Chicago-Style Stuffed Pizza!

I cannot tell you how many hours I have spent searching for these Chicago-style stuffed pizza photos!

My sister Courtney came to visit me last spring before she left for Indonesia, when I was very pregnant with Knox.  We found this recipe on the King Arthur Flor blog (here) and agreed immediately that we would have to try it out when she came to visit.

My sister is the best.  She shares my crazy love for baking, my love for Chicago, my love for Chicago pizza (and every kind of pizza, in fact), my love for Vermont...and, oh yes, my love for Asia, too.  We have a lot in common.  And soon she's going to be the Mommy of a little BOY so we're going to have that in common, too! 

I love you, Court!

Like I said before, I spent hours searching for these photos, to no avail.  I really wanted to make this into a blog post but I couldn't find the pictures anywhere.  I was starting to think I had just imagined taking them...

Then, earlier this week, I was looking for photos of something else and wallah!  There they were!

Just in time for PIZZA WEEK!  Imagine that.

So I am excited to share with you this MOUTH-WATERING Chicago-style pizza recipe.

I won't lie to you, this recipe takes a long time to make.  It has a lot of steps.  But it is SO worth it for a special occasion or if you live in any place besides Chicago and are craving (or dying to try for the first time!) some world-famous Chicago-style pizza.  It seriously tastes authentic. And I should know, because I've eaten more than my fair share of Chicago pizza. :)

This pizza came out tasting very close to Giordano's, one of our favorite pizza restaurants in Chicago.  You can just close your eyes and imagine you're in Chi-town while you're chowing down this amazing pizza. 

I was planning on making this pizza for the SUPERBOWL this year, if the Bears made it, but they didn't.  Still a little bummed about that.  So we just made this salad, instead.

Maybe next year, Bears.

Spinach, Artichoke & Kalamata Olive

Fresh Basil & Pepperoni

 

 Chicago-Style Stuffed Pizza

CRUST
Put the following in a mixing bowl:

6 cups flour
3/4 cup semolina
1 3/4 teaspoons instant yeast
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons melted butter
Mix till thoroughly combined.

Add 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups lukewarm water. Use enough to make a smooth dough. You’ll use less in the summer, or if you substitute all-purpose flour for the semolina; and more in the winter, or if you’re in a dry climate.

Mix till everything is cohesive……then knead to make an elastic, fairly stiff dough.  Place in a large, greased bowl; cover, and let rise at room temperature for 1 hour.

For best flavor, after its initial 1-hour rise, refrigerate the dough for several hours, or for up to 24 hours. You can use the crust after its first 1-hour rise, but its flavor will improve with the longer, slower rise offered by refrigeration.

While the dough is rising, start the sauce.

SAUCE

Start with 1, 28-oz can diced tomatoes. Coarsely grate 1 small onion; you’ll have about 1/2 cup of onion. Sauté it in 1 tablespoon of butter.  When the onion is starting to brown, add 2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed. Cook for about 30 seconds, and remove the pan from the stove.

Add the following:

1 teaspoon dried oregano; or 1 teaspoon pizza seasoning
4 teaspoons sugar, or to taste
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt, to taste*

*The amount will depend on the saltiness of the canned tomatoes. Under-salt a bit, as the sauce will cook down and the flavor intensify.  Simmer gently for up to 1 hour, to concentrate the flavors.


ASSEMBLY

Time to start assembling this baby. Place the dough on a lightly greased work surface. Divide the dough into two pieces. One should be about three-quarters of the dough; the other, one-quarter. 

Divide each piece of dough in half again. You’ll now have four pieces of dough: top and bottom crusts for two 9” stuffed pizzas.

Start with one of the larger pieces of dough.

Stretch, then roll the dough into a round large enough (about 15” to 16”) to line the bottom and sides of one pan, with some overhang.

You’ll be rolling the dough quite thin; it may help to cover it with some lightly greased parchment as you roll.  Roll one of the smaller pieces of dough into a circle about 9” in diameter.

Cover both pieces of dough, and go away for 15 minutes. Or use the time to roll out the other two pieces of dough. Either way, you want to let your rolled-out dough rest for 15 minutes; it relaxes the gluten, allowing you to handle the dough without it shrinking.

Butter the bottom and sides of two 9” x 2”-deep round cake pans, then drizzle olive oil in the bottom of each.

Fold the larger piece of dough into quarters and center it in the pan.

You’ll need 1 pound of sliced mozzarella, 8 ounces for each pizza. “Tile” (fan) the mozzarella into the crust, top with other toppings of your choice.  
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Crimp together the top and bottom crusts.  Cut slashes in the top, to allow steam to escape as the pizza bakes.  Repeat the whole process with the remaining dough and ingredients, making another 9” round pizza.  Cover the pizzas, and let them rest while you preheat your oven to 425°F, about 30 minutes.
Just before baking, top the pizzas with the sauce and sprinkle with a total of 1 1/4 cups of freshly grated Parmesan, Romano, aged Asiago, or your favorite hard cheese grated cheese.  Use half the cheese (a scant 2/3 cup) on each pizza.

Put the pizzas in the oven.

Bake till the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbly, 20 to 25 minutes.  Remove the pizzas from the oven, and allow them to rest for about 15 minutes before serving.

Masterpiece