Chicago Style Pizza

Inspired by the unfathomably delicious pizza that lives in Chicago, I had to try and recreate it for myself.  Figured it was cheaper than driving to Chicago every time I have a hankering.  Which is often.

First Step:  get the yeast, butter & olive oil ready for the dough…

Pizza Dough Ingredients

Making dough is a cinch in the food processor.  Use the dough blade, add the flour (If you sift it once or twice through a fine mesh strainer the end result will be a super light and fluffy crust.  It’s a simple step that makes a huge difference.), and slowly pour in the butter and yeast mixture.  It’ll take less than a minute before the dough forms into a ball.

Dough in Food Processor

Then, Chris kneaded the dough in a lightly greased bowl – those aren’t my man hands.

Dough Kneading

Next, roll out the dough so it’s ready for delicious toppings.

Two crusts ready to go

Getting the sauce ready is next – strain some tomatoes.

Whole Tomatoes for the sauce

We didn’t cook the sauce so it stayed nice and zesty. To the whole tomatoes we added a bit of tomato paste, sauteed garlic (but roasted garlic would also be a superb idea), basil, oregano, rosemary, salt, fresh ground black pepper and blended it all together.

mmmmm.....sauce 🙂

Meanwhile, prepare some of the toppings – don’t look at the next picture if you are a vegetarian.

Bacon 🙂

Pizza building! Add some garlic powder on top of the dough, then sauce, grated old cheddar, bacon, chicken, red peppers and fresh mozzarella.

Pizza Building

Pizza #2 Includes a base of spinach and cream cheese, then the same toppings as the first pizza, just to spice it up a little bit.

Pizza #2

Throw on whatever toppings float your boat.

Pizza #2 ready for the oven

Put these two beauties in the oven until the crust is golden and crispy, and the cheese is melty 🙂

MMMMMMM

Let’s have a look at these from another angle….

Once more, MMMMMM

Serve with a little salad on the side.  It’s well worth the effort 🙂

Chicago Style Pizza with a Side Salad

Chicago Style Pizza Recipe

Dough

1 tsp of Sugar
1 ½ cups warm water
2 packets granulated yeast
1/3 cup total melted butter & olive oil
4 cups all purpose flour

1.    Mix sugar and water.  Stir in yeast and wait 10 minutes to make sure it foams (which indicates the yeast is alive and well, and good to use).
2.    Add flour to the bowl of a food processor (using dough blade).  Or a large mixing bowl, if you don’t have a food processor.  Slowly pour butter and olive oil through feeder tube, followed by the water-yeast mixture, with the motor running on the lowest speed.  Or knead ingredients in slowly by hand.
3.    Run machine until a nice silky ball forms, when it slightly pulls away from the sides of the bowl.  Add a bit more water if necessary.
4.    Grease/butter a large mixing bowl, flip the dough ball inside to grease it all over, slip the bowl with dough into a plastic grocery bag and set aside to rise until double in bulk, about two hours.
5.    After the dough had risen, punch it down to release excess gas, then roll it out on a floured work surface.
6.    Grease the pizza pan with Pam, butter or olive oil (I used my spring form Cheesecake pan for this, and it was perfect.  It allowed for the crust to get nice and thick), sprinkle some cornmeal over the bottom, and transfer the rolled dough to the pan, letting edges hang over the side a bit.
7.    Brush dough lightly with olive oil (so the bottom doesn’t get soggy later) and cover with a clean tea towel to rise in the pizza pan about two hours.
8.    Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
9.    Top with whatever toppings you like, and put in the oven until the crust is golden brown, and the cheese and sauce are bubbly.  About 30 – 45 minutes depending on your stove.

Sauce

8-12 tomatoes, diced or 1 can whole tomatoes (28 ounces)
2-3 Tbsp Tomato Paste
Sautéed Garlic, 4-6 cloves, or to taste
About 1-2 tsp each, basil, oregano, rosemary, salt, fresh ground black pepper, or whatever spices you like best

1.    Blend tomatoes together until they are in sauce form.  I used an immersion blender, but a food processor or regular blender would work as well.
2.    Add Tomato Paste, garlic and other spices.   Stir together, and spread on top of pizza dough.

From:  Omnivore’s Ottawa