Bake 52: Deep-Dish Pizza (Pepperoni and Veggie)

I am not really keen on picking the recipes, I just like to make what everyone else picks.  So when my week rolled around again, I decided to choose a recipe that was recommended by Courtney.  She made the pizza and said it was good and we should try it.  And I do whatever Courtney tells  me to.  And I also kinda like to have a week once in a while where the baking group counts as dinner. 

Just a fair warning, don't even attempt to make this recipe unless you are equipped with a vat of olive oil.  Seriously.  If this were a dessert I doubt I would be complaining about the fat content, but when it's dinner and it ruins my dessert chances, I take notice.  I am going to have to try a little less oil next time and see if it makes a huge difference or not.  Surely we don't NEED 3 (plus) tablespoons of olive oil for each pizza!  Do we?  (And that's not counting the oil already mixed into the dough.)  

I am on the fence about this one.  While it was really good and we all enjoyed it, I am not sure it was good enough to replace our usual pizza recipe.  If the fat content were even, it might be the winner.  This might be a pizza for special occasions and stick with our normal recipe on a regular basis.  The original recipe calls for pepperoni, but I decided to make a veggie pizza.  Because if you coat the dough in massive amounts of olive oil but then top it off with veggies, it evens out.  (Just go with me on this one.)  

I liked the veggie pizza better, but my kids just looked at it like it was a ridiculous idea.  They were all about the pepperoni.  I roasted the peppers and onions (I should have included the mushrooms) for about 15 minutes before adding them to the pizza.  They still added too much moisture, so next time I would plan better and roast them for 25-30 minutes.  I took the pepperoni pizza out a little too early, the veggie pizza was in for the full 20 minutes and the crust was perfect while the pepperoni wasn't quite as crispy on the bottom.  I realized after I started making the pizzas that I only had an 8oz block of cheese, but it seemed to be plenty.

Deep-Dish Pepperoni Pizza

Ingredients:

For the dough:

2 1/4-2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 1/4 tsp instant yeast *I used 1 T of active dry yeast

2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

2 T olive oil

3/4 cup plus 2 T skim milk

For the Topping:

3.5 oz pkg pepperoni

6 T olive oil (plus more to brush over dough)

1 1/3 cups pizza sauce *see below

12 oz mozzarella cheese shredded. *I used 8 oz 

Directions:  For the dough:  Pulse 2 1/4 cups flour with salt, sugar and yeast in the food processor (fitted with the metal blade or dough blade) to combine.  (*I just pulsed the salt and flour and added the sugar and yeast to the warm milk until the yeast was foamy.)  With the processor running, pour the oil and milk through the feed tube and process until dough forms a ball, about 30-40 seconds.  Let rest 2 minutes then process for 30 seconds longer.  If after the 30 seconds, the dough is sticky and clings to the blade, add the remaining 1/4 cup of flour 1 T at a time. (I added an extra tablespoon here)  

Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and form into a smooth, round ball, place in a large, lightly oiled bowl and cover with greased plastic wrap.  Let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

For the topping:  Meanwhile, place half of the pepperoni in a single layer between double layers of paper towel and microwave on high for 30 seconds.  Discard the paper towels and set the pepperoni aside; repeat with remaining pepperoni.

I really liked this idea of getting the extra grease off the pepperoni!

Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 400 degrees.  Coat two 9 inch cake pans with 3 T of oil each.  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 2 equal pieces.  Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll and stretch the dough into a 9 inch round with a thick edge.  Press the dough into the prepared pans.  Brush the dough lightly with olive oil, cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until puffy, about 30-45 minutes.

Spread 2/3 cup of pizza sauce on each pizza, leaving a 1/2 inch border around the edge.  Sprinkle each with 1 1/2 cups of cheese and top with pepperoni.  

Bake until the cheese is melted and the pepperoni is browning around the edges, about 20 minutes, rotating pans halfway through baking.

Let pizzas cool in their pans for 1 minute and then lift them out with a spatula.  Serve hot.

Makes two 9 inch pizzas

Serves 6-8

I know it says 'serve hot' but seriously I burnt the top of my mouth off.

This is the pretty crust on the veggie pizza.  Just don't set it on a paper towel because you'll notice all the oil. :)  And also, I have old lady hands.  They look all wrinkly!

Source: The America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book

*You can buy pizza sauce or Betsy published the sauce recipe from our book or there is one in this post.