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Going along with our Super Bowl / Chicago Bears theme, I’ve been searching for the ultimate Chicago- style deep dish pizza recipe. While Pizzeria Uno is credited with inventing the dish, Gino’s East is also famous for their deep dish pizza. Damn Good Food gives his take on Gino’s pizza crust and I’ve combined it with Pizza Making.com’s Pizzeria Uno recipe for cheese, topping and sauce advice.

If this is way too much work or your family will start WWIII over toppings, why not make English Muffin Pizzas? These are really kid friendly, fun and will make terrific appetizers as well. But if you’re going traditional, the kids can help with punching out the dough and assembly.

Gino’s East Meets Pizzeria Uno Deep Dish Chicago-Style Pizza Recipe

Crust ingredients:

1. 1 cup of warm water
2. 1 package yeast
3. 1/2 cup cornmeal or corn flour
4. 1 teaspoon salt
5. 2 T corn oil
6. 2 ½ to 3 cups of cheap generic flour
7. Yellow food coloring – the real secret to why Gino’s crust is yellow (optional)

Crust directions:

1. Take the water and put it in your mixer. Add yeast and a touch of sugar. Let the yeast foam up to be sure that it is active.
2. Then add the rest of the ingredients including 2 1/2 cups flour. Add between 1/4 and 1/2 teaspoons of yellow food coloring (optional).
3. Using a dough hook, knead the dough until it is well combined. The dough should be moist but not sticky. If the dough is sticky add a little more flour. Let the mixer knead the dough for 10 minutes.
4. If you have a gas oven, put it in there to rise (the pilot light keeps the oven slightly warmer than room temperature.) Otherwise, put it in a warm dry place - maybe by the drier in your laundry room or by a heating vent. If you desire a late in the day pizza taste (yeasty tasting), then let it rise all day.

Filling ingredients:

1. 1/3 pound sliced mozzarella cheese
2. 2 cups Italian-style whole peeled tomatoes, drained and squished
3. 1 teaspoon basil
4. 1 teaspoon oregano
5. 2 cloves garlic, minced
6. Salt to taste
7. 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
8. 3 tablespoons olive oil

Assembly:

1. Take the dough out of the oven, then preheat it to 350 degrees F.
2. After the dough has risen take your deep dish pizza pan (or a round cake pan with straight sides) and coat the inside of it with a very healthy coating of melted butter. You can also use a cast iron skillet, which will produce a crustier crust.
3. Roll the dough out to about 1/4 inch thick and up it in the pan. Then pinch the dough up along the sides of the pan.
4. Place the cheese in tile-like layers on the bottom of the pie.
5. Next put in the tomatoes and the basil, oregano, garlic, and salt, reserving the Parmesan cheese for the top.
6. Drizzle olive oil over the top of the pie and you are ready to bake.
7. Bake the pie in a 475°F oven until the top is golden and gooey and the crust a light golden brown, about 35 to 40 minutes.

Variations: Before you put on the Parmesan cheese and olive oil drizzle, you might like to add any or all of the following: Italian sausage, hot or mild yellow onions, peeled and diced pepperoni, sliced thin mushrooms, slice olives, or maybe sliced green sweet bell peppers, cored and sliced thin.

Or you can be totally untradional and go the "foo-foo" route with some shrimp, sun dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, and feta cheese. Mmmmmmmmm.

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