Discover the authentic Chicago-style deep dish pizza, made with a crunchy flaky crust and garnished with thick layers of cheese and tomato sauce. This deep dish pizza recipe is an attempt at recreating Lou Malnati’s pizza, which in my opinion, is the best deep dish pizza in Chicago. I am very proud of the result as it is very close to the original recipe, while still being a very easy deep dish pizza recipe.
The assembly of a Chicago-style deep-dish pizza is a bit different, too. You start with a layer of mozzarella cheese slices on the bottom not the top! This keeps the crust crisp and allows the cheese to melt and ooze to the max.
Now, the Chicago-style pizza sauce
Deep dish pizza is not only about the crust, it’s all about the generous and thick layers of cheese and tomato sauce. Because of it, you need fork and knife to eat your Chicago-style deep dish pizza. Again, this is not a regular pizza from which you grab a slice with your hands. With a deep dish pizza, you’re pretty sure to make a big mess around if you want to try. Regarding the tomatoes, make sure you use a can of crushed tomatoes (don’t go for diced tomatoes!), as it makes a big difference in texture. Also, you’ll want to do a quick drain of the crushed tomatoes beforehand (about 10 minutes in a colander).
In my deep dish pizza recipe here, I used Italian sausage, as it is my very favorite version at Lou Malnati’s (surprisingly enough, as I am usually not a huge fan of meat).
Then it’s all about the layers! Make sure you always start with the layer of mozzarella (use sliced mozzarella, not shredded) rather than using it last. This ensure that the cheese on top doesn’t burn because of the longer baking time this pizza requires compared to a thin crust. Then, add a layer of Italian sausage, the tomato sauce, and finish up with some grated parmesan cheese on top.
What’s a Chicago-style deep dish pizza ?
And what makes it different from the classic Italian pizza? That’s a good question actually, as they have absolutely nothing to do with each other. The look is different, the texture is different, the taste is different. To begin with, a Chicago-style deep dish pizza is baked in a deep dish cake pan (!). It consists of a crunchy flaky crust with edges going up in the pan, and garnished with generous layers of cheese and tomato sauce. Not your regular flat and thin pizza.
The crust is very different in taste and texture from the classic thin-crust pizza. Even between the different deep dish pizzas you can try in Chicago, the crust is different from one place to another, some of them can be soft, other crunchy. I definitely go for the very thin crunchy buttery one, that is by far my favorite.
The Secret Behind Chicago Deep Dish Pizza
FAQ
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