Sheranthesunrise : Pizza Pizza!!

Still cute!!

One of my very favorite commercials growing up was the one by Little Ceasars where at the end the little guy says "Pizza, Pizza". If I was asked what my favorite food was this would be absolutely nearest to the peak with Chicago deep dish at the pinnacle. I haven't attempted to make a deep dish pizza yet, just trying to master my own crust was enough of a challenge for me this time. I made a few minor mistakes, and had to add more flour here and there to get to the appropriate consistency, but a quick call to the master of all things culinary (my baby sister) and it turned out pretty incredible. The recipe says you get enough dough for four pizzas but I made a big one and a baby one using my cast iron skillets instead of pizza pans. I feel like this would be a fun party idea if you invited a few friends over, they could each decorate their own.

Flour the surface you will use to roll out the dough.

2 1/2 cups flour, 14 oz water, 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, 2 tsp salt, 3/4 tsp instant yeast. If you have a stand mixer use the hook attachment and mix the flour and water on low for 3 minutes. Remove and cover with plastic wrap for 30 minutes. Add the olive oil, salt and yeast and return to the mixer on medium for 3 more minutes. The dough should be tacky but not stick to the sides of the bowl. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl and let rise for 1 hour at room temperature. At that point fold the sides in, flip the dough over, cover again and wait another hour. This seems time intensive but I prepared the sauce and other toppings while I was doing this. You can store unused dough for up to three days in the refrigerator.

32 oz crushed tomatoes. 1 clove garlic. 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil. Place in a blender and puree. I now use this same recipe in my lasagna. It comes out nice and thick. Add salt if desired.