Chicago-Style Stuffed Pizza

I first tried Chicago Deep Dish Pizza at a family-owned pizzeria in Gunnison, Colorado called Mario’s Pizza. Whenever we drive out that way on vacation, we always make a point of eating there.

This recipe uses a lot of ingredients and takes some effort, but the results are AMAZING! The trick to making this pizza at home is to build it in layers and include an abundance of cheese–more than 2 pounds. Plus, it makes two extra-large pizzas (or one mega pizza), plenty for a family gathering. Trust me, your kids will love you for making this for them. 

When I prepare this recipe, I use my 12-inch cast iron skillet and a 9″ springform pan. If you have a 15-inch skillet, you could just make one very large pizza. That’s what I would do if I had one. In fact, LloydPans makes a lovely pre-seasoned pan that is the perfect size for a Chicago-Style Deep Dish Pizza.

One difference between this stuffed pizza and my other pizza recipes is the addition of BUTTER. This pizza has a lot of butter. It’s loaded with it. But I believe that’s one of the reasons it is so delicious!

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Ingredients for Chicago-Style Stuffed Pizza

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Gather the ingredients so that you have everything close at hand on the counter or table.

Using a Chef’s knife and cutting board, chop the green bell peppers, sweet onions, and mushrooms. You may also add sliced black olives to this list. Mince the garlic. Place vegetables in a bowl and refrigerate until ready to use.

Slice the provolone and mozzarella cheese. Note that all the cheese is sliced and not shredded.

Grate fresh parmesan with a fine-edged zester, to use when serving the pizza.

To make the pizza dough, mix together the all-purpose flour, 00 flour, yellow cornmeal, instant  yeast, and kosher salt.

If you’re unable to find 00 flour, you may use all-purpose instead. 00 stands for Double Zero or doppio flour, which is a finely ground Italian flour. It can sometimes be hard to find, even when shopping online. I’ve tried King Arthur’s Italian Flour, but have to admit that I like Antimo Caputo 00 Pizzeria Flour better. It really turns out a fabulous dough to work with. And so flavorful. I highly recommend using it.

Add warm water, melted butter, and extra-virgin olive oil to the flour. Using an electric mixer with a dough hook, mix the ingredients together, then knead for 4-5 minutes, to make a firm smooth dough.

Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a clean tea towel. Let rise until double, about an hour.

Prepare the Red Sauce

Preheat the oven to 450°F. While the dough is rising, go ahead and make the sauce. Some people prefer an uncooked sauce, but I like to simmer mine until it becomes thick and rich.

If using plum or whole tomatoes, hand crush them in a large bowl. For best results, use a quality tomato product such as Cento. You may also buy crushed tomatoes, which will yield more sauce for the pizza.

Place tomatoes in a medium saucepan. Add in the minced garlic, granulated sugar, and Italian seasoning. Bring to a boil, and then simmer for 30-40 minutes, until it has reduced to a nice thickened sauce, stirring occasionally.

Cook the Meat and Vegetables

While the sauce is simmering, brown the Italian sausage in a large skillet. When browned, transfer the meat to a bowl or plate.

Add to the skillet the chopped green bell pepper, mushrooms, sweet onion, and black olives. There should be plenty of oil, but if necessary, add in a bit more olive oil. Sauté until tender. Set aside until you’re ready to assemble the pizza.

I normally use raw vegetables when making pizza, but for this recipe, I like for them to be sautéed. 

Stuff the Pizza – Bottom Layers

Now comes the fun part! In a small bowl, melt 3 tablespoons butter and then stir in 2 tablespoons olive oil. Grease both pizza pans with a thin layer of this butter mixture.

As mentioned earlier, when making this recipe, I use a large 12″ cast iron skillet, and a 9″ springform pan. You could also use a 15″ pizza pan with at least 1.5″ sides.

Divide the dough into thirds. Stretch the first two pieces of dough to make large circles that fit each pan. Lay one into a pan and stretch it toward the edges. Continue stretching the dough to cover the bottom and sides of the pan. If necessary, allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes, to finish stretching up the sides of each pan. You want the dough to go as near to the top as possible. Repeat with the second piece of dough.

Coat the dough with a thin layer of butter/oil mixture.

Next, begin layering the toppings, starting with the provolone cheese slices.

Then the Canadian Bacon, followed by the Italian sausage and sauteed vegetables. After that, layer on the slices of pepperoni. Top the pepperoni with a layer of mozzarella cheese.

Divide the third piece of dough in half and roll each into an 1/8″ thin circle to fit the top of each pan. Place the rolled dough over the mozzarella cheese layer in each pan. Press the dough into the sides of the first crust. Pinch the dough together to seal, using a bit of cold water, if necessary.

Coat this layer of dough with a thin layer of the butter/oil mixture. Poke a few holes in this top crust to allow steam to escape while baking.

Use a pair of kitchen shears or a knife to poke the holes. 

Add the final layer of cheese (fresh mozzarella) on top of this crust and then spoon the red sauce over the cheese.

Place both pans of pizza on a lower oven rack, and bake in preheated oven until the crust is a dark golden brown and the cheesy sauce is bubbly, approximately 35-45 minutes.

Remove pizza from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving. Carefully transfer each pizza to a serving tray. Cut each pizza into 8 slices.

If desired, drizzle the top of each pizza with extra-virgin olive oil and freshly grated Parmesan.

As mentioned before, this Chicago-Style Stuffed Pizza serves a lot! 2 large pizzas will serve 10-12 people.

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