Deep Dish Pizza Recipe – A Beautiful Mess

If you love pizza as much as we do you have to try our Deep Dish Pizza recipe. This deep dish pizza recipe is everything I love about pizza with a thicker crust. This pizza gets baked in a square baking dish, and I like to cut the pizza into small squares before serving. Layers of pizza sauce, cheese and toppings melt together for the perfect bit.

This is not Chicago-style pizza it’s more similar to Detroit-style pizza or Sicilian-style pizza.

Related: Detroit Style Pizza, Stuffed Crust Cast-Iron Pizza, Calzone Recipe, Pizza Sauce, Pizza Dough, Chocolate Chip Pizza and Thin Crust Pizza.

This is not Chicago-style pizza it’s more similar to Detroit-style pizza or Sicilian-style pizza.

This pizza features a thick, rectangular crust with crispy edges and a soft interior. The dough is stretched out and pressed into a well-oiled square or rectangular pan, creating a caramelized, cheesy crust.

If you wanted this deep dish pizza to be more like an authentic Detroit-style pizza, then I’d recommend putting the sauce on top of the cheese rather than the other way around.

I add oil to the bottom of the pan the edges, also being sure to spread the cheese to the edge of dough so it touches the pan. This creates that crispy, crunchy edge to the pizza that reminds me of childhood Pizza Hut thick crust pizza (it was so good!).

When it comes to sauce, try our homemade pizza sauce or choose store bought. But I do recommend having some extra sauce on the side, as this is the kind of pizza you might want to dip into more sauce. If you love ranch, try our homemade ranch dressing.

Even though the pizza may not look big, I think you can easily feed four or five people with this pizza paired with a nice salad.

Deep Dish Pizza Ingredients:

• Active dry yeast
• Water
• All-purpose flour
• Salt
• Olive oil
• Pizza Sauce– make your own or store-bought is great too
• Mozzarella cheese
• Toppings – pepperoni, bell peppers, onion, tomatoes, Italian sausage, mushrooms, spinach- you choose!

If you want to add a few teaspoons of oregano to the dough OR sauce feel free! Another optional idea is to add a couple tablespoons cornmeal to the pan after you oil it. This just gives a little more texture to the crust.

Instructions

In a glass mixing cup or small bowl, stir together the water and sugar. Then, sprinkle the yeast over the top of the water and allow to activate for a couple minutes.

In a large bowl, add the flour and salt. Pour the yeast water into the bowl and stir until a dough ball forms. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead a few times to help the dough stick together.

Then, place the dough back into the bowl, sprinkle with some flour so it doesn’t stick too much, cover with a kitchen towel and allow to rise for 30-40 minutes until doubled in size.

If your kitchen is cold or drafty (like mine is the winter), you can place the bowl inside a slightly warmed oven to rise.

Oil the inside of an eight-inch square pan. Then, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll into a small square. I like oil over butter here as I think it makes the bottom and edges of the crust a little crispier.

Place the dough in the oiled pan. Top with the sauce, cheese, and toppings. Make sure to sprinkle the cheese all the way to the edge, so it touches the pan (this will let it get crispy as it bakes).

Bake the pizza at 400°F for 15-16 minutes, until the edges are browned and the cheese is melted and bubbly.

Slice the pizza three time across, making nine square pieces.

Tips for Making

• To get that crispy edge, be sure to sprinkle the cheese all the way to the edge so that it’s touching the pan.
• I like to provide red pepper flakes and grated parmesan cheese as an optional topping for the pizza.
• This recipe is made for an 8 inch baking pan, you may also use a cast-iron skillet to bake your pizza.

Here I tried to show you the thick and fluffy crust with that crispy edge. It’s soooo good! I love this deep dish pizza recipe. Enjoy!

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