Best Southwestern Deep Dish Pizza Recipes

TRUE CHICAGO-STYLE DEEP-DISH PIZZA

Steps:

• Mix sugar, yeast and 11 ounces room temperature water (about 80 degrees) in a bowl and let bloom for 15 minutes. Combine flour, salt and cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Once yeast has bloomed, add to dry ingredients along with corn oil. Gently combine with a rubber spatula until a rough ball is formed.
• Knead on low speed with the dough hook for 90 seconds. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl and proof until doubled in size, about 6 hours. Punch down and let dough settle for 15 more minutes.
• Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 450 degrees F.
• Coat bottom and sides of a 12-inch cake pan or traditional Chicago style pizza pan with melted butter. Using your hands, spread out about three-quarters of the dough across the bottom and up the sides of the pan (save the remainder for another use). Cover entire bottom in mozzarella, all the way up to the edge. Cover half with a thin, even layer of raw sausage. Cover the other half with the pepperoni. Top with a couple handfuls of crushed tomatoes. Spread out with hands to the edge. Sprinkle top evenly with grated Parm.
• Bake, rotating halfway through, until golden around the edge, about 25 minutes. Let rest for about 5 minutes, then either gently lift pizza out of pan or just cut your slice out of the pan like a pie!

CHICAGO DEEP-DISH PIZZA

Steps:

• Pour water into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Sprinkle in yeast and let dissolve, about 10 minutes. Add olive oil, melted butter, sugar, salt, cornmeal, and most of the flour. Knead, stopping to scrape down the sides occasionally and adding more flour as needed, until smooth and elastic.
• Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface. Knead in extra flour if needed. Roll into a ball and place in a bowl greased with 1/2 teaspoon olive oil. Cover with a plate and let rise in a warm spot until doubled in volume, 1 to 2 hours.
• Meanwhile, let pizza sauce simmer in a pot over low heat until very thick, 60 to 90 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• Poke dough to deflate and turn out onto your work surface. Press and stretch out dough into a round shape 3 to 4 inches larger than a 12-inch cast iron skillet. Brush skillet with 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil. Place dough in the skillet; stretch and pull to evenly distribute it over the bottom and sides.
• Lay provolone cheese over the bottom of the crust. Scatter fresh mozzarella on top. Add Italian sausage and firm mozzarella. Ladle pizza sauce generously on top. Grate Parmesan cheese on top. Fold the edges of the crust in towards the center to seal in the sides. Drizzle crust and center with 1 tablespoon olive oil.
• Bake in the center of the preheated oven until crust sounds hollow and pizza is beautifully browned, about 35 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

DEEP DISH PIZZA

Steps:

• Add flour, cornmeal, salt, honey and yeast to a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Mix on low speed until incorporated.
• Add in water and 3 tbsp melted butter and mix on low until combined, 1-2 minutes.
• Increase the speed to medium and knead the dough until it is glossy and pulls aways from the sides of the bowl, 5 minutes.
• Coat a large bowl with olive oil and add the dough ball to the bowl turning to coat the dough ball in oil. Cover with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise until doubled, about 60 minutes or so.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Coat two 9 inch cake pans with olive oil, set aside.
• Roll dough onto a dry work surface and roll into a 15 x 12 inch rectangle. Spread with 4 tbsp softened butter.
• Starting at the shortest end roll up dough into a cylinder. With the seam-side down, flatten the dough into a 18 by 4-inch rectangle. Cut the rectangle in half. Working with one half at a time, fold the dough into thirds like a business letter. Pinch the seams together to form a dough ball. Repeat with the remaining dough ball then transfer both balls of dough to the oiled bowl. Cover and let rise this time in the refrigerator to 45 minutes or until doubled in size.
• Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium high heat.
• Add in onions and saute until softened, 4-5 minutes. Add in garlic and cook for an additional minute.
• Stir in the crushed tomatoes and spices and simmer for 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Transfer 1 dough ball on a dry work surface at a time and roll into a 13 inch disk. Transfer it to the prepared baking pan. Lightly press dough into pan and push dough up the sides about 1 inch.
• Sprinkle each pizza with 2 cups mozzarella cheese, 1 1/4 cup sauce and 2 tbsp parmesan.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.
• Allow pizza to rest for 10 minutes before removing from pan and slicing.

HOW TO MAKE CHICAGO-STYLE DEEP DISH PIZZA

Steps:

