If you've ever had a deep dish pizza, you know that its half pizza, half pie.
This super easy Deep Dish Pizza is saucy, filled with simple ingredients and comes together quickly to make for a filling meal.
I stuffed mine full of onion, mushroom, green pepper and delicious pineapple. I know pineapple can be a controversial pizza topping but my taste buds could argue until the end of time on behalf of pineapple's right to be on a pizza. I do however, only use the fresh stuff to adorn my delicious deep dish, none of that canned nonsense. The only issue I could see with adding pineapple to a deep dish pizza, is that it does hold quite a bit of moisture, therefore, could deteriorate the crust. So, just a word of warning, if you do not eat this in one sitting, it could make the crust soggy upon reheating.
To cook mine, I used a cast iron pan, which is so universal, I totally recommend getting one if you don't already own one.
Pizza Dough:
2 1/2 - 3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 1/4 tsp instant (Bread Machine or Rapid Rise) yeast
1 cup quite warm water (120-130° F.)
1 Tbsp vegetable, canola or other neutral oil Next
In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the kneading hook, mix together 2 cups of the flour, the sugar, salt and instant yeast
In a measuring cup, combine the warm water with the oil
Add the water mixture to the dry ingredients and mix to combine
Knead by hand or with the mixer, add more flour in small increments, as needed, until the dough comes together into a smooth dough. It shouldn't stick to your hands or be dry and crumbly
Grease a bowl and place the dough ball into the bowl
Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, about 10-15 minutes, depending on how warm your kitchen is
Assembling the DD pizza:
Roll your dough out so its slightly bigger than the pan you are using. The thickness of your pie is going to depend on what size of pan/dish you are using. Mine was 1/4 of an inch thick, but wasn't the thickest deep dish I've ever had. If you want it thicker I recommend rolling the dough to 1/2 of an inch in thickness.
Grease your pan and shape the dough in the pan, making sure to run the dough up the sides of the pan, like a pie crust
Bake the crust at 425 F for 5 mins before adding the fillings - this makes the bottom sturdier
Add vegan cheese, if you are doing this option (I didn't add cheese)
Add all of your toppings leaving the sauce for last
After you've added the sauce, top it off with some fresh basil and 'nooch'
Bake at 425 F for approx 25 minutes or until crust starts to brown
ENJOY!
