a modification on my previous (real) pizza post - a bit of a hybridization of Chicago (Giordano's style), Chicago tavern style (the sauce from Villa Nova), and Detroit. Honestly, this is the best I've made at home to date. I still want to tweak the methodology a bit...
Add the warm water and pinch of sugar to mixing bowl, then add yeast and let foam for 30 seconds or so.
Add flour, cornmeal, oil, salt. Mix until everything is stuck together (3-4 minutes).
Lightly flour a surface and knead the dough ball for about two minutes. Kneading longer than a couple minutes will make the crust more fluffy and bread-like instead of dense and biscuit-like.
place dough back in mixing bowl, and place a clean towel over the top of the bow. Let dough rise at room temp as directed by the yeast (1-2 hours for fast acting yeast, 6-8 hours for normal yeast) - until the dough doubles in volume. Punch the dough down, and allow to rise a second time.
stick-stir all ingredients, adding the baking soda last. The baking soda is optional, but combats the acidity of the tomatoes, making the sauce a bit smoother.
chop onions finely
run garlic through a press or other grinder to finely mash it
sauté onions in a skillet until lightly browned or caramelized
add meat and garlic to the pan and cook until browned. Once meat is browned, and all toppings are mixed, set aside until pizza prep
mix all three shredded cheeses in a single bowl and set aside
melt 1 Tbsp of butter, then coat inside of 9x13" glass baking dish
roll out dough into approximately 13x18 rectangle (approximately 1/4" thick)
Lightly press the dough into the pan, making sure the edges of the dough are flat on the bottom of the pan
pre-bake the dough in the glass tray or square metal pan in a pre-heated 400 degree oven for 5-6 minutes
place a mix of shredded cheese and toppings on top of bottom dough layer. Allow mozzarella to completely cover the crust out to the edges of the pan. This is similar to Detroit style pizza. (I have not done this yet, but I am considering par-baking the pizza at this point, just to get the cheese melting before adding the top crust/sauce)
roll out another ~13x18 dough square, slightly thinner than the first.
lay the dough over the cheese / topping layer, tucking the edges against the sides of the pan, and trim excess dough off at the top of the pan. (photos in the gallery illustrate a cross section)
add sauce to the top of the second crust layer, up to ~1/8" under the top of the pain (account for any dough rise, to avoid spill over)
sprinkle a little cheese across the dough if desired
bake at 400 for 35-40 minutes, until the crust is lightly browned
remove from oven, and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes on stovetop, to allow cheese to set before slicing and serving
Ingredients
Directions
Add the warm water and pinch of sugar to mixing bowl, then add yeast and let foam for 30 seconds or so.
Add flour, cornmeal, oil, salt. Mix until everything is stuck together (3-4 minutes).
Lightly flour a surface and knead the dough ball for about two minutes. Kneading longer than a couple minutes will make the crust more fluffy and bread-like instead of dense and biscuit-like.
place dough back in mixing bowl, and place a clean towel over the top of the bow. Let dough rise at room temp as directed by the yeast (1-2 hours for fast acting yeast, 6-8 hours for normal yeast) - until the dough doubles in volume. Punch the dough down, and allow to rise a second time.
stick-stir all ingredients, adding the baking soda last. The baking soda is optional, but combats the acidity of the tomatoes, making the sauce a bit smoother.
chop onions finely
run garlic through a press or other grinder to finely mash it
sauté onions in a skillet until lightly browned or caramelized
add meat and garlic to the pan and cook until browned. Once meat is browned, and all toppings are mixed, set aside until pizza prep
mix all three shredded cheeses in a single bowl and set aside
melt 1 Tbsp of butter, then coat inside of 9x13" glass baking dish
roll out dough into approximately 13x18 rectangle (approximately 1/4" thick)
Lightly press the dough into the pan, making sure the edges of the dough are flat on the bottom of the pan
pre-bake the dough in the glass tray or square metal pan in a pre-heated 400 degree oven for 5-6 minutes
place a mix of shredded cheese and toppings on top of bottom dough layer. Allow mozzarella to completely cover the crust out to the edges of the pan. This is similar to Detroit style pizza. (I have not done this yet, but I am considering par-baking the pizza at this point, just to get the cheese melting before adding the top crust/sauce)
roll out another ~13x18 dough square, slightly thinner than the first.
lay the dough over the cheese / topping layer, tucking the edges against the sides of the pan, and trim excess dough off at the top of the pan. (photos in the gallery illustrate a cross section)
add sauce to the top of the second crust layer, up to ~1/8" under the top of the pain (account for any dough rise, to avoid spill over)
sprinkle a little cheese across the dough if desired
bake at 400 for 35-40 minutes, until the crust is lightly browned
remove from oven, and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes on stovetop, to allow cheese to set before slicing and serving