Chicago is famous for its Pizza. Deep Dish Pizza is the most famous. But a contender for best and most beloved in the city is Chicago-Style Stuffed Pizza. With our recipe you can enjoy this delicious classic at home.
Photo is a Screen Shot from the Video
Chicago-Style Stuffed Pizza
Chicago-Style Pizza refers to several different styles of pizza developed in Chicago. Arguably, the most famous of these is known as deep-dish pizza.
It is often reported that Chicago-style deep-dish pizza was invented at Pizzeria Uno in Chicago, in 1943, by Uno’s founder Ike Sewell, a former University of Texas football star. However, a 1956 article from the Chicago Daily News asserts that Uno’s original pizza chef Rudy Malnati developed the recipe.
We have previously included 2 popular recipes for Chicago-Style Pizza on Secret Copycat Restaurant Recipes (click the links below to enjoy these recipes):
Chicago-Style Stuffed Pizza
By the mid-1970s, two Chicago chains, Nancy’s Pizza, founded by Rocco Palese, and Giordano’s Pizzeria, operated by brothers Efren and Joseph Boglio, began experimenting with deep dish pizza and created the Chicago-Style Stuffed Pizza. Palese based his creation on his mother’s recipe for scarciedda, an Italian Easter pie from his hometown of Potenza. Chicago Magazine articles featuring Nancy’s Pizza and Giordano’s stuffed pizza popularized the dish.
Stuffed pizzas are often even deeper than deep-dish pizzas, but otherwise, it can be hard to see the difference until it is cut into. A stuffed pizza generally has much deeper topping density than any other type of pizza. As with deep-dish pizza, a deep layer of dough forms a bowl in a high-sided pan and the toppings and cheese are added. Then, an additional layer of dough goes on top and is pressed to the sides of the crust.
At this stage, the thin dough top has a rounded, domed appearance. Pizza makers often poke a small hole in the top of the “lid” to allow air and steam to escape while cooking, so that the pizza does not explode. Usually, but not always, tomato sauce is ladled over the top crust before the pizza is baked.
Here is an amazing stuffed pizza recipe stuffed with three meats and loads of mozzarella under a top crust and topped with sauce and Parmesan. It’s very similar to Giordano’s, the Chicago legend.
Complete Written Recipe is Below the Video.
Video Courtesy of Crouton Crackerjacks
Chicago-Style Stuffed Pizza Recipe
Similar to Giordano’s, the Chicago legend.
Recipe Courtesy of Crouton Crackerjacks
As mentioned in the video, it is best to source a deep dish pizza pan at a local restaurant supply house that sells to the public. You can also find them online (See below).
Ingredients
Crust
- 2 1/4 cups All-Purpose Flour
- 2/3 cup Warm Water
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Active Dry Yeast
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1/4 cup Olive Oil
Sauce
- 1 15-ounce can crushed Tomatoes (See Note 1 Below)
- 1/4 cup Onion, minced
- 1 clove Garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon Basil
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
Pizza (See Note 2 Below)
- 1 pound Italian Sausage, cooked and drained
- 3 ounces Pepperoni
- 3 ounces Canadian Bacon
- 12 ounces Mozzarella Cheese
- 1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese
- 1 tablespoons Butter
Crust
- Combine the yeast and water and let sit for 5 minutes to dissolve and proof.
- In a large bowl or KitchenAid (preferred), combine flour and salt.
- Add in the olive oil and stir cut the oil into the flour mixture.
- Add in water and yeast.
- Mix until a dough is formed. Knead for 1-2 minutes and put into an oiled bowl. Coat all sides of dough with oil, cover and let rise in the refrigerator for 6-8 hours or overnight.
Assemble
- When ready to make pizza, in a medium saucepan, saute onion and garlic in olive oil.
- Add in tomatoes, basil and salt.
- Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, covered.
- Butter a 10-inch deep dish pizza pan and set aside.
- Reserve 1/3 of the dough for the top crust. Roll out the remaining dough until it is large enough to fit into the pan, allowing dough to rise over the top. Place in pan and work the dough into the corners so no air bubbles are trapped.
- Layer in the meat and cheese, starting with the Italian sausage, then pepperoni, then Canadian bacon, finishing with the mozzarella.
- Roll the reserved dough out until it can cover the top of the pizza. Place onto the pizza and press the edges into the sides of the bottom dough, making sure a lip remains to contain the sauce. Tear or cut several steam openings in the top crust.
- Top with the sauce.
- Place onto the bottom rack of your oven, preheated to 450°F. Bake covered for 20 minutes.
- Remove cover and sprinkle Parmesan on top. Bake an additional 7-10 minutes until crust is golden brown.
Let the pizza rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing and serving.
Photo is a Screen Shot from the Video
Note 1 – I doubled the recipe for the sauce as I could not find quality crushed tomatoes in any can smaller than 28 ounces. The sauce freezes well if you are in the same predicament.
Note 2 – You can use any combination of ingredients you wish. It’s your darn pizza! Onions, green peppers, olives, mushrooms, anchovies, pineapple, eggs, cereal, you get the point. Just be sure to keep the meat on the bottom and the cheese on top, under the top crust.
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Original Video can be found at Chicago-Style Stuffed Pizza. Pizza Slice Photo and Pizza Missing a Slice Photos are Screen Shots from the Video. Photo of Giordano’s Famous Chicago Style Pizza by Alvin Trusty and is used by permission under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) