Recipes Dream: Chicago Style Pizza Recipe

Chicago Style Pizza is the Second City's take on the dish made popular in New York. The Chicago style pie is a much thicker, heartier pizza designed to keep you warm through the cold Chicago winter. There are many variations of this style of pizza. This one is based on one that is served at a pizzeria called Gino's East.

Recommended Equipment:
deep-dish pizza pan

Ingredients:
dough
1 1/2 packages of dry yeast
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup warm water
3 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 tspn salt
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup warm water

topping
1 28 oz. can plum pealed tomatoes
1 tspn dried basil (I used 2 tspn fresh basil)
1 tspn dried oregano
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
10 oz. mozzarella cheese
1 pound Italian sausage
salt to taste
extra virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced

Preparation:
Dough

Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup of warm water.
Add sugar and mix well.
In a large bowl or mixer, combine the flour, salt, and cornmeal.
In the center of the bowl, make a well and add the yeast mixture, the vegetable oil, 1/2 cup of water.
Mix well until the dough cleans the side of the bowl.
Turn the dough out of the bowl onto a well-floured surface. Knead the dough, dusting it with flour for about 5 minutes until it becomes smooth.
Form the dough into a large ball and put it back into the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a towel. Let the dough rest in a warm place for about an hour and a half. The dough should double in size.
After dough has doubled in size, turn it out of the bowl and knead it again for 2 minutes.
Oil the sides and bottom of a pizza pan and spread dough across the bottom of pan and up the sides.
Preheat the oven to 475 degrees Fahrenheit.
Prick the bottom of the dough with a fork every 1/2 inch.
Bake the crust in the preheated oven for 4 minutes then remove from the oven.
Brush the crust with olive oil.

Topping

In a bowl, combine the tomatoes, basil, oregano, and salt.
In another bowl, combine the sliced onion and 2 tbsp olive oil. Mix the onions so that they are coated with the oil.
Slice the mozzarella into thin sheets.