Last week as I was flipping through my Instagram feed I came across the most beautiful picture of a pizza. I follow Bon Appetit Magazine, and I love seeing what they’re cooking up in some fabulous kitchen in New York:) They had just posted a picture of the Oct. cover of their magazine, and this Granny Pizza was the featured recipe. Well I didn’t even wait for my copy of the magazine to come. I looked it up and made it the next day. It was delicious!!
I’ve decided I’ve got a little something for a good pizza. Now Mom, Im not trying to be negative or anything, but homemade pizza as a kid was not my favorite meal. Actually, it was yucky! My mom knew it too. It was just so much better when she’d get takeout on a Fri. night:) But now a days, there are options!! Pizza at home can be awesome!!! I’ve decided the homemade crust is a must, and a super hot oven or grill outside is necessary. The hotter the better. My sister just built the most beautiful home, and included in the fantastic kitchen is an AMAZING brick oven. And I am here to say that, my sister Hollie, makes the best pizza on the planet! It’s so good!! She usually has an island heaped with millions of topping options, and her husband Sam mans the oven itself. In about 6 minutes the chewiest pizza is out and ready to be devoured. And maybe it’s the fact that we have deep dish cookies topped with ice cream for dessert that tops the whole meal off:) I do love a deep dish pizza too though folks! I’m sorry, but I have to admit that I love the thick, chewy crust that is totally crispy and fried on the bottom. It’s just plain good!
This is a deep dish pizza recipe. It’s not too complicated, and the results were pretty dang wonderful! I really liked the suggestion of dotting the pizza with sauce. There wasn’t any smearing of the sauce, but little dollops all over. The dough stayed puffy, and hole-y and the finished product was a chewy, thicker crust with lots of fried crunchiness on the bottom. I adapted the recipe to my liking. I didn’t have 24 hours. I needed the pizza quicker than that but a good 8 hours worked well too. Give this pizza a try. Any kind of toppings will do. Enjoy! Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit Magazine Oct. 2014
Ingredients
- 1 envelope active dry yeast (about 2¼ tsp.)
- 1 1/2 c. warm water
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- plus ½ cup olive oil for the cookie sheet
- plus more oil for bowl
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 4 cups all-purpose flour, divided, plus more for surface
- another ½ cup olive oil for the cookie sheet (this is what give the pizza it's fried yumminess!
- Toppings of Choice
- your favorite sauce (BBQ, Marinara, Alfredo, Pesto........)
- Meat and cheeses of choice
Instructions
Preheat oven to 500' F. or as hot as your oven will possible go. Mine actually goes to 550' F and the pizza cooked a little faster than anticipated.
In a mixing bowl or better yet, your stand mixer, combine yeast and 1½ cups warm water (105–110°) in a large bowl; Mix in 2 Tbsp. oil, then salt and flour. Mix until everything is incorporated and a shaggy dough forms.
Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until soft, smooth, and elastic, 10–12 minutes. Or if you have a stand mixer, mix the dough for a couple of minutes until a smooth dough is made. I kneaded the dough for about 3-4 minutes. Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Leave on counter until doubled in size. Mine took about 2-3 hours. At this point I put the dough in the fridge until it was time for dinner.
Take dough out of fridge and let sit for a few minutes. Coat an 18x13” rimmed baking sheet with remaining ½ cup oil. Gently and gradually stretch dough until it reaches the edges of baking sheet. (If dough springs back or is stiff to work with, let it rest 10 minutes before continuing. You may need to let it rest more than once. I had to let my dough rest a few times. Each time it relaxed a little more and would stretch to cover the cookie sheet. Be patient! It will fill the entire pan eventually.)
Cover dough on baking sheet tightly with plastic wrap and let sit in a warm place (but not too warm!—about 70° is ideal for yeast to grow) until it is puffed and full of air bubbles, 30–40 minutes. At this point top your pizza. Be gentle with the dough. You don't want to deflate the risen crust. Gently dot some sauce on your pizza and then top with whatever you'd like. I did a homemade marinara sauce, fresh red and yellow homegrown tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, salt and pepper. Place your pizza in the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until the cheese is extra melted and cooked the crust is browned. I topped my tomato pizza with fresh basil, and drizzles of balsamic glaze. It was heavenly!! This size pizza fed my family of 6 with nothing to spare. I actually made 2 pizza's and the leftovers have been perfect. I place a leftover piece of pizza in a 350' F oven for a few minutes and the crust crisps right up again. Perfect for brekky!
http://abakerswife.com/2014/09/deep-dish-pizza.html
This pizza is looking really amazing, yum!
Wow, I just can’t stop thinking about Hollie’s oven! This all sounds great!