Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza

Serves 14″ Pizza
Dough Preparation
1 teaspoon Pizza Crust Yeast (I used Fleischmann’s)
1 teaspoon sugar
⅓ cup lukewarm water
⅓ cup flour

24-48 hours prior to making the actual dough mix all ingredients with a wooden spoon. Cover and let sit at room temperature.

3 cups flour
¾ cup oat flour (food process old fashioned oats till consistency is that of flour)
1¾ teaspoon Pizza Crust Yeast (I used Fleischmann’s)
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons ground flaxseed meal
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
½ teaspoon oregano
3 tablespoons white cornmeal
1 ¼ cup lukewarm water
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons olive oil for bowl coating

Mix flour, oat flour, yeast, salt, flaxseed meal, garlic powder, oregano, Italian seasoning, and cornmeal. Mix dry ingredients then add water and oil. Add original wet dough mixture from above. Then mix the dough ingredients, and knead — by hand, mixer, or bread machine — to make a smooth crust. Using the 2 teaspoons of olive oil coat a large bowl with the oil and place the dough ball into the bowl and cover tightly. Cover for at least 2 hours or until doubled in size.

Pizza Sauce Preparation
1 onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, grated
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 28 oz can of Cento All Purpose Crushed Tomatoes
1 ½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon black pepper

Using a sauce pan add oil and bring to medium heat. Add onions and garlic and saute until softened. Add Crushed Red Pepper and Italian Seasoning and let continue to cook on medium heat for 1 more minute. Add the Crushed Tomatoes and bring to a boil where the sauce is bubbling. Then turn heat down and bring to a simmer. Add salt, pepper, and sugar. Place cover but leave open with a crack and let simmer for 20 minutes or until sauce has thickened and reduced a bit. Remove from heat and let cool.

Toppings Preparation
1 8oz package of sliced mushrooms
1 tablespoon olive oil
¼ red onion, sliced into thin slices

Bring a medium pan to medium heat and add olive oil. Saute mushrooms until browned. Remove from heat and let cool.

Assembly
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup packed spinach, roughly chopped
1¾ cup low-moisture part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded
6 slices low-moisture part-skim mozzarella cheese
1¾ cup pasta sauce (from above)
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese

Prepare a 14 inch deep dish pan by coating with olive oil. Make sure to spread all over the pan. Stretch the dough to make as large a circle as you can. Lay the dough in the pan and stretch it until it reaches the sides of the pan and shrinks back a bit. Cover and let sit for about 15 minutes then continue stretching the dough until it goes halfway up the sides of the pan. Any olive oil that squeezes out is ok. Cover and let set for an additional 15 minutes. Meanwhile preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Once oven is ready place pan in oven for 10 minutes until it’s set and beginning to brown then remove from oven. Cover the bottom of the crust with the 1¾ cup of mozzarella. Then ad the layer of spinach. Then add the sliced mozzarella. Add the pizza sauce as the next layer. Add onions and mushrooms. Place in the preheated oven. Cook for 15 minutes then place foil on top to prevent top from burning. Cook an additional 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.