Chicago Deep Dish Pizza

Ingredients

• For the dough
• 300 g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• 30 g fine cornmeal
• 7 g instant dried yeast
• 1 tsp fine salt
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 80 g unsalted butter, softened, cut into small pieces
• 180 ml warm water, approximately 40°C
• 30 ml neutral oil, for the pan and dough surface
• For the filling
• 400 g low-moisture mozzarella, sliced or torn into even pieces
• 350 g Italian pork sausage, casings removed, crumbled
• For the tomato sauce
• 400 g whole peeled canned tomatoes, crushed by hand, liquid retained
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 pinch caster sugar
• 1 tsp fine salt, to taste

Method

1. 1
   Combine flour, cornmeal, yeast, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Work the softened butter into the dry ingredients with fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs — this is the step that produces the slightly flaky, pastry-like character of the crust. Add the warm water and mix to a cohesive dough. Knead for 5 minutes until smooth. The dough should be supple but slightly richer and softer than a standard bread dough. Cover and rest at room temperature for 45 minutes, until visibly puffed.
2. 2
   While the dough rests, prepare the tomato sauce. Combine the hand-crushed tomatoes, garlic, oregano, basil, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Stir to combine. The sauce is left raw at this stage — the oven will finish it. It should taste fresh, bright, and only lightly seasoned; it must not resemble a long-simmered marinara.
3. 3
   Heat the oven to 220°C. Oil a 30 cm deep round pan (a cake pan at least 4 cm deep) generously with neutral oil. Press the rested dough into the pan with your hands, working it up the sides to a height of 3–4 cm. The wall must be even in thickness. Par-bake the empty shell for 5 minutes. The surface will look just set and dry — not coloured. This brief pre-bake is essential: the weight of the fillings would otherwise prevent the base from cooking through.
4. 4
   This is the step on which the dish lives or dies. Layer in strict order: lay all the mozzarella directly onto the par-baked crust in an even layer, pressing it gently into any gaps — the cheese goes on the bottom, against the dough, so that it melts through the filling and does not burn under the extended bake. Distribute the raw crumbled sausage evenly over the cheese. Spoon the tomato sauce over the top in a generous, even layer — thick enough to cover, but not so deep that it pools: excess sauce will make the filling soggy. Every stage of the inversion matters; any deviation collapses the logic of the deep dish.
5. 5
   Bake at 220°C for 25–35 minutes. The pie is done when the crust is deep golden at the edges, the tomato sauce is visibly bubbling across the entire surface, and a skewer or thin knife inserted into the centre of the dough wall meets no raw resistance. Underbaking produces a raw-dough centre; overbaking dries the crust. The correct window is narrow.
6. 6
   Remove from the oven and rest in the pan for 5–10 minutes before cutting. The rest allows the molten cheese and sauce to settle so that slices hold their form when lifted. Serve directly from the pan with a knife and fork.