Today I take on the pizza question of the century—Which reigns supreme, Chicago Deep Dish style pizza or New York Thin Crust style pizza? Each have their own fervent following, but I’ve developed recipes of my own (although I had help from Jeff Mauro from Food Network for the Deep Dish crust) to come to my own conclusions on the Pizza Battle of 2022. Check out the recipes below if you’d like to do a battle of your own!
Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza
WHAT YOU’LL NEED
For the Dough
- 1 .25 ounce packet active dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 3 ½ cups flour 468g
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ½ cup neutral oil plus more for greasing
For the Sauce
- 1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
- ½ small onion peeled and root end trimmed
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- Kosher salt and freshly ground to taste
- Sugar to taste
For the Toppings
- 1 pound whole milk mozzarella cheese sliced 1/4-inch thick
- 1 pound oyster mushrooms cleaned and torn into 1 inch pieces
- 2 medium green bell peppers sliced into half moons (about 3 cups)
- 2 medium onions sliced into half moons (about 3 cups)
- 3 garlic cloves chopped (about 2 tablespoons)
- 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- Parmesan cheese for garnish
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, add 1 ¼ cups lukewarm water, followed by yeast and sugar. Lightly whisk, then cover with a tea towel and leave in a warm place for 5 minutes, or until yeast has proofed.
- Once yeast has proofed, attach dough hook to stand mixer and fix bowl to stand mixer. Add dry ingredients to yeast and combine on low speed. Once flour is 75% mixed in, slowly stream in oil and increase speed to medium. Allow to knead for 3-5 minutes, or until a soft, malleable dough forms. It will be softer and more fluid than traditional pizza dough. Add to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 12 hours, and up to 2 days.
- Once dough has risen, punch it down and allow to rest for 15 minutes.
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add all ingredients, onion cut side down into the sauce. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat and allow to barely bubble, stirring occasionally. Taste and season with additional sugar and salt, if needed. Cook for 20 minutes, or until flavors have married and sauce has slightly reduced. Remove from heat, allow to cool, discard onion, then cover with lid until ready to assemble.
- In a large skillet over medium high heat, add oil and once shimmering, add mushrooms. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until mushrooms are lightly browned.
- Transfer mushrooms to a large bowl and set aside.
- In the same skillet, add peppers and onions, a generous pinch of salt and stir. Cook for 10-15 minutes, or until peppers and onions are tender and golden brown. Add garlic, fennel seed and crushed red pepper flakes and stir to combine. Cook for 1-2 minutes, or until the garlic has softened and the spices have bloomed.
- Transfer peppers and onions to the mushroom bowl, stir to combine, and set aside until ready to assemble pizza.
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Lightly oil a 12 inch cast iron skillet or deep dish pizza pan and set aside.
- Roll out dough into a 14 inch circle. Quickly transfer it into prepared skillet and lightly pull dough up the sides of the skillet, refrigerating it for 15 minutes if it becomes too difficult to work with. Layer slices of mozzarella over entire the bottom, then top with sauteed vegetables, and 1 ½ cups of sauce. Top with Parmesan cheese and place skillet on a sheet tray.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown around the edges.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool for 20 minutes, or until warm to the touch. Slice and serve with additional pizza sauce.
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NYC Style Thin Crust Pizza
Persons
2
Prep Time
25 minutes
Cook Time
40 minutes
Wait Time
12 hours
Total Time
1 hour, 5 minutes
Ingredients
For the Pizza Dough
- 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
- 2 cups (280 grams) all purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for oiling
For the Sauce
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- ½ small onion, peeled and root end trimmed
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- Kosher salt and freshly ground, to taste
- Sugar, to taste
For the Toppings
- 8 ounces fresh or whole milk mozzarella
- 1 small bunch fresh basil
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, add ¾ cup lukewarm water and sprinkle yeast over top. Lightly whisk to combine, then cover with a tea towel. Leave for 5 minutes to bloom, then remove towel. The liquid should smell yeasty and look a bit foamy.
- Fit the mixer with the dough hook attachment, then add flour and salt and mix on medium speed, until a shaggy dough forms. Then increase speed and knead for 5 minutes, or until a smooth, elastic ball of dough forms. Add olive oil to the sides of the bowl and turn the dough in oil to coat completely. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours, or overnight.
- The next day, remove the dough from the refrigerator and preheat oven. If using a pizza oven, heat oven to at least 700°F. If using a home oven, heat to 500°F with a pizza stone (or upside down baking sheet) on the middle rack.
- To make the sauce, in a medium saucepan over medium heat, add all ingredients, onion cut side down into the sauce. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat and allow to barely bubble, stirring occasionally. Taste and season with additional sugar and salt, if needed. Cook for 20 minutes, or until flavors have married and sauce has slightly reduced. Remove from heat, allow to cool, discard onion half, then cover with lid until ready to assemble.
- To assemble, divide dough into 2 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a 10-12 inch circle, then heavily dust pizza peel with semolina and add rolled dough. Top with about ¾ cup sauce then half of the cheese.
- Bake for 1-2 minutes in a pizza oven or about 8-9 minutes in your home oven, until the crust is golden brown and cheese is bubbling.
- Remove from oven, top with fresh basil leaves, and repeat with remaining dough. Allow first pizza to cool slightly for a few minutes before slicing.
- Slice into 8 pieces and serve immediately.
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