The Pizza Trilogy – Chicago Style.

Chicago Style Pizza can be mistaken as a deep dish pan pizza.  While both are baked in a deep, round heavy aluminum pan, the crust and technique cannot compare between the two.  The dough is made differently from regular pizza dough; thicker and moister to keep from drying out and burning during baking. The assembly of the pizza itself is unique; the cheese on the bottom, additional ingredients in the center, and a tomato mixture on top.  With Chicago style pizza, the cheese goes beneath the sauce to create a barrier between the crust, sauce and additional ingredients.

Is this type of pizza Italian or American in origin?  The answer is both.  In 1880, while the Hole in the Rock pioneers were traveling to, and settling in, Bluff; Italian immigrants were moving to Chicago from the east coast.  Like other ethnic groups before and after, they were being subjugated to economic, political, social, and religious discrimination.  By 1920, Chicago housed the third largest population of Italians, and American born descendants; and I bet many are hearing in their minds…Mafia.  With the Prohibition Era (1920-1933), Al Capone and many of his cohorts were able to come into power; but this article is about pizza, not alcohol and crime lords.

1940s, World War 2 in full rampage, food being rationed; concerns over “bringing our boys home safe” and “how do we feed our families here at home”.  Wheat flour, corn oil, salt and yeast were not as severely rationed as meats, fruits and vegetables.  The first four ingredients were necessary for making dough; adding the few bits of meats and vegetables, a complete meal could be created…pizza!  However, to feed hungry laborers, it had to be more substantial than a thin crust Naples slice, or breadier Sicily square.  At home, to ease some of the tension of war, families ate meals together; at the set table, plates, utensils, linen tablecloth and napkins.  The dough was covered with thick cheese, the minimal meats and vegetables chopped and layered next, a rich tomato sauce poured over all; baked and served in a deep pan, like a casserole.   Bellies became full, stories were told of daily events at school and work; war was forgotten about, if only for a brief time.

So, you go to pizza places, like Pizza Hut and Old Chicago (Grand Junction, CO), that use basic dough and the assembly is the same as a standard pizza: dough, sauce, cheese, toppings (if any). It is baked in a deep dish pan, called “Deep Dish” or “Chicago style”, but are you getting the real deal?   If you want authentic Chicago style, then travel to Chicago!  Cannot fit that into your travel plans, order online for home delivery.  No, I am not kidding, a few Chicago restaurants will deliver all over the USA! 

Uno Pizzeria and Grill, established 1943 (http://www.unos.com/) or Lou Malnati’s, established 1971 (http://www.loumalnatis.com/) are two of the best when it comes to pizza.  The pizza is assembled, frozen, shipped and each comes in oven ready, aluminum lined paper baking pans.  Intrigued with other delicacies of the Chicago, Illinois region?  Tastes of Chicago (http://www.tastesofchicago.com/) makes it possible to order online to have pizza, and many other goodies, delivered to your front door.   While supermarket shopping, check the pizza frozen section; once in a great while, Chicago pizza can be found and that is definitely a treat.

Now if you are a daring type, like me, then you will take on the challenge of making this type of pizza yourself.  

Here is the basic information, so have fun:

Pizza Dough for Chicago Style Pizza

This type of pizza dough is thicker; it cooks in a deep dish pan and would burn if it was thinner like New York style pizza dough. However, the exposed dough, not covered with sauce, cheese and other ingredients, comes out crispy and light. This dough is best made using a stand mixer and the dough hook attachment due to the thickness and moistness of the dough.

Basic Dough

Ingredients:

2 packages rapid rise dry yeast

2 cups warm water (about 110F)

½ cup vegetable oil

4 Tbsp. olive oil

½ cup cornmeal

5 ½ cups all-purpose flour

Preparation:

In the bowl of a stand mixer, dissolve the yeast in warm water. When fully dissolved, add in the oils, cornmeal and half of the flour; mix for 10 minutes. Attach the dough hook, add in the other half of the flour and set on medium speed. The dough will be ready when it pulls easily from the sides of the bowl. Place the dough onto a floured board, cover with a large bowl; let it rise till it doubles in size. Punch the dough down, cover; let it rise again. Punch it down a second time; time to make the pizza.

