Chicago-Style Deep-Dish Pizza Recipe
Chicago-Style Deep-Dish Pizza
The Cuisine of Illinois
Total time: more than 2 hours

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Waiting time: 1 hour + 25 minutes
Baking time : 25 minutes

Difficulty: Easy
Chef's Note

Chicago-style pizza, or deep dish pizza contains a crust which is formed up the sides of a deep dish pan. It reverses the order of ingredients, using crust, cheese, filling, then sauce on top. Some versions (usually referred to as "stuffed") have two layers of crust with the sauce on top. Deep dish pizza was purportedly invented and first served in 1943 at Pizzeria Uno, which is still operating along with its twin restaurant, Pizzeria Due, in the River North neighborhood.

For a 12-inch pizza

- 1 package active dry yeast
- 2 tbsp. sugar
- 375 ml (1 1/4 cups) warm water
- 675 ml (2 3/4 cups) all−purpose flour
- 125 ml (1/2 cup) yellow cornmeal
- 3 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 tbsp. salt

- 250 ml (1 cup) pizza sauce
- 350 g (12 oz.) shredded mozzarella cheese
- 225 g (8 oz.) ground beef, crumbled, cooked
- 125 g (4 oz.) Italian sausage, crumbled, cooked
- 125 g (4 oz.) pork sausage, crumbled, cooked
- 125 ml (1/2 cup) pepperoni, diced
- 125 ml (1/2 cup) Canadian bacon, diced
- 125 ml (1/2 cup) ham, diced
- 125 g (4 oz.) mushrooms, sliced
- 1 small onion, sliced
- 1 green bell pepper, seeded, sliced
- 50 g (2 oz. ) grated Parmesan cheese


  1. Sprinkle the yeast and sugar into the warm water in small bowl; allow to stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.
  2. Mix the flour, cornmeal, oil and salt in a large bowl; make a well in the center and add the yeast mixture.
  6. Punch down dough.
  7. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough out to a 13-inch circle.
  8. Transfer to an oiled 12−inch pizza pan, folding the excess over to make a small rim.

Filling & Cooking

  2. Sprinkle with the meats and vegetables.
  3. Top with the remaining tomato sauce, mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.
  4. Let rise in a warm spot about 25 minutes.
  5. Preheat oven to 235°C / 475°F. Bake pizza until crust is golden, about 25 minutes.
  6. Let stand 5 minutes before slicing.
More recipe ideas
Search within the site
Advanced search >
Register free to receive our official newsletter
Sign up
Subscribe to our free RSS feeds:
Sign up