One of the best things about Chicago is definitely the Deep Dish Pizza. I don’t think I’ve ever met a pizza that I didn’t like. And every deep dish pizza restaurant located in Chicago has its own unique flavor- of course all of them being delicious. One of my favorite restaurants for deep dish is Uno’s Pizzeria in Chicago. The crust is to die for!
For my birthday last year, Adam surprised me with an Uno’s Deep Dish cooking class offered at their original location, downtown Chicago. And now, we can make a deep-dish pizza whenever we want! Can get dangerous for the waistline when you know how to make your own. But I try to look at the silver linings… we’re saving money! That payoff counts, right?!
For those of you who can’t make it out to Chicago to take the class, I thought I would share with you how to make your very own deep-dish pizza! Uno’s wouldn’t share their secret sauce recipe, but we’ve tried a couple things and below is our favorite sauce so far!
What you’ll need for an individual pizza (1 9 inch pizza)
9 inch round pan
Crust:
- 2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon of Fast Acting Yeast- these come in little packets and can be found in the baking aisle!
- ½ cup warm water
- ½ teaspoon Sugar
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 2.5 oz Corn oil (half for dough, half for pan)
Sauce:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 clove minced garlic
- 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
- 6 oz can tomato paste
- 1/2 tablespoon sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon of salt
- 1 teaspoon basil
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- Pepper to taste
- Pinch of crushed red pepper
Toppings:
- Low-Fat mozzarella cheese (about 6 slices per pie)
- Can of peeled pear tomatoes
- Parmesan Cheese
And whatever you prefer on your pizza! My favorite toppings below!
- Spinach
- Mushroom
- Green Peppers
- Black Olives
And Adam’s fave toppings!
- Pepperoni
- Pineapple
Now, let’s make the pizza!
So a day before you actually want to eat the pizza, you should make the crust. Just kidding! You actually could do that, and that’s what the class did for us. However, we’ve let the dough rise for about a half hour before we cooked it and still turned out great!
Crust:
- Mix together warm water and fast acting yeast. Mix for about 5 minutes until yeast is dissolved.
- Add sugar, salt and 1.5 ounces of your corn oil.
- Add half the flour.
- Knead the mixture with your hands and sprinkle a surface with more flour. Keep kneading on the floured surface.
- Knead the dough until it is no longer sticky.
- Put on plate- cover with tinfoil OR wrap and let sit in fridge for half hour- or longer if you have the time!
Sauce:
- In sauce pan, add olive oil and garlic over medium heat until garlic is soft (about two minutes). Be sure to watch your pan and don’t burn the garlic!
- Add the rest of ingredients to pan and stir to combine
- Cover the pot, reduce heat and let it simmer for 20-30 minutes.
OR you can just buy a can of pizza sauce and flavor it with garlic and Italian seasonings!
Putting your Pizza together:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
- When you think your dough is ready to go (hey I rhymed!) put the rest of your corn oil into your 9 inch baking pan. Spread evenly in your pan.
- Spread your dough evenly in your pan and pinch up the sides about an inch.
- Place your mozzarella cheese slices over the dough. Cover your dough completely!
- Cover the cheese with all of your toppings!
- NOTE: If you’re using raw sausage, it must go directly on top of the cheese
- NOTE: If you want crispier veggies, add them half way through cooking.
- Squeeze the peeled pear tomatoes so they break and squirt the sauce in your pizza. (Going to get your hands a little messy!)
- Add your sauce! Don’t get too crazy with the sauce or your pizza will be too soggy.
- Top with as much parmesan cheese as your heart desires! I did about a handful!
- Stick your pizza in the oven for about 35-40 minutes (check on them around 35 since ovens can vary)
- Let cool, cut & most importantly enjoy!
Yes, I forgot to take a picture before I took a bite. OOPS 🙂