ChicagoStyle Deep Dish Pizza
2 cups America’s Test Kitchen GF flour blend or your favorite GF flour blend
1½ tsp xanthan gum (omit if your flour blend already contains it)
¼ cups coarsely ground yellow cornmeal
1 tbsp active dry yeast
1 tbsp sugar
2 tsp kosher salt
4 tbsp canola (or other neutral) oil
¾ cup warm water (about 100°-110°)
Olive oil for drizzling
In a medium-size bowl or the bowl of your food processor, place the flour, xanthan gum, cornmeal, yeast, sugar & salt. Stir or pulse to combine.
To the flour mixture, add the 4 tablespoons of canola oil and the water in a steady stream, either pulsing in a food processor or mixing with a spoon or fork to combine. If you are using a food processor, pulse while streaming in the water, until a ball begins to form. Otherwise, stir constantly while streaming in the water & continue stirring until the mixture begins to come together. If the dough seems super sticky, add some more flour 1 tbsp at a time, or if the dough is a little dry, add more warm water, a 1/2 tsp at a time. Stir or pulse to combine. Press the dough into a ball.
Place the dough in another medium-size bowl & drizzle it with the olive oil. Turn the dough to coat it with oil. This will prevent a crust from forming on the dough while it is rising. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap & place it in a warm, draft-free area to rise until it is about 1 1/2 times its original volume, about 1 hour. (I turn my oven to 200° & set the bowl on the stove top)
After the dough has risen, wrap it in plastic wrap & chill for at least an hour.
When you are ready to make the pizza, preheat your oven to 425°. Grease well with canola oil (I sprayed my pan with GF baking spray) a 12 inch round baking dish with sides that are at least 1 ½ inches high. You can use a deep dish pizza pan or a round cake pan or a spring form pan or a cast iron skillet.
Press the pizza dough evenly into the bottom of the pan & up the sides, leaving a small clean edge toward the top of the pan so there aren’t exposed edges that can burn easily during baking. (The dough may seem dry & crumbly, just work it across the bottom & up the sides & keep squishing it together.)
To assemble the pizza, use whatever ingredients you like & just keep layering. I use at least a 14 oz jar of your favorite pizza sauce or make your own! The secret to Chicago style deep dish is LOTS of sauce! I also use mozzarella cheese – both fresh & shredded or an Italian blend of shredded, & usually fresh grated parmesan on top. Some other ingredients I like are fresh sliced tomatoes, canned diced fire roasted tomatoes, basil, spinach (better if you cook this briefly on top of the stove with some olive oil, just until slightly wilted), sautéed shallots or baby portobello mushrooms. But add whatever your favorites are – pepperoni, sausage, olives, veggies. Go crazy – your pizza, your choice!
Tent the pan with aluminum foil, & place it in the center of the preheated oven. If you have a baking stone, use that – it evenly distributes the heat, but you can also just put it on the oven rack.
Bake for 20 minutes, uncover, & continue baking until the sauce & cheese are bubbling & the crust is nicely browned (about another 10 minutes).
Cool in the pan for at least 10 to 15 minutes. It should come right out of the pan. Serve right away.
Notes:
This pizza is VERY filling! A 12 inch pizza should be enough for 3 adults – depending on appetites, of course!
The recipe is from Betty Crocker. I will admit I was a little skeptical, but once I tried it – I loved it! Having grown up & lived a good deal of my life in the Chicago area, I could not find a true Chicago Deep Dish when I moved first to the West coast & now the East coast – GF or not! It seems, outside of the Chicago area, people think Chicago Deep Dish Pizza means a really thick crust – which is not the case! So, I was delighted to find this recipe – thanks Betty Crocker!