• Please use my step-by-step photos below this written out recipe as a guide to making the pizza. For best results and ease of mind, read through the recipe completely before beginning. You will need two deep dish 9×2 inch round cake pans if you are making both pizzas at the same time. You can also use 9 inch springform pans.
• Combine the flour, cornmeal, salt, sugar, and yeast in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. If you do not have a stand mixer, use your hand mixer and a very very large bowl. If you do not have any mixer, you will do this all by hand. Again, use a very large bowl. Give those ingredients a quick toss with your mixer on low or with a large wooden spoon. Add the warm water and 1/4 cup of melted butter. The warm water should be around 90°F (32°C). Make sure it is not very, very hot or it will kill the yeast. Likewise, make sure the butter isn't boiling hot. If you melt it in the microwave, let it sit for 5 minutes before adding. On low speed, beat (or stir) the dough ingredients until everything begins to be moistened. Continuing on low speed (or remove from the bowl and knead by hand if you do not own a mixer), beat the dough until it is soft and supple and gently pulls away from the sides of the bowl and falls off of the dough hook- about 4-5 minutes. If the dough is too hard (it will be textured from the cornmeal), but if it feels too tough, beat in 1 teaspoon of warm water. Alternatively, if it feels too soft, beat in 1 Tablespoon of flour.
• Remove the dough from the bowl and form into a ball. Lightly grease a large mixing bowl with olive oil and place the dough inside, turning it around so that all sides of the dough are coated in the oil. Cover the bowl tightly with aluminum foil and allow to rise in a warm environment for 1-2 hours or until double in size.
• Once the dough is ready, lightly flour a large work surface. Remove dough from the bowl, set the bowl and aluminum foil aside (to use later). Gently punch down the dough to remove any air bubbles and roll the dough into a large 15×12 inch rectangle. Spread 1/4 cup of softened butter on top of the dough. Roll it up lengthwise per the photos below. Cut the dough log in half. Form the two pieces of dough into balls and place back into your greased bowl. Cover with aluminum foil and allow to rise in the refrigerator (not in a warm place) for 1 hour until they are puffy as you make the sauce.
• Place butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat and allow it to melt. Once melted, add the grated onion, salt, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Once the onion has slightly browned after about 5 minutes, add the garlic, tomatoes, and sugar. Turn the heat down to low-medium and allow it to simmer until it's hearty, fragrant, and thick- about 30 minutes. You'll have about 2 and 1/2 cups of sauce at this point. If you have more than that, keep simmering until the amount has reduced. Remove from heat and set aside until ready to be used. You may store the sauce in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days if planning to make the pizza another day. You may freeze this sauce for up to 2 months as well.
• Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C).
• After the dough balls have risen in the refrigerator, they should be puffy. Keep one ball of dough in the refrigerator as you work with the first one. Roll it out on a lightly floured work surface, working it into a 12-inch circle. Using your rolling pin as a guide (see photos below), place over a 9×2 inch deep dish cake pan. Using your fingers, press the dough into the cake pan. Make sure it is nice and tight fitting inside the pan. Trim any excess dough off the edges with a small knife. Repeat with 2nd dough. Brush the top edges of the dough with a little olive oil, which gives the crust a beautiful sheen. Fill each pizza with 1/2 of the cheese (about 2 cups/8 oz per pizza), then the pepperoni and bacon or your desired toppings. Pour about 1 and 1/4 cups (300ml) of sauce evenly on top of each. If you do not like that much sauce, you can reduce to 3/4 cup (180ml) per pizza and have leftover sauce. Sprinkle each with 1/4 cup (22g) of grated parmesan cheese.
• Place the cake pans on top of a large baking sheet, which will catch anything potentially spilling over the sides of the pans. (Nothing usually does.) Bake for 20-28 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Feel free to loosely cover the pizzas with aluminum foil after the 15 minute mark to prevent any heavy browning and uneven baking. Remove the pizzas from the oven and allow to cool in the pans placed on a wire rack for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, slice, serve, and enjoy. Place any leftover pizza in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 5 days. Reheat leftovers in a 300°F (149°C) oven for 15-20 minutes or until hot.

CHICAGO-STYLE DEEP-DISH PIZZA

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine 1-1/2 cups flour, cornmeal, yeast, sugar and salt. In a saucepan, heat water and oil to 120°-130°. Add to dry ingredients; beat just until moistened. Add remaining flour to form a stiff dough., Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes., Punch dough down; divide in half. Roll each portion into an 11-in. circle. Press dough onto the bottom and up the sides of two greased 10-in. cast-iron or other ovenproof skillets. Sprinkle each with 2 cups mozzarella cheese., In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste and seasonings. Spoon 1-1/2 cups over each pizza. Layer each with half of the sausage, pepperoni and mushrooms; 1 cup mozzarella; and 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese. , Cover and bake at 450° for 35 minutes. Uncover; bake until lightly browned, about 5 minutes longer.,

DEEP-DISH PIZZA

Steps:

• Make the dough: Combine the flour, cornmeal, salt, yeast, olive oil, melted butter, vegetable oil and warm water in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Mix on medium speed until the dough comes together and pulls away from the side of the bowl but still sticks to the bottom, about 3 minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to low and knead 5 minutes. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and turn to coat. Tightly cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place, 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, make the sauce: Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until the garlic is slightly softened, about 1 minute. Add the tomato puree and 1 cup water. Stir in the oregano and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 8 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Generously brush two 9 1/2-inch round deep-dish pizza pans (or 9-inch cake pans) with about 3 tablespoons olive oil each. Divide the dough in half; press each half into the bottom of a pan. Let the dough rest, 15 minutes. Push the dough down and press it up the sides of the pans with your fingers. Layer the cheese on top of each crust and spread each with 1 1/2 cups sauce.
• Bake the pizzas until the crust is dark golden brown and the cheese is bubbling, 40 to 45 minutes (it will still be jiggly in the center). Sprinkle with parmesan (if using); let cool 15 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and cut into wedges.
• You can freeze the baked pizza for up to a month. Let it cool, then tightly wrap in plastic and foil. To reheat, unwrap and bake at 325 degrees F until hot and bubbling, 50 to 60 minutes.