wilburpan Posted November 30, 2015 Report Share Posted November 30, 2015 I made another Chicago style deep dish pizza this past weekend, using the same recipe that I had used before. I made two important changes this time. First, I made sure I cooked the pizza at 450ºF, instead of 550ºF. Total cooking time was about 35 minutes. Second, and I think this was the more significant change, when I let the dough rise, this time I heated my oven to 100ºF, put the dough in the oven, and then shut the oven off. The dough rose to a significantly higher volume than the last time. Both changes paid off in the crust. It was much easier to spread out the crust in the pan. The outer crust was not as hard as it was last time, and overall there was a general increased lightness to the crust that was new. At this point, I’m really close to the taste of Chicago style deep dish pizza that I grew up with. I’d like to get the crust to have a little more buttery flavor to it, so I may bump up the amount of corn oil in the dough recipe a little. In addition, Italian sausage here in New Jersey is not as flavorful as Italian sausage in Chicago. Italian sausage here is pretty bland. Weird, considering it’s not like there aren’t any Italians in New Jersey. It could be that Italian sausage recipes in Chicago are influenced by the Eastern European population there. Maybe that’s why pepperoni is the most popular topping here in NJ, whereas sausage is the most popular pizza topping in the Chicago area. I need to figure out what it is that is missing from the Italian sausage here. Maybe it’s fennel seed. Here are some pictures. And thanks to everyone for their input on my last Chicago style deep dish pizza cook! It really helped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacKenzie Posted December 1, 2015 Report Share Posted December 1, 2015 Wilbur, that slice of deep dish pizza has my mouth watering and I just had pizza for supper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckreef Posted December 1, 2015 Report Share Posted December 1, 2015 Really awesome deep dish. The money shot itself looks like an improvement. Very tasty looking. Glad it all worked out. 35 minutes at 450* sounds right to me. If you're interested in additional toppings pull it after 20 minutes, add some extra toppings and a bit more mozzarella then put it back in for the final 15 minutes or until the top cheese is browned. Not a traditional version but sure makes a good pie. Charles - Prometheus 16.5", Cassiopeia 19" TT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kjs Posted December 1, 2015 Report Share Posted December 1, 2015 Kudo's, good looking pizza. You may be right about the the fennel seed being the difference between the two sausages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinyfish Posted December 1, 2015 Report Share Posted December 1, 2015 Definitely looking good Wilbur. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CeramicChef Posted December 1, 2015 Report Share Posted December 1, 2015 WOWZERS, Wilbur! That money shot just made me hungry, and I just finished dinner. That a really nice pizza pie you baked up! Kudos to ya, my Chi-Town friend. Kudos, kudos, kudos! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennisLinkletter Posted December 1, 2015 Report Share Posted December 1, 2015 Great looking thick slice.. I can't seem to get the real money shot with the pie baked in the KK to load.. Must be my computer.. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted December 1, 2015 Report Share Posted December 1, 2015 Was in Chicago over Thanksgiving and got to go to Pequod's for pizza - seriously one of the best pizza's I've ever had! Nice Job, Wilbur!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bosco Posted December 1, 2015 Report Share Posted December 1, 2015 That looks really good buddy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilburpan Posted December 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 1, 2015 Great looking thick slice.. I can't seem to get the real money shot with the pie baked in the KK to load.. Must be my computer.. LOL Blame the winter solstice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PRippley Posted December 2, 2015 Report Share Posted December 2, 2015 Awesome Wilbur, gonna try that once Thanksgiving coma passes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoFrogs91 Posted December 3, 2015 Report Share Posted December 3, 2015 That looks great Wilbur! Benton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
