Did you ever wonder about the “pie” in pizza pie? This dish will make that connection clear for you. With its deep crust cradling distinct layers of cheese, sausage, and tomatoes, this is definitely a knife-and-fork pizza PIE.
The crust, based on a recipe whose supposed provenance is Pizzeria Uno, has an unusual flaky/tender texture and great. Also, the tiny bit of cornmeal adds subtle but delightful crunch.
Recipe courtesy of King Arthur Flour / kingarthurflour.com
Ingredients
- 4 cups (500 g) all-purpose flour
- 3 tbsp (45 ml) yellow cornmeal
- 1 3/4 tsp (10 g) salt
- 2 3/4 tsp (8 g) instant yeast
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) olive oil (plus extra for greasing the stone)
- 4 tbsp (60 ml) butter, melted
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) vegetable oil or salad oil
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp (280 ml) lukewarm water
Instructions
Set the EGG for indirect cooking at 425°F/232°C.
To make the crust, mix the dough ingredients and knead — by hand, mixer, or bread machine — to make a smooth crust. This will take about 7 minutes at medium-low speed in a stand mixer.
Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl or 8 cup measure (which makes it easy to track its rise), cover, and let rise till very puffy, about 60 minutes. While the dough is rising, ready your Deep Dish Pizza/Baking Stone. Grease it with non-stick vegetable oil spray; pour in 3 to 4 tablespoons olive oil, tilting it to cover the bottom of the pan, and partway up the sides.
Stretch the dough to make as large a circle as you can (you can do this on a lightly oiled Dough Rolling Mat or simply stretch the dough in your hands. Lay the dough in the pan, and stretch it towards the edges till it starts to shrink back. Cover, and let it rest for 15 minutes.
Stretch the dough to cover the bottom of the pan, and then gently push it up the sides of the pan. The olive oil may ooze over the edge of the crust; that’s OK. Let the crust rest for 15 minutes or so. Bake the crust for 10 minutes, until it sets and barely begins to brown. While it’s baking, prepare the filling.
Bake the pizza in the EGG for about 25 minutes, or until the filling is bubbly and the topping is golden brown. Remove it from the EGG and allow the pizza to cool for about 15 minutes (or longer, for less oozing) before cutting and serving.
Serves 12
Filling Ingredients
- 12 oz (340 g) mozzarella cheese, sliced
- 16 oz (455 g) Italian sweet or hot sausage, cooked and sliced
- 28 oz (795 g) can plum tomatoes, lightly crushed, diced or chopped tomatoes
- 2 to 4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced, optional
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) sugar, optional
- 1 to 2 tsp (5 to 10 ml) Pizza Seasoning or mixed dried Italian herbs (oregano, basil, rosemary), to taste
- 1 cup (100 g) freshly grated Parmesan or Asiago cheese
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) olive oil, to drizzle on top
Filling Instructions
Drain the tomatoes thoroughly. Combine them with the pizza seasoning or herbs, and the garlic and sugar. Add salt to taste; you probably won’t need any additional salt if you’ve used the Pizza Seasoning. Cover the bottom of the crust with the sliced mozzarella, fanning it into the crust. Add the sausage, then the tomato mixture. Sprinkle with the grated Parmesan, and drizzle with the olive oil.
Usually, but not always, tomato sauce is ladled over the top crust before the pizza is baked.
The very first line is unclear. Do you pre-heat the stone pan or don’t you? From the first line, it seems that you do, but from the lines later when it says to prep the pan with oil, I guess you don’t.
I had a great first attempt with this recipe but the crust stuck. After much fretting, I found that sufficiently oiling the stone made all the difference. I use good quality olive oil and let it pool in the stone, running it around the edges occasionally while the crust is rising. I haven’t had a problem since, except the very full belly at the end.
How do you set up the EGG itself, when using the deep dish?
Indirect, using the plate-setter w/ legs down.