First try - Chicago Deep Dish Pizza
One of the gifts I received for Christmas was a wonderful deep pizza pan. That meant I could expand into some other pizza styles. Being jealous of my friends from Pizzamaking.com for all of the wonderful stories they tell about Chicago Deep Dish pizza, I had to try it. In fact, I used one of the more popular recipes from the web site (thanks DKM!).
Chicago Deep Dish pizza is notably different from NY Style and very different from anything I’ve done so far. For starters, the crust consists primarily of all-purpose flour and cornmeal. Secondly, the toppings are placed in an order which is opposite from traditional pizza. Lastly, there are no spices added to the sauce. Instead, crushed tomatoes are spread onto the pizza and seasonings are sprinkled on top of it!
The Chicago pizza recipe I used involved(in order from bottom to top) a layer of sliced Mozzarella and provolone cheese, then pepperoni and cooked Italian sausage, then crushed tomatoes sprinkled with oregano, basil, parsley and grated parmesan cheese. The only derivations from the recipe for mine was that I used vegetable oil and Cento brand tomatoes rather than 6-in-1 (sacrilegious, I know).
The dough was mixed the day before and then pressed down into the pan before being topped and baked. I baked it for 25 minutes at 450 degrees.
Since it was completely different from anything I’ve had (I only tasted this type of pizza once in my life prior to this experiment), it is hard to make any useful comparisons. I will say that it was absolutely delicious and that there was not a single slice left in the serving tray that afternoon! I will definitely be making more of these pizzas and I look forward to experimenting with different tomatoes and toppings (tomato selection will have a great effect on the flavor of this pizza).
Enjoy the pictures…
View the Chicago Deep Dish Recipe used here …
January 20th, 2005 at 3:14 pm
I recently saw a pizza making episode on Food Network. The Chigago pizza that was shown being made had raw sausage. I would immagine that it would turn out to be quite greasy.
Rex
February 24th, 2005 at 11:09 pm
I like the Chicago deep dish better then anything!
I get it all the tim and I cant belive you have never had it before.
Well, I have had it all my life because, Im from Chicago.
Kat