Grand Finale: The Ultimate Pizza

Or, well, something like that. Tonight, I ventured forth into the world of deep-dish pizza making, a venue I haven't visited in a number of years. I took the recipe from THE GREAT CHICAGO STYLE PIZZA COOKBOOK and adapted it to the current situation (namely, the fact that I only had a 12 inch pan, whereas the recipe called for 14).

Proceeding courageously, I encountered my first difficulty, when I discovered that I had apparently misplaced the dough hook for my KitchenAid mixer. Undaunted, I decided to make the crust by hand.

My first effort was something of a failure, as I lost count of the number of cups of flour and so ended up with a very strange pile of doughy pebbles that, nevertheless, proceeded to grow on their own, as fungi are wont to do...

I swiftly corrected this problem (i.e., I went to the grocery store and bought another triptych of yeast) and the dough mixture turned out well this time, although it seemed a bit more dry than the recipe seemed to be expecting. After a certain amount of kneading and letting sit, the fough ball grew to impressive size.

After flattening the dough into the pan, I laid down the mozzarella, the crushed roma tomatoes, and arranged the toppings: green and red bell pepper; sausage; mushroom; and red onion.

The result, I must say, was rather magnificent. It wasn't quite pizza as I recollect from Chicago, but it was an excellent pizza (deep dish!) nonetheless (for one thing, the pan was too new to give the crust that particular texture...).

The crust was fairly light, but rich, although not quite the almost-pastry crust of Gino's East, and the toppings gave it an almost Uno's flavor. The topping, of course, being hand chosen, were fresh and flavorful, and the pizza s a whole seemed lighter than many I had tried this past week (even the thin ones).

I think next time, maybe more tomatoes and a bit less dough...but there will definitely be a next time!