Recipe - Chicago Deep Dish Pizza

CRUST
2 pack Quickrise dry yeast
2 cup Warm water (90 degrees)
One half cup Salad oil
4 tablespoon Olive oil
One half cup Cornmeal
5 One half cup Flour

FILLING FOR 9 OR 10INCH PAN
1/3 pound Mozzarella cheese; cut or sliced up
2 cup Canned Plum tomatoes;
drained and squished
1 teaspoon Basil
1 teaspoon Oregano
2 Cloves garlic; crushed
Salt to taste
3 tablespoon Grated Parmesan cheese for
topping
3 tablespoon Olive oil
Additional toppings as
desired

Chicago has more pizza joints per capita that any other city in the
world. There are two thousand pizza parlors within the city limits of
Chicago alone, and who knows how many lurk in the land beyond O'Hare. This
wonderful craze goes back many years, too.

Following World War II a local Chicago soldier returned to his city and
to a job in a popular bar. The owner wanted something new. "We have to feed
these people to keep them coming in!" The soldier, who had just returned
from time in Italy, suggested pizza. "It's bread with tomato on it and they
give it away in Italy." He began to experiment, and Chicago deepdish pizza
was born. Don't be confused by the fact that you can't buy this in Italy.
You never could. This is a Chicago invention, and the bar where it was
invented is called Pizzeria Uno.

I have eaten at Pizzeria Uno many times. Nobody in town can quite beat
that basic recipe, though many other companies now employ some brilliant
cooks who come up with wonderful combinations.

Edwardo's serves a "stuffed spinach pizza." I have tried to figure out
how it is done at Pizzeria Uno and I think I am very close. I ran the
recipe by Mama, a gorgeous black woman who has been cooking the pizza there
for thirty years, and she smiled and nodded. I think it was a yes. In any
case this is great stuff and I suggest you get started as soon as possible.
If you are in bed and reading this book as you sip a glass of dry sherry, I
shall let you wait until morning. DEEPDISHPIZZA CRUST

This is easy, as you do not have to roll it out. You just push it into
place in the pan. No kidding! Please note that there is no sugar or salt in
this dough.

In the bowl of your electric mixerKitchenAid is perfect for
thisdissolve the yeast in the water. Add the oils, cornmeal, and 3 cups
of the flour. Beat for 10 minutes with the mixer. Add the dough hook and
mix in the additional 2One half cups flour. Knead for several minutes with the
machine. It is hard to do this by hand since the dough is very rich and
moist.

Pour out the dough on a plastic countertop and cover with a very large
metal bowl. Allow to rise until double in bulk. Punch down and allow to
rise again. Punch down a second time and you are ready to make pizza!

Oil round cake pans. Put a bit of dough in each and push it out to the
edges, using your fingers. (I oil mine with olive oil.) Put in enough dough
so that you can run the crust right up the side of the pan. Make it about
1/8 inch thick throughout the pan. THE FILLING FOR A 9 OR 10INCH PAN

Place the cheese in tilelike layers on the bottom of the pie. Next put in
the tomatoes and the basil, oregano, garlic, and salt, reserving the
Parmesan cheese for the top. Drizzle the olive oil over the top of the pie
and you are ready to bake. ADDITIONAL VARIATIONS: Before you put on the
Parmesan cheese and olive oil drizzle you might like to add any or all of
the following:

Italian sausage, hot or mild

Yellow onions, peeled and minced

Pepperoni, cut or sliced up thin

Mushrooms, cut or sliced up

Green sweet bell peppers, cored and cut or sliced up thin Put any or all of these
on your pie and then top with the Parmesan and the olive oil. BAKING THE
PIE Bake the pie in a 475ø oven until the top is golden and gooey and the
crust a light golden brown. This should take about 35 or 40 minutes.

From The Frugal Gourmet Cooks American. Downloaded from Glen's MM Recipe
Archive, http://www.erols.com/hosey.