runningneo122's Chicago style pizza crust and sauce

runningneo122

DOUGH:

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1/2 T Yeast
1/2 T Sugar
7/8 C WARM water
2 C All-purpose flour
1/3 C Yellow cornmeal
2 T Extra virgin olive oil
3/4 tsp Salt
2 tsp Garlic powder (optional - no more than this or it will defeat the yeast)

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1. Sprinkle yeast and sugar into warm water in small bowl. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.

2. Mix remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Make a well in the middle and add yeast mixture. Mix to form a soft dough adding more flour if necessary.

3. Turn onto a floured surface and knead until dough is supple and elastic. 7 - 10 minutes. I use a power mixer w/ dough hook and set the speed on 3(out of 12) and let it mix and knead the dough for 3 - 4 minutes. The ball should not stick to the bowl.

4. Put ball in a large bowl or leave it in the mixer bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm spot until doubled - about 1 hour. Punch down.

5. On a pizza split(wooden paddle) sprinkle cornmeal. Roll or spread dough by hand to make a 14" circle. Gently blow under dough after forming pie to spread cornmeal.

6. Spread sauce and sprinkle 1/4 of cheese if adding other toppings. Sprinkle last of cheese on top and bake for 8 - 10 minutes at 475F. Cheese should start getting brown and bottom should be tan. Extra time is needed for veggie toppings. Quoted time is for meat toppings that are pre-cooked.

7. I use a baking stone. Preheat the stone for 20 minutes or use an oiled pan for a deep-dish pizza.

8. Let stand for 5 minutes before slicing.

SAUCE:

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1 - 8 ounce can of tomato sauce
1 tsp Oregano
1 tsp Black pepper
1/2 tsp Marjoram
1/2 tsp Basil
1/2 tsp Garlic powder

Mix and let sit for 1 hour before using on pizza.

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The numbers on the dough and finished pizza are in my diary. This is a "tweaked" recipe that is not quite the original that I use in my diary. I use the above dough recipe and I slice the pizza into 10 slices now so that is why the dough serving shows "0.45 servings" .... I guess I need to update with this new recipe.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!!

carriep2010

Thanks Neo, will have to try this!!!

Scidoc

Fantastic! Thank you so much for posting this

tmorford

I am going to try this with my kids (8 and 6).. I think they would love to see the whole process...thanks for the directions

wanna_be_fit

Sweet!!! Thanks so much for posting this! Too bad I already bought a take-and-bake pizza from Sam's Club to make tonight, otherwise I'd definitely give it a try tonight!!

WildFlower7

I could always use a healthier version of anything....and Chicago pizza (the real stuff) is my faaaaaaaavorite! Thanks!

runningneo122

I forgot to mention .... Bed, Bath and Beyond has the stone(I have the square one) and the pizza split. (It's also called a pizza peel.)

Stone - $20 http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?SKU=10651638
Split - $10 http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?SKU=11479618

You'll want to sand the wood smoother to make it easier to get the pizza to slide off into the oven even with the cornmeal on it.

Dafrog

txs