Chicago deep-dish pizza, three ways
Units
Temperature
Servings
Ingredients
Buttery crust
- 270 g plain flour, use 300 g when omitting the optional cornmeal rounded
- 30 g fine cornmeal, optional; replace with 30 g plain flour for the all-wheat crust rounded
- 175 ml lukewarm water rounded
- 32 g unsalted butter, cold and cut into small cubes rounded
- 12 g olive oil rounded
- 6 g sugar rounded
- 6 g fine salt rounded
- 4 g instant yeast rounded
Pan and shared layers for exactly one filling
- 15 g olive oil, for the bottom and high sides of the pan rounded
- 300 g whole-milk low-moisture mozzarella, sliced; use as the barrier over the dough rounded
- 360 g chunky house tomato pizza sauce, cooked until thick and cooled rounded
- 30 g finely grated Parmesan rounded
Filling 1, classic sausage
- 300 g Italian sausage with fennel, casings removed, crumbled, and pre-cooked to 71°C rounded
- 100 g yellow onion, optional; thinly sliced and cooked until dry (optional) rounded
Filling 2, spinach, mushroom and roasted garlic three-cheese
- 120 g cooked spinach, cooled, squeezed thoroughly dry, then chopped rounded
- 250 g brown mushrooms, sliced and cooked until deeply browned and dry rounded
- 30 g roasted garlic, mashed and cooled rounded
- 150 g whole-milk ricotta, drained in a sieve for at least 1 hour rounded
Filling 3, spicy sausage and giardiniera
- 220 g hot Italian sausage, casings removed, crumbled, and pre-cooked to 71°C rounded
- 80 g pepperoni, thinly sliced rounded
- 120 g hot giardiniera, drained thoroughly, pressed dry, and chopped rounded
Method
Method
- Make the crust. Mix 270 g flour and 30 g cornmeal, or all 300 g flour for the cornmeal-free route, with the sugar, salt, and yeast. Add the water and 12 g oil. Work in the cold butter, then knead gently for 3 to 4 minutes, only until cohesive. Either formula weighs 536 g.
- Ferment. Cover and leave at room temperature for 90 minutes, until puffy but not necessarily doubled. For a longer schedule, refrigerate after 45 minutes for up to 24 hours, then warm it covered for 60 minutes before shaping.
- Choose one filling, never all three. For classic sausage, cook the crumbled fennel sausage to 71°C and cook the optional onion until dry. For spinach-mushroom three-cheese, squeeze the cooked spinach until no water drips, cook the mushrooms until their released liquid has evaporated and they brown deeply, cool both, and use well-drained ricotta. For spicy sausage and giardiniera, cook the sausage to 71°C and drain and press the giardiniera dry. Cool every cooked filling before assembly.
- Shape in the pan. Coat a 30 cm round pan at least 5 cm deep with the 15 g oil. Press the dough across the base and 4 cm up the wall. Patch thin spots. Cover and rest for 20 to 30 minutes while the home oven heats to 220°C with a steel or heavy tray on the lowest rack.
- Build the mozzarella barrier. Cover the raw dough completely with all 300 g sliced low-moisture mozzarella. This is the first layer in every version and shields the crust from the filling and sauce.
- Add exactly one chosen filling. Spread either the classic sausage mixture, the dry spinach-mushroom-roasted-garlic mixture with drained ricotta, or the spicy sausage-pepperoni-giardiniera mixture over the mozzarella. Do not combine filling groups. Keep the filling below the top of the crust wall.
- Finish the Chicago layering order. Spoon all 360 g thick chunky sauce over the chosen filling and finish with the 30 g Parmesan. The exact sequence is dough, sliced mozzarella barrier, one chosen filling, chunky tomato sauce, Parmesan.
- Bake. Set the pan on the preheated steel or tray and bake for 32 to 38 minutes, rotating after 20 minutes. Shield the exposed rim loosely with foil if it browns before the centre sauce bubbles. The underside must be golden and crisp, not pale or doughy.
- Rest before cutting. Leave the pie in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes so the filling settles. Run a thin spatula around the wall, lift it to a board, and cut six wedges. Cutting earlier lets hot cheese and sauce escape; leaving it much longer in the pan softens the base.
Notes
- Baker’s percentages: total flour and optional cornmeal 100%, water 58.7%, butter 10.7%, oil in the dough 4%, sugar 2%, salt 2%, and instant yeast 1.33%. The 536 g dough fits one 30 cm by 5 cm deep pan.
- Cornmeal is optional. The cornmeal route uses 270 g wheat flour plus 30 g fine cornmeal; the all-wheat route uses 300 g flour. Do not add both 300 g flour and 30 g cornmeal.
- The three filling groups are mutually exclusive complete versions. Every version uses the shared 300 g mozzarella barrier, 360 g chunky sauce, and 30 g Parmesan.
- Water control is essential in the vegetarian version. Spinach must be squeezed, mushrooms cooked past the wet stage, roasted garlic cooled, ricotta drained, and sauce reduced. Skipping any one of these controls risks a soggy pie.
- Pre-cooking sausage to 71°C removes food-safety uncertainty from the dense layered bake. It also lets excess fat drain before it reaches the crust. Giardiniera must be drained and pressed dry for the same structural reason.
- Deep dish is the sole complete standalone pie in the dough library. It does not join universal topping compatibility because its high-sided construction, reverse layering, heavy filling, and long bake require dedicated formulas.
- A home oven cannot match a restaurant deck oven’s bottom heat or recovery. A steel or heavy tray under the pan helps, but expect a longer bake and verify the underside before removing the pie.
- Refrigerate cooled wedges in a sealed container for up to 3 days. Reheat uncovered at 190°C until the centre is hot and the crust is crisp.