Deep Dish Pizza

Deep Dish Pizza (makes 2 9-inch pizzas)
Ingredients:
for the dough:
3 1/4 cups (16 1/4 ounces) flour
1/2 cup (2 3/4 cups) cornmeal
2 1/4 tsp instant yeast
2 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups water, at room temperature
3 Tbs unsalted butter, melted
4 Tbs unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp plus 4 Tbs olive oil
for the sauce:
2 Tbs unsalted butter
1/4 cup grated onion
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp salt
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1/4 tsp sugar
2 Tbs chopped basil
pepper, to taste
additional salt, to taste
For the dough, combine the flour, cornmeal, salt, sugar and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Blend on low speed for 1 minute. With the mixer running, slowly pour in the water and melted butter. Mix until full incorporated, scraping the sides as needed. Increase the speed to medium and kneed until glossy and smooth, about 4-5 minutes. It should pull away from the bowl while the mixer is running, but stick the bottom when the mixer is off.
Using your hands, coat a clean bowl with 2 tsp of olive oil. Without cleaning your hands transfer the dough to the oiled bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rest until doubled, about 45 minutes to an hour.
While the dough is rising, prepare the sauce. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat until foamy. Add the onion, oregano and salt. Cook until onions are soft and brown and liquid has evaporated, about 5-8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the tomatoes and sugar and increase the heat to medium-high. Bring the mixture to a good simmer, then lower the heat to low. Cover with a ventilated lid and cook until it has reduced down to 2 1/2 cups, about 30 minutes. Stir occasionally during cooking. Remove sauce from heat and stir in basil and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
Once the dough has risen, turn it out onto a clean work surface. Using a rolling pin, roll dough into an even rectangle, about 15 x 12 inches. Using an offset spatula or butter knife, smear softened butter on the dough, leaving a 1/2 inch border around the edge. Starting at the short end, roll the dough into a tight cylinder. Flatten dough to a 18 x 4 inch rectangle and cut in half. Working with one half at a time, fold the dough into thirds like a letter. Shape the dough into a ball, pinching the seams and return it to the oiled bowl. Repeat with second piece of dough. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise in the refrigerator until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.
Preheat oven to 425F and oil two 9 inch with 2 Tbs of oil each.
Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll dough into a 13 inch circle. Transfer dough to the oiled pan and press it down along the edge of the pan, making sure that the dough goes up the side of the pan about 1 inch. Sprinkle 2 cups of mozerella cheese onto the dough and then top with 1 1/4 cups of sauce. Sprinkle 2 Tbs of Parmesan on top of the sauce. Repeat with second piece of dough. Bake pizzas until dough has browned around the edge and the pizza is baked through, about 40 minutes. Let pizza rest for at least 10 minutes before cutting and serving.
Note: Picture is our “leftover” pizza that we ate the day after I baked it. The sauce will set up a bit more overnight (like lasagna) so yours might be a lot runnier on the night you bake it. If you want to reheat the pizza, bake in the oven at 350F until heated through, about 10-15 minutes.
Recipe from The Best of America’s Test Kitchen

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