The thickness of the dough will depend on the size of the deep dish pan being used; ¼” for a 10” pan; 1/8” for a 15” pan.   The depth of a deep dish pan is typically 2 inches; some are 1.5 inches, but I personally like the extra depth in case of overflow.  Lightly coat the pan with olive oil; place dough in center of pan and push out evenly to edges, then up the sides of the pan to the top rim.

Basic Filling - for 10” deep dish pan

½ lb. each sliced provolone and mozzarella cheeses

1 (10 ½ oz.) can crushed tomatoes

1 (10 ½ oz.) can diced tomatoes, drained

1 Tbsp. minced garlic

¼ tsp. salt

1 Tbsp. each dried oregano, basil

¼ cup grated parmesan cheese

Assembly

Cover the dough with alternating slices of provolone and mozzarella cheeses. In a medium size bowl, mix together crushed and diced tomatoes, herbs, garlic and salt; spread mixture evenly over cheese slices. Sprinkle grated cheese evenly over tomato mixture.

The pizza will be baked in a preheated 475F oven for 35-40 minutes, on the center rack; the exposed crust will be a golden brown; the tomato mixture will be bubbly.

Additional Ingredients

These can be added on top of the cheese slices, before the tomato mixture goes on top; in any combination; the choices are numerous.

1 lb. of ground Italian sausage (mild or hot) or seasoned ground beef – the meat is uncooked; cooking the meat before usage will toughen it.

1 cup sliced vegetables: onion, bell peppers, hot peppers, mushrooms, olives

1 cup pepperoni slices or thinly sliced prosciutto

The deep dish pans can easily be found online for purchase.  Do not get frustrated if the pizza does not come out perfectly the first time.  Trial and error are all part of the learning experience which only becomes more fun as time and practice go on.

Mary Cokenour

Homemade Pizza With Both New York and Chicago Styles.

New York style pizza; thin, crispy crust layered with enough sauce, cheese and toppings to bake to perfection. Chicago style pizza; deep dish crust with layers of cheese, meats and sauce, so thick that a knife and fork are necessary.  Both are so deliciously awesome that it is extremely difficult to choose only one, especially when you are making homemade.  Ah, but what if you did a combination of both styles; how would it turn out?

Each style uses its own type of dough; each uses its own type of baking pan, but the toppings can be the same, just used differently.  Lets go play!

So, what exactly did I do for my pizza; I used New York style dough (click on the link above) and a deep dish pan (14 inch diameter) for Chicago style layers.


Preheat the oven to 450F; for a crispy bottom and thoroughly baked dough, the oven has to be hot.  NO!  you cannot use a convention oven!!!  We have a place in town that does that, and they continue to remain clueless to great pizza making.  Nonstick pans are the best to keep the dough from sticking and burning; spread the dough to the very edges of the pan, an even 1/4 inch thickness.  If you have excess dough on the sides, a simple roll of the dough makes a nice edge all around.

Now begin the layering; slices of provolone cheese covers the dough; then slices of mozzarella over the provolone, but not completely covering.

Depending on your tastes, now would come the meat layer; the meat should be cooked already as this pizza will not be in the oven long enough to thoroughly cook raw meat.  Instead of a layer of meat, I used meat sauce instead of a plain tomato sauce.  For this 14 inch, I used one and a half cups of sauce; oh no, I am not stingy on the sauce when it comes to my pizzas.

A generous sprinkling of an Italian herbal mix, grated Parmesan cheese and this baby was ready to go into the preheated oven.  Now the bad part...the waiting!

Normally, a pizza will take about 20 minutes; that's right, as long as one of those nasty, frozen pizzas you can purchase at your local supermarket.  Depending on your oven, and the altitude, it can take up to 25 minutes.  At 15 minutes, check it and see if the sauce is bubbling yet; then check at 20 minutes; if yes, it's done, if no, bake it for 5 more minutes.

Browned, crispy crust...Oh Yes!!!

Still not sure if you want to make homemade pizza; how about French bread pizza?  Just click on the link and find out how simple and easy this is; but you might want to make my homemade meatballs for a topping.





I bet you're drooling for pizza now, so go make some!

