Chicago Style Italian Sausage And Pepper Deep Dish Pizza Recipes

CHICAGO STYLE ITALIAN SAUSAGE AND PEPPER DEEP DISH PIZZA

Steps:

• Divide the dough in half. Roll each half into a 12-inch circle, about 1/2-inch thick. Press the dough into 2 greased 12-inch deep-dish pizza pans. Cover with a clean dish towel and let rise 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• In a large saute pan, over medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the onions. Season with salt and pepper and saute for 2 minutes. Add the peppers, season with salt and pepper, and continue to saute for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
• In the same pan, over medium heat, add the sausage and render for 4 to 6 minutes. Remove and drain on paper towels.
• Lay 1/4-pound of the sliced provolone on the bottom of each pizza. Spoon 1/2 the onion and pepper mixture over each pizza. Sprinkle 1/2 of the sausage over the onion mixture on each pizza. Scatter 1 cup sliced mushrooms over sausage. Spread 1 cup of the tomato sauce over the top of each pizza. Layer 1/4-pound mozzarella slices over top of each pizza. Drizzle with remaining olive oil. Bake the pizzas for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown.
• Remove the pizza from the oven and cut into individual servings.
• In an electric mixing bowl, whisk the yeast, sugar, water and lard together to make a paste. Add the flour and salt and mix, using a dough hook, until the dough comes away from the sides and crawls up the dough hook. Remove the dough from the bowl. Grease the bowl with olive oil and place the dough back in the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and divide dough in half. Roll the dough into balls, cover, and let the dough rest for 15 to 20 minutes. The dough is ready to be shaped.

CHICAGO-STYLE ITALIAN SAUSAGE AND PEPPER DEEP DISH PIZZA RECIPE

Steps:

• Make dough using the Basic Pizza Dough recipe below.

DEEP-DISH SAUSAGE PIZZA

Steps:

• For the pizza dough: Whisk together the lukewarm water, yeast and sugar in a small bowl. Let sit for 5 minutes, until the yeast begins to bubble and foam.
• Add the flour and kosher salt to a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook and mix until just combined. With the mixer off, add the yeast mixture. Turn the mixer back on and knead, gradually increasing the speed from low to medium, until the flour and yeast are combined and the dough looks shaggy. Turn the mixer off again and add the melted butter. Mix, slowly increasing the speed to medium, until the dough holds together and the butter is completely incorporated, about 30 seconds. With the mixer on the lowest speed, knead the dough for 3 minutes. If the dough moves too high up the hook and is no longer being kneaded, turn the mixer off and push the dough back down.
• Coat a large bowl with the olive oil. Remove the dough from the stand mixer, form into a ball and place in the greased bowl. (The dough will feel tacky when it comes out of the mixer but should come out in one piece. If necessary, knead additional flour into the dough, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the desired consistency is reached.) Cover with a towel and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
• For the marinara sauce: Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a medium saucepot. Add the onions and saute until softened, 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook an additional 30 seconds, until fragrant but not browned. Stir in the tomato paste, oregano, crushed red pepper and salt; cook for 30 seconds. Pour in the stewed tomatoes, breaking up any large pieces. Bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring often. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter. Adjust the seasoning with salt to taste. Let cool. (Makes 1 1/4 cups.)
• For the sausage pizza: Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add the sweet Italian sausage and hot Italian sausage and cook until browned, breaking up the sausage into small pieces. Remove to a paper-towel-lined baking sheet to drain.
• Combine the mozzarella and Asiago in a bowl and reserve in the refrigerator.
• Place the proofed pizza dough on a lightly-floured work surface. Dust the top of the dough with flour and roll into a 14-inch round, about 1/4-inch thick. Roll the dough onto the rolling pin and transfer to a 10-inch nonstick springform pan. As evenly as possible, unroll the dough over the springform pan and guide the dough into the pan, pressing it evenly into the bottom and working it gently all the way into the edges. Next, lift the sides of the dough up and press against the sides of the pan, making sure the dough doesn't fold over itself at any point. The dough should come 2 inches up the sides of the pan.
• Add half of the cheese to the bottom of the crust, top with half of the sausage and then cover the sausage with the marinara sauce. Add the remaining cheese, followed by the rest of the sausage. Fold the top of the pizza dough over so that it sits evenly on top of the filling.
• Place the pizza on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Rotate, cover with foil, and bake an additional 20 minutes. Remove the pizza from the oven when the crust is a deep golden brown and the cheese is melted. Let rest for 15 minutes before removing the sides of the springform pan. Serve with torn basil scattered over the top.

SAUSAGE, PEPPERS AND ONION DEEP DISH PIZZA

Steps:

• In a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the flour, sugar, yeast and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Add the water and oil and mix to combine (you may have to get in there with a spatula to help everything incorporate). Turn the mixer to medium-high and knead the dough until it is smooth and pulls away from the sides of the bowl without sticking, adding more flour 1 tablespoon at a time if needed, 7 to 10 minutes.
• Coat a large bowl with oil and transfer the dough to the bowl. Toss a few times to coat the dough. Cover and let sit at room temperature until it has doubled in size, 1 to 2 hours.
• Once the dough is ready, preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.
• Liberally coat two 10-inch cake pans with the softened butter. Divide the dough into two balls and place each one in a pan. Cover loosely and let sit for about 20 minutes while the oven preheats and you prepare the other toppings.
• Place the tomatoes in a strainer and sprinkle on a couple good pinches of salt; let drain for 10 minutes. Flatten out the dough all over the bottoms of the pans and about 1 1/2 inches up the sides. Top with cheese slices, overlapping them. Tear the sausage into golf ball-size pieces, then press on top of the cheese and flatten, leaving little holes for the cheese to poke through. Top with the tomatoes, peppers and onions. Sprinkle over the Pecorino-Romano and oregano.
• Bake until the crust is a deep golden brown, the cheese on top is turning golden and the sauce has begun to bubble, 30 to 40 minutes. Let cool slightly before slicing. Sprinkle with crushed red pepper, if desired.