Deep Dish Pizza

I found a recipe for Deep Dish Pizza in a cast iron pan and had to try it. I altered the Taste of Home original a little bit and came up with this...

Ingredients:

Crust

3 1/2 cups flour

1/4 cup cornmeal

1 Tbsp yeast

1 1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup water

1/3 cup olive oil

Toppings:

1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes, drained

1 jar (about 15 oz) pizza sauce

mozzarella cheese

pepperoni

bacon

(any toppings of your choice)

This recipe will make enough for two crusts. You may have to add a little more pizza sauce/diced tomatoes depending on how much sauce you like. 

Start by combining 1 1/2 cups of flour, 1/4 cup cornmeal, 1 Tbsp yeast, 1 1/2 tsp sugar, and 1/2 tsp salt. 

Warm the water and olive oil in the microwave for about 1 1/2 minutes. 

Add the warm water/oil to the dry ingredients. Mix well with a wooden spoon. Add the remaining flour and knead for 6-8 minutes with a stand mixer or your hand. 

Cover the dough in a bowl and place in a warm location and let rise for about 30 minutes. 

Punch the dough down and roll out into two circles. Grease the bottom and sides of your cast iron pan with oil. Place the dough in the bottom of the pan and spread up the sides of the bowl. (I only have one cast iron pan. If you don't want to wait to bake both crusts, you can bake this in a springform pan.) 

Put about 2 cups of mozzarella cheese on top of each crust.

 Mix the diced tomatoes (that have been drained) and pizza sauce. Spread the sauce on top of the cheese. 

Add any toppings of your choice. We add pepperoni and bacon. 

Then sprinkle each pizza with about a cup of mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese if you would like. 

Cover the pan with tin foil and bake in a 450 degree oven for about 30-35 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 5 minutes or until lightly browned.