Mary Cokenour

Home Run Inn's Frozen Pizza.

Home Run Inn is an actual pizza establishment in Illinois, so when they say real Chicago pizza, they mean it.  The pizza business itself started in the 1940's and has expanded into 8 restaurants and the frozen food market.

While shopping at City Market in Moab, Utah, I noticed a new display in the frozen pizza section; what really got my attention was the "Chicago's Premium Pizza" written on the box. I wondered if this was just an advertising ploy by another California chain, but no, the company is from Illinois. I purchased one of the cheese pizzas, went home and tried it out; the next day we went back and purchased a few more.

Home Run Inn does NOT use preservatives; check the ingredient label and you'll find you do not need a degree in chemistry to read it. After baking in the oven, you can better see all the cheese, sauce and other toppings, depending on which type you purchased, and the taste is awesome.

Our one big problem is the crust; we just can't seem to agree on it. Cheese pizza #1 - baked directly on rack in oven; the outer rim was very hard while the bottom was crispy, but it had an overall good taste.

Cheese pizza #2 - baked on top of aluminum pizza pan that had air holes in it - the outer rim was now crispy while the bottom was not as crispy as the first pizza we made; however it was cooked all the way through.

Sausage Deluxe - baked on top of aluminum pizza pan that had air holes in it - the outer rim was crispy while the bottom was not at all; it was very dense.

Now I'm not going to fault the crust on Home Run Inn; the directions do say to bake directly on rack, but I used a pan to avoid getting an overdone crust, but ended up with somewhat or heavily underdone. Will I make Home Run Inn frozen pizza again? Most definitely, but I'm following their directions; as a frozen pizza, it is the closest to fresh baked than any other on the market. The sauce, cheese and toppings are outstanding!!! I just have to get that crust baked correctly, but that's on me.

Mary Cokenour

Lou Malnati's Tastes of Chicago

When I first started Food Adventures of a Comfort Cook one of my earliest posts was about pizza. Now that was all about New York style pizza which I still feel is the best overall in the United States.

Part two of my three part pizza series was about Chicago pizza, and one of Chicago's famous pizza places is Lou Malnati's. While I cannot go to one of the locations in Illinois, I can still order online at their site: http://www.tastesofchicago.com/ and feed my craving for Chicago pizza. However, Tastes of Chicago is not all about pizza; oh no, you can get ribs in a delectable barbecue sauce, Vienna hotdog kit with all the fixings for an authetic Chicago style hot dog, cheesecake to die for, cookies that are absolutely awesome with milk and much, much more to satisfy any craving.

My favorite is the pizza though; all set up to just pop in the oven and devour when done. The crust is buttery and light, the cheese gooey, packed with sauce and fillings of sausage, pepperoni or vegetables. While it is not as good as a pizza cooked fresh at the pizzeria, it is as close as I can come to when living at the end of the world in Utah.

When ordering from Tastes of Chicago, the prices include shipping; there is a pizza of the month club; a specialty package for holidays and special occasions, and if you join their email club you'll be notified of any sales. Have never had a Chicago style pizza, well no excuse now when you can have it shipped directly to your door. So try Lou Malnati's Tastes of Chicago; I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Mary Cokenour

Old Chicago cannot make real Chicago Pizza.

Old Chicago Pasta and Pizza

120 North Avenue

Grand Junction, CO, 81501

(970) 244-8383

Website: http://www.oldchicago.com/home

When entering Old Chicago, there is usually someone friendly there to greet you and the wait staff is attentive, for the most part.  The last time we were there, besides having dinner in, we ordered take out for family members back home.  Well, the waiter brought us all the food at once and then commented, “Wow, that’s a lot of food for two people; you gonna be able to eat all that?”  The smirk on his face was no help in the situation which we quickly had to explain to him again, so he could bring boxes to our table for packing the food up.

As to the food, we started with the Honey Chipotle BBQ Wings and Pepperoni Rolls which are both amazing, and our absolute favorites.  The Wings are large, crispy and juicy with a finger licking sauce you can’t get enough of; the Pepperoni Rolls are baked to perfection, packed with pepperoni and come with ranch dressing, but we opted for the delicious marinara sauce instead.

