Deep Dish Pepperoni Pizza
Serves 4
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 pkg active dry yeast
- 1 tsp sugar
- ¾ cup warm water (105-110° F)
- ¼ cup corn oil
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour (plus extra for work surface)
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Sauce
- 1½ cups canned ground tomatoes
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 2 tbsp grated Romano cheese
Toppings
- 5 oz (9-10 thin slices) part-skim, low-moisture mozzarella cheese
- 5 oz (9-10 thin slices) provolone cheese
- 2 oz pepperoni slices (about 24 slices)
Equipment
- instant-read thermometer
- 12" x 1½" deep dish pizza pan or cake pan
How-to
Make Dough
- In a mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast with water and sugar
- Add the corn oil and blend. Add the flour and salt and mix thoroughly
- [If dough seems too wet, add a bit more four, if too dry, add a bit more water]
- If kneading by hand, knead for 7-8 minutes on a lightly-floured surface
- [If using a stand mixer (with dough hook attachment), mix for 4 minutes at medium speed, until the dough is smooth and pliable]
- Add olive oil to a deep bowl. Place the dough ball into the bowl and turn it twice to coat it with the oil
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel* and let dough rise at room temperature for 2 hours. Do not punch it down
Make Sauce
- Once the dough has doubled in size, start the sauce. In a mixing bowl, combine the tomatoes, oregano, basil and Romano cheese. Set aside
Assemble & Bake
- Preheat oven to 475°
- Spread and push the dough ball across the bottom of the pan and up the sides (the pan does not need to be oiled)
- Lay the slices of mozzarella and provolone on top of the dough, overlapping the slices to cover all of the dough
- Spread the tomato mixture evenly over the cheese
- Dot the top of the tomatoes with the pepperoni
- Bake 25-30 minutes until crust is golden brown and pulls away from the sides of the pan
- Remove from pan (it should lift out easily with two spatulas), slice and serve
*At this stage, the dough can be put in the refrigerator and allowed to rise slowly overnight. Take the dough out of the refrigerator at least 1 hour before you are ready to assemble the pizza