In honor of National Pizza Day on February 9, Chicago-based Food Network star Jeff Mauro shared a deep-dish recipe with Us Weekly that’s close to his heart — and hometown.
As a proud Windy City native, it’s safe to say that Mauro, 47, knows a thing or two about how to create the perfect version of the iconic pie. “I’ve spent months reverse engineering my favorite deep-dish pizza from [renowned Chicago deep-dish institution] Lou Malnati’s, and this is pretty darn close. So much fun to make this once, but even more fun perfecting it!” Mauro told Us.
He continued: “Make sure your dough is ready to be stretched. If it’s fighting back, let it rest for 15 more minutes. It needs to be pliable in order to form that thin wall around the edge of the pan.”
Keep scrolling for the recipe to his perfect deep-dish creation:
True Chicago-Style Deep-Dish Pizza
INGREDIENTS
1. 1 tsp granulated sugar
1 packet (2 1⁄4 tsp) active dry yeast
18 oz all-purpose flour (about 3 1⁄2 cups)
2 tsp fine sea salt
1⁄8 tsp cream of tartar
1⁄2 cup plus 3 tbsp corn oil, plus additional for oiling the bowl
1 tbsp melted unsalted butter
12 oz deli sliced part skim mozzarella
1 lb bulk Italian sausage
8 oz thinly sliced pepperoni
1 28-oz can whole San Marzano tomatoes, crushed by hand
Grated Parmesan, for topping and garnish
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Mix sugar, yeast and 11 oz room temperature water (about 80 degrees) in a bowl and let bloom for 15 minutes. Combine flour, salt and cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Once yeast has bloomed, add to dry ingredients along with corn oil. Gently combine with a rubber spatula until a rough ball is formed.
2. Knead on low speed with the dough hook for 90 seconds. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl and proof until doubled in size, about 6 hours. Punch down and let dough settle for 15 more minutes.
3. Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 450 degrees. Coat bottom and sides of a 12-inch cake pan or traditional Chicago-style pizza pan with melted butter. Using your hands, spread out about 3/4 of the dough across the bottom and up the sides of the pan (save the remainder for another use). Cover entire bottom with mozzarella, all the way up to the edge. Cover half with a thin, even layer of raw sausage. Cover the other half with the pepperoni. Top with a couple handfuls of crushed tomatoes. Spread out with hands to the edge. Sprinkle top evenly with grated Parmesan.
4. Bake, rotating halfway through, until golden around the edge, about 25 minutes. Let rest for about 5 minutes, then either gently lift pizza out of pan or just cut your slice out of the pan like a pie!
Don’t forget to tune in to the season finale of Food Network’s Worst Cooks in America: Reality Check hosted by Jeff Mauro and Tiffany Derry airing on Food Network Sunday, February 1 at 8pm ET.
