out great!  The earthiness of the mushrooms and spinach, and the interplay with the cheese.  Wow.  I am a sausage-only diehard, but this is damn good.

Keys: light hand with the crushed tomatoes, light hand with the shredded cheese on top.  (The last pic is actually an upskirt of the sausage pie I made first.)

[Link to video of Marc Malnati assembling a "Lou": https://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php?topic=36777.0]

[Garvey]

Winner and still champ, "The Lou"!

[nickyr]

I made it with pythonic's dough and it was great! I browned the mushrooms in a skillet for the flavor and sautéed the spinach while I was at it. Next time I'll add garlic to the spinach. I also personally would prefer more sauce (I remember Lou's being saucier too but it's been a long time). I used dried oregano and marjoram instead of basil because that's what I had and it was very tasty.

I'm gonna try some sort of hybrid of this with vegan sausage some time.

Thanks for the recipe!

[Garvey]

Try making it without cooking the spinach first.  It's a revelation.

[nickyr]

Try making it without cooking the spinach first.  It's a revelation.

Whoa, it's better? I assumed that not having to cook it would just be convenient, not actually better

[KCounter]

WOWZA!!!!!  Look no farther!  THIS is the Lou's recipe I have been trying to replicate for several years and it is SPOT ON!  I followed the recipe exactly and it tastes just like The Lou!  I dream about this pizza!  LOL 

We had a real Lou's pizza a couple weeks ago while we were on vacation in Mesa, AZ.  I have attached a picture of it and then two pictures of ours.  We want to do a blind taste test with this recipe sometime, but unfortunately we don't live near a Lou Malnati's.  It's 4 hours away, darn it!  At least we can replicate it now when we have a craving.  I just need a Nancy's Pizza stuffed dough recipe and I will be set!

Thank you, Garvey for sharing this recipe!

[Garvey]

Glad you liked it.  This spinach combo surprises me with how good it is every single time I make it.

[Old Red]

Gave this a try. Sliced the unseeded tomatoes and mushrooms at the last minute not giving them time to dry in the frig. Maybe for that it was a little soupy; maybe I used too much tomato or spinach. What do I know; it was delicious. I'll try again in a couple days.

[Garvey]

Gave this a try. Sliced the unseeded tomatoes and mushrooms at the last minute not giving them time to dry in the frig. Maybe for that it was a little soupy; maybe I used too much tomato or spinach. What do I know; it was delicious. I'll try again in a couple days.

Looks like you used non-Romas?  Romas are fairly dry in comparison.  That may be enough to make a difference. 

Also try a lighter hand with the shredded cheese on top to give the toms a chance to breathe / dry out a lil in the oven.  Looks like you blanketed them pretty heavily, ensuring a very soupy casserole.

[Chicago Bob]

Gave this a try. Sliced the unseeded tomatoes and mushrooms at the last minute not giving them time to dry in the frig. Maybe for that it was a little soupy; maybe I used too much tomato or spinach. What do I know; it was delicious. I'll try again in a couple days.

Yep, She's a squirter..... And I bet it tasted wonderful!!   

[vcb]

For reference, here's a video from Travel Thirsty where they visit a Lou Malnati's.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYKyVXS5DDw&t=208s

At 3M 28s you can see them build "The Lou".

[texaspieguy]

Tried this crust out tonight, turned out great. Didn't have any sausage so made pepperoni.