We ordered a Chicago Style pizza and it was a disappointment; not a real Chicago deep dish pizza at all, but similar to Pizza Hut’s deep dish, and just as tasteless.  The crust was undercooked, just a smear of sauce, and the minimum of cheese...definitely similar to Pizza Hut.

The decision is, if we go to Old Chicago again, to stick to the appetizers and get a salad instead of any pizza. 

Mary Cokenour

Yo Chicago, pass me a pizza.

In my January 21, 2011 post, I introduced you all to New York style pizza. I had said I would, at a later date, write about Chicago style and here it is. Chicago Pizza is a deep dish pan pizza, but not what you think you know it is. The dough is made differently from regular pizza dough; thicker and moister to keep from drying out and burning during baking. The assembly of the pizza itself is also different, with the cheese on the bottom, additional ingredients in the center, and a tomato mixture on top.

Pizza places, like Pizza Hut and Old Chicago, use basic dough and the assembly is the same as a standard pizza: dough, sauce, cheese, toppings (if any). If you want the authentic Chicago style, then you want to go to Pizzeria Uno (http://www.unos.com/) or Lou Malnati’s (http://www.loumalnatis.com/). No locations near your area, Lou Malnati makes it possible to order online and have pizza, and many other goodies, delivered to your front door (http://www.tastesofchicago.com/). Then again, my sister-in-law, Julie, is currently living in Chicago; and it would be so nice if she’d send us a few pies…hint, hint Julie; Roy and I are having cravings for pizza.

Now if you’re a daring type, like me, then you’ll take on the challenge of making this type of pizza yourself. Because the dough is thicker and moister than regular pizza dough, it’s best to use a stand mixer and a dough hook attachment for the kneading part of the preparation.

Here’s the basic information, so have fun:

Pizza Dough for Chicago Style Pizza
This type of pizza dough is thicker; it cooks in a deep dish pan and would burn if it was thinner like New York style pizza dough. However, the exposed dough, not covered with sauce, cheese and other ingredients, comes out crispy and light. This dough is best made using a stand mixer and the dough hook attachment due to the thickness and moistness of the dough.

Basic Dough
2 packages rapid rise dry yeast
2 cups warm water (about 110F)
½ cup vegetable oil
4 Tbsp olive oil
½ cup cornmeal
5 ½ cups all purpose flour

Preparation:
In the bowl of a stand mixer, dissolve the yeast in the warm water. When fully dissolved, add in the oils, cornmeal and half of the flour; mix for 10 minutes. Attach the dough hook, add in the other half of the flour and set on medium speed. The dough will be ready when it pulls easily from the sides of the bowl. Place the dough onto a floured board, cover with a large bowl; let it rise till it doubles in size. Punch the dough down, cover; let it rise again. Punch it down a second time; time to make the pizza.

The thickness of the dough will depend on the size of the deep dish pan being used; ¼” for a 10” pan; 1/8” for a 15” pan. Lightly coat the pan with olive oil; place dough in center of pan and push out evenly to edges, then up the sides of the pan to the top rim.

Basic Filling - for 10” deep dish pan
½ lb each sliced provolone and mozzarella cheeses
1 (10 ½ oz) can crushed tomatoes
1 (10 ½ oz) can diced tomatoes, drained
1 Tbsp minced garlic
¼ tsp salt
1 Tbsp each dried oregano, basil
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese

AssemblyCover the dough with alternating slices of provolone and mozzarella cheeses. In a medium size bowl, mix together crushed and diced tomatoes, herbs, garlic and salt; spread mixture evenly over cheese slices. Sprinkle grated cheese evenly over tomato mixture.

The pizza will be baked in a preheated 475F oven for 35-40 minutes; the exposed crust will be a golden brown; the tomato mixture will be bubbly.

Additional Ingredients
These can be added on top of the cheese slices, before the tomato mixture goes on top; in any combination; the choices are numerous.

1 lb of ground Italian sausage (mild or hot) or seasoned ground beef – the meat is uncooked; cooking the meat before using will toughen it.

1 cup sliced vegetables: onion, bell peppers, hot peppers, mushrooms, olives

1 cup pepperoni slices or thinly sliced prosciutto


Mary Cokenour
February 18, 2011