This recipe shows how to make deep dish pan pizza, in easy step-by-step detail! An incredible and easy butter crust pizza is filled with cheese, your favorite toppings, and a rich, zesty chunky tomato sauce, it can even be frozen for later! Crust, Sauce and pizza recipe included.
2 ¼teaspoonsactive dry yeastinstant yeast may be used (1 standard packet)
1 ¼cupsslightly warm waternot hot, but warm to the touch
½cupbutterdivided (¼ cup softened to room temp ¼ cup melted and cooled slightly) (Salted or unsalted butter, if using unsalted, increase salt to 1 ¼-1 ½ teaspoons)
Olive oil for coating the bowl
Deep Dish Pizza Ingredients (divided between two pizzas)
4cupsmozzarella cheeseshredded
½cupparmesan cheesegrated (also try Asiago or Quatro Frommagi)
Pizza Sauce (or favorite marinara sauce, but make the sauce!)
2tablespoonsbutterregular or unsalted
1smalloniongrated on a cheese grater, about ⅓ of a cup
3clovesgarlicminced
¾- 1teaspoonkosher salt
1teaspoondried oregano
½teaspooncrushed red pepper flakesoptional, but so good
128 ounce cancrushed tomatoes*
¼teaspoonbrown sugaror granulated sugar, optional
Optional Topping Suggestions
6ouncespepperoniUncured or regular, try turkey pepperoni
1-2teaspoonsItalian Seasoning blend
6ouncesItalian sausagemild or hot, cooked, crumbled
Make dough at least 3 hours ahead of time! You will need two deep dish round pans, 9” x 2” for this recipe, or you may use a 9” inch springform pan. I have also made this in a 10” cast iron skillet.
In the bowl of a stand mixer* fitted with a dough hook (J hook) combine flour, cornmeal, kosher salt, sugar and yeast. With mixer on low speed mix the above ingredients, then slowly add the ¼ cup of slightly cooled melted butter and the warm water. If the water is too hot, it will kill the yeast, you just want it warm.
With the mixer on low speed, beat or stir the dough until everything begins to moisten, beat the dough until it is soft and elastic and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 4-5 minutes.
If the dough is too stiff (hard) , beat in an additional teaspoon of warm water, or if it’s too soft and sticky, add in additional tablespoon of flour.
Remove dough from bowl and form into a ball and place in a large bowl greased with some olive oil, place the dough ball inside, turning to coat both sides. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and allow to rise in a warm place for 1-2 hours, until doubled in size. If you have a proofing setting on your oven, turn it to proof and place bowl in a warm oven. If you do not have a proofing setting, preheat oven to 150 degrees F, once it is heated, TURN OFF OVEN. Place covered dough inside oven; close oven and turn on lights, the residual heat will help dough rise.
Once the dough has risen, gently punch down dough and place dough ball on lightly floured surface and knead gently a couple times to remove any air bubbles. Roll dough into 15x12 inch rectangle, it will be very easy to work with, almost like play-doh.
Spread remaining ¼ cup softened butter on top of dough. Roll up dough from 12” side (shorter) the length of the dough, cut the dough log in half using a bench scraper or sharp knife. Gently shape the dough logs into two dough balls and return to greased bowl, cover again with plastic wrap or foil and this time allow to rise in the refrigerator for one hour (not a warm place). This is a great time to make your pizza sauce.
Pizza Sauce
Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Then add grated onion, oregano, salt, and red pepper flakes, stirring occasionally until lightly browned/golden, about 5 minutes. During the last 2 minutes, add minced garlic and stir until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.
Add the tomatoes and sugar if using, stirring to combine. Reduce heat to simmer or low and allow to simmer until the sauce is thick, fragrant and rich in color, about 30 minutes. The sauce should reduce to about 2 ½ cups at this point, if it looks like more, continue simmering until it reduces further. Remove from heat and set aside until ready to use.
Spread on pizza crust and build pizza as desired. This pizza sauce works great on deep dish pizzas, thin crust, regular crust, even on french bread or store bought pizza crust. Note: allow to cool 15-20 minutes before using on thinner unbaked crusts, to avoid soggy crusts.
If not using sauce immediately, cool completely and store in airtight container or freezer baggie until ready to use. Refrigerated keeps 4-6 days, frozen up to 3 months.
Assemble Deep Dish Pizza
Preheat oven to 425° F (218°C).
After the dough has risen in the fridge for an hour, remove dough balls one at a time and roll out on a lightly floured surface into a 12-inch round. Place dough over a 9x2” cake pan, using hands to press into the sides and bottom of the pan, fold edges over, or trim if desired, repeat with second dough ball if desired. Brush the edges of dough with a little olive oil, optional.
Spread 2 cups of mozzarella cheese into bottom of pizza in pan, then add desired toppings, sprinkle with Italian seasoning blend, next spoon on about 1 ¼ cups of pizza sauce spreading to cover the toppings. Sprinkle sauce with ¼ cup of parmesan cheese. Repeat with second pan if making both. Place pan(s) on large cookie sheet and bake for about 25-28 minutes (we like ours a little longer). If crust is browning too quickly, loosely cover edges with foil. Allow to cool on wire rack for 10 minutes before slicing.
Video
Notes
*If you do not have a mixer with a dough hook, mix in mixer until just combined, then knead on a floured surface for 7-8 minutes until elastic and soft. Or using a large bowl and a wooden spoon mix everything until combined, then turn out onto floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic about 7-8 minutes (a great arm workout!)Storage: Dough will keep in fridge for up to 1 day, I recommend freezing if storing for longer. This dough is freezer friendly, place each dough ball in separate quart sized freezer baggies with a little spray oil or olive oil. Place in refrigerator overnight to thaw and then use as directed. To Freeze Assembled Deep Dish PizzaPre-bake the crust for 10 minutes in the pan, allow to cool completely then wrap pizza dough tightly in aluminum foil, then plastic wrap and freeze up to 6 months. I recommend measuring out the cheese, sauce and toppings needed for the pizza freezing in separate containers, then assembling as directed below.To assemble from frozen:Thaw overnight in fridge or 3 hours at room temperature, fill with (thawed) cheese, toppings and sauce, then bake in preheated 425 degree F oven for 25 minutes. Allow to cool 10 minutes before slicing.Recipe adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction