Let's Get Our Chicago On!

Pre-baked, homemade, Chicago-style deep-dish pizza.

What better way to celebrate the Chicago Bears Super Bowl victory than with some delicious, homemade, Chicago-style deep-dish pizza?  Oh wait, what?  They didn’t quite…?  You mean Green Bay…?  Hmmmm, interesting.  Ok, let’s start over.  What better way to celebrate Chicago’s temperate winter weather than with delicious, homemade, Chicago-style deep-dish pizza.  Better.

I found this recipe at America’s Test Kitchen  and it is absolutely amazing.  You have to sign up to print out the recipe and there is a $4.95 monthly fee if you want access to all of their recipes on file, but as of right now, the deep-dish pizza recipe is free of charge.  Although, if you do have to pay the fee, I still think it is totally worth it.  Just make sure that when you print it off, you cover it in fire/water/wind resistant laminating sheets A.S.A.P. 

To be honest, when I first looked at the recipe I was a little intimidated by the dough making part.  But after sitting down and having a good heart to heart, the dough and I came to the conclusion that we were going to friends, not enemies.  I’ve dabbled in bread/crust/dough making before and I’ve never found a recipe where the dough did everything the recipe said it would, every single time.  I felt like the best chef in the world but truth be told, the instructions are really easy to follow, when you break them down.

Now, to gauge this recipe from a time suck stand point, it is a little challenging.  It takes a good chunk of your day to proof and laminate the dough, but I dug down and found my motivation when I focused on these little facts:

Large Lou Malnati’s Cheese Pizza: $17.25

Large Giordano’s Cheese Pizza: $19.25

Large Gino’s East Cheese Pizza: $23.95

Large Homemade Cheese Pizza: $7.00

For me, this was extremely cheap because I already had most of the items that I needed in my cupboard.  Also, I did substitute my go-to pizza sauce (6 in 1 which I've been able to find at Fresh Farms) instead of the crushed tomatoes they suggested, but everything else was the same. 

Now, even though I think this sauce is perfect, my perpetually overachieving boyfriend thinks we can find someway to make it better.  So, stay tuned for “Sarah’s Test Kitchen” where we will taste test different sauces to see which ones are chosen as a favorite, by my test panel.  Space is limited, so sign up today to claim your spot :)