MAKES ONE 12-INCH DEEP-DISH PIZZA
If you’ve ever been to Chicago, chances are that you’ve sampled the deep-dish pizza, a pie that’s based on the principle that if some is good, more is better. This pizza has to be baked in a pan to contain the incredible amount of cheese and sauce that tops the traditional buttery, cornmeal-flecked crust. Like its cousin the Detroit-style pizza, the deep-dish pizza needs a well-oiled pan to create the beautifully crisp crust that offers a wonderful contrast to all of the gooey toppings.
This is a pizza that truly is a pie; the crust does indeed contain butter, which gives it a pastrylike texture. The finished pizza is served in thick wedges that are oozing with cheese and totally satisfying. Even if you’re normally a two- to three-slice kind of person, one slice will probably suffice here.
Olive Oil
1 recipe Chicago-Style Deep-Dish Pizza Dough (here)
170 grams (6 ounces) mozzarella, sliced
170 grams (6 ounces) fontina, shredded
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
4 grams (1 teaspoon) dry Italian seasoning mix, or ¼ teaspoon each of dried oregano, basil, rosemary, and thyme
10 grams (2 teaspoons) fine sea salt
15 grams (1 clove) garlic, minced
20 grams (4 tablespoons) grated Parmesan
Olive oil
1. Preheat the Baking Steel in your oven (here).
2. Generously coat a 12-inch cake pan with straight sides with olive oil and place the dough ball in the pan. Using your fingers, stretch the dough to the edges and about three-quarters of the way up the sides of the pan. Let the dough rest 15 minutes, then stretch again. Be patient; it will shrink back.
3. Cover the entire surface of the dough with the mozzarella slices (you don’t have to leave room for the crust), and scatter the shredded fontina on top of that.
4. Open your can of tomatoes and add the Italian seasoning mix, salt, and garlic right into the can (no need to dirty another bowl!). Give a quick stir to combine, then pour the sauce over the pizza dough.
5. Use a pizza peel or oven mitts to launch the pan on top of your Baking Steel. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the edges of the crust are browned and crispy.
6. Carefully remove from the oven, sprinkle the grated Parmesan on top, drizzle with olive oil, and let cool for about 15 minutes on top of a wire rack before serving in pie-style wedges.