Chicago Style Pizza

Submitted by Brooke Klingaman - added 5/1/24

Our go-to pizza recipe!

Ingredients

• Dough:
• 3 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup of yellow cornmeal
• 1 1/4 tsp. of fine sea salt
• 1 Tbsp. of granulated sugar
• 2 1/4 tsp. of active dry yeast (1 packet)
• 1 1/4 cups of warm water
• 4 Tbsp. of unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 4 Tbsp. of unsalted butter, melted
• About 3 Tbsp. of olive oil for coating
• Pizza Sauce:
• 2 Tbsp. of olive oil, divided
• 1 Tbsp. of unsalted butter
• 1/2 of a red onion, minced
• 1 tsp. of salt
• 1 tsp. of black pepper
• 1/2 tsp. of Italian seasoning mix
• 1/4 tsp. of crushed red pepper flakes
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 (28 oz.) can of unsalted, crushed tomatoes
• 1 tsp. of granulated sugar
• 2 Tbsp. of fresh basil, chopped
• Toppings:
• 4 cups of mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese, grated
• Additional toppings, such as pepperoni, crumbled sausage, ham, bacon, mushrooms, green peppers, black olives, artichokes, pineapple, spinach, red onions or whatever else you desire

Instructions

1. Dough:
2. Combine the flour, cornmeal, sea salt, sugar and active dry yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. Mix the ingredients together on low. If you don't have a stand mixer, you can use a hand mixer and a large bowl. You can also mix the ingredients by hand. Stir in the warm water and melted butter, making sure both have cooled enough that they will not kill the yeast.
3. Beat the ingredients together on a low speed until the dough becomes soft and supple. The mixture should start to gently pull away from the sides of the bowl and fall off the dough hook after about 5 minutes of mixing.
4. Remove the dough from the bowl and roll it into a ball. Place the ball of dough into a lightly greased mixing bowl and rotate the dough until all of its sides are coated in the olive oil. Tightly cover the bowl with tin foil and allow the dough to rise in a warm environment until it doubles in size — about 1 or 2 hours.
5. After the dough rises, lightly flour a workspace and set the dough on the counter. Gently punch the dough down to get rid of air bubbles before rolling the dough into a large rectangle. Spread the softened butter on top of the dough, then roll the dough up lengthwise into a log. Cut the log of dough in half and form the 2 pieces of dough into balls. Place the dough back into the large greased bowl, re-cover it with tin foil and let it rise in the refrigerator for about an hour until the dough is puffy.
6. Sauce:
7. As the dough rises, make the pizza sauce by combining 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Mix in the minced onion, Italian seasoning, crushed red pepper, salt, and pepper, and cook until the onion softens. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Pour in the tomatoes and sugar, then bring the sauce to a simmer.
8. Lower the heat and continue stirring for about half an hour until the sauce has reduced. Remove from the heat and sprinkle in the fresh basil and remaining olive oil.
9. Assembly:
10. Preheat oven to 475º— the oven needs to be hot to accommodate the pizza's depth! Use a solid metal pan, preferably a deep-sided iron skillet, and melt a thin layer of butter in the pan.
11. Roll the dough to about 1/3-in thick and large enough in circumference so it can be placed in the pan with about 1/2-in hanging over the edges. Place the dough in the pan. Place your protein ingredients in the bottom of the pan. High-fat proteins such as bacon or salami should go on the top. In this instance, add them after topping with tomato sauce.
12. Top the pan with handfuls of shredded mozzarella cheese. Giordano's uses 100% Wisconsin mozzarella! Top with veggies of choice.
13. The Giordano's secret: Roll out another round layer of dough large enough in circumference to cover the top of the pan. Lay the dough on top like you are topping a pie. Tear 5 or 6 holes in the dough for ventilation — you must do this step! Crimp the edges of the dough around the edges of the pan to create a seal, just like a pie. With a knife, trim the edges of the dough at the top of the pan to remove the excess.
14. Top with a 1/4-in of your favorite pizza or tomato sauce. Pro tip: make sure the consistency of the sauce is not too thick, or it can burn. Top with a sprinkle of grated Parmesan cheese. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the crust is golden brown, or the internal temperature is 180º. Slice, serve and enjoy!