READY IN 40 mins

Chicago Deep Dish Pizza

Read Reviews (12)

"Anyone who likes Chicago-style deep dish pizza will enjoy this great recipe. Thick crust pizzas are baked in cake pans. This is the basic recipe for a cheese pizza, but feel free to add more toppings to your liking." — JULIANNA19

Directions

Place the water in a mixing bowl of a stand mixer. Sprinkle the yeast over the water, and let stand for 5 minutes to dissolve.
Pour in the vegetable oil, olive oil, cornmeal and 3 cups of the flour. Mix with the beater for 10 minutes. Add the remaining flour, and switch from the beater to the dough hook. Mix for about 5 minutes. This can be done by hand, but the dough is very rich and moist. Pour the dough out onto a floured surface, and cover with a large bowl. Allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. Punch down the dough, and let rise again. This time won't take as long.
Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F (245 degrees C).
Grease two 9 or 10 inch round cake pans. Divide the dough evenly between the two pans. Press the dough out so that it goes all the way up the sides of the pans. Lay the slices of mozzarella cheese onto the crusts like tile. Next put the tomatoes over the mozzarella, and season with basil, oregano, garlic and salt. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the top, and drizzle with olive oil.
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven, until the top is golden and gooey, and the crust a light golden brown.

Kitchen-Friendly View

COOK 40 mins
READY IN 40 mins

Footnotes

Variations
Italian Sausage - hot or mild, Yellow onions, peeled and diced, Pepperoni, sliced thin, Mushrooms, sliced, Green sweet bell peppers. Put any or all of these on your pizza and then top with the Parmesan and the olive oil.

Reviews More Reviews

Most Helpful Positive Review

Aug 19, 2005

This was a good pizza and I love thick dough, but there is one very important ingredient missing in the dough, which I discovered only after cooking it. The salt! The dough tasted very flat without it, as does any bread without a pinch of salt. Other than that, what's not to love about deep dish pizza?

—Sarah Grace

See full review »

Most Helpful Critical Review

Oct 07, 2006

I added salt to the pizza dough while I was mixing it to give more flavor. The crust rose too much while baking. I might try it again with either a bigger pan or less dough.

—princesst

See full review »

14 Ratings

Nov 04, 2005

This was one of the best pizza crusts I've ever made, probably because of all the oil, but it was so thick just like I like it. Baking time was only about 15 or 20 minutes max for me, and it was done. Yummy recipe, and I'll make it again for sure.

—SUSANMUR

See full review »

Feb 20, 2007

I am very excited about this recipe. This tastes very similar to the Chicago deep dish pizza I fell in love with in Chicago. I don't have a standing mixer and mixed it all with a wooden spoon and then kneading, later and it turned out fine. I just mixed it with a wooden spoon until it looked very throughly mixed (10 minutes would have required more muscles than I have--I mixed it significantly less) and then kneaded it for about 5 minutes. I added the tablespoon of salt, as recommended by others and am SO glad I did--it doesn't taste salty at all--just normal. Also, I HEAVILY greased my casserole dish with margerine--I think that gives the crust the buttery taste I grew to love from Giordanos and Pizzeria Uno. The crust is really really thick--I think I will try spreading it into larger pans next time, or dividing the dough into 3, instead of into 2 pizza crusts. Also, something I may try is using melted butter or margarine in place of the oil. I remember the crusts from my favorite restaurants having a more buttery taste. But this recipe, with the added 1T salt, does turn out a yummy crust. I also squashed a bunch of whole tomatoes by hand--make sure you drain them really well, otherwise it will be soupy. Great recipe! Thanks for satisfying a pregnant woman's cravings!

—Jackie B

See full review »

Jul 28, 2006

Great, thick crust. I added spices to taste. I used my bread machine to mix and knead. When ready for baking, I prebaked at 450 for 10 minutes with nothing on it. Then added the sauce and toppings and baked until golden, which in my oven was about 20-25 minues. Our local pizza is as thin as paper and this thick crust is a welcome change from that. Thanks Julianna19.

—dagwood17

See full review »

Jul 14, 2006

This was a really great crust. I did have to add more flour during the last mixing cycle. I just added a tablespoon at a time until it reached a more cohesive unit. I would also recommend adding at least a tablespoon of salt. If that sounds like a lot remember this makes two crusts. Also, the next time I make this crust I am going to add basil and oregano to the dough while it is mixing. Very good dough.

—Jax

See full review »

Mar 10, 2007

Dough is much too sticky to work with and the cooking time is way off. I will have to do a lot of adjusting to this recipe next time I try it.

—Jennifer

See full review »

Oct 15, 2006

We found the crust very very wet so had to add a bunch more flour. It was very difficult to handle. Finally got that in and changed the inside completely to pizza sauce, feta, mozzerella, mushrooms,pineapple and pepperoni topped with parmesian cheese and it was awesome. So I guess I am just rating the crust here...and I would rate it a three only cause it did taste nice with the addition of salt but way fussy.

—ALISONINONTARIO

See full review »

Edit

Glad you liked it! Your friends will, too:

Did you tweak the recipe? Edit and save your own version of it!

Edit this recipe

Nutrition

Calories
641 kcal
32%

Carbohydrates
76.2 g
25%

Cholesterol
14 mg
5%

Fat
30.1 g
46%

Fiber
3.6 g
14%

Protein
15.7 g
31%

Sodium
284 mg
11%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Nutritional Information

Chicago Deep Dish Pizza

Serving Size: 1/8 of a recipe
Servings Per Recipe: 8
Amount Per Serving
** Calories: 641
** Calories from Fat: 271

% Daily Value *
** Total Fat 30.1g 46 %
** Saturated Fat 6.2g 31 %
** Cholesterol 14mg 5 %
** Sodium 284mg 11 %
** Potassium 265mg 7 %
** Total Carbohydrates 76.2g 25 %
** Dietary Fiber 3.6g 14 %
** Protein 15.7g 31 %
** Sugars 2.1g
** Vitamin A 4 %
** Vitamin C 10 %
** Calcium 26 %
** Iron 54 %
** Thiamin 76 %
** Niacin 73 %
** Vitamin B6 10 %
** Magnesium 13 %
** Folate 113 %

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
** Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.
(-) Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.