Chicago-Style Deep Dish Pizza

After watching The Bear on Disney+, and seeing all the dishes Chef Carmey creates in his diner, we got craving for a deep dish Chicago-style pizza. It's ideal to make in a deep cast iron skillet, braising pan or round cake pan. It requires some patience, but the results SOOO good! This recipe make 2 deep dish 9-inch pizzas or one large 12-inch pizza. If your family is smaller, freeze half of the dough and sauce and use at a later date..

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Ingredients...

Pizza Dough:

• 1 recipe homemade pizza dough or frozen prepared pizza dough, thawed
• 1/4 cup softened butter

Homemade Tomato Sauce: (or substitute a bottle of our Boves Sweet Basil Pasta Sauce)

• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 small onion, grated
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 can (28 oz/798 mL) plum tomatoes
• Pinch sugar, optional

Toppings:

• 4 cups shredded mozarella cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup sliced pepperoni, optional
• 4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled, optional

Method...

1. Roll the pizza dough into a large 15×12-inch rectangle. Spread 1/4 cup of softened butter on top of the dough. Roll it up lengthwise. Cut the dough log in half. Form the two pieces of dough into balls and place back into a greased bowl. Cover with aluminum foil and allow to rise in the refrigerator (not in a warm place) for 1 hour until puffy as you make the sauce.
2. Sauce: In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Once melted, add the grated onion, salt, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Once the onion has slightly browned, about 5 minutes, add the garlic, tomatoes, and sugar. Reduce heat to low-medium and simmer until it’s hearty, fragrant, and thick- about 30 minutes. (You’ll have about 2-1/2 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.
3. Preheat oven to 425 F.
4. 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.  Place over a 9 x 2-inch deep cast iron or cake pan. Using your fingers, press the dough into the 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 1-1/4 cups of sauce evenly on top of each. Sprinkle each with 1/4 cup (22g) of grated parmesan cheese.
5. Place the pans on top of a large baking sheet, (which will catch anything potentially spilling over the sides of the pans). 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 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 oven for 15-20 minutes or until hot.

THINGS YOU MIGHT LIKE TO MAKE THIS RECIPE:

• Le Creuset Cast Iron Handle Skillet | Meyer Supersteel Fry Pan | de Buyer Mineral B Frypan
• Boves Sweet Basil Pasta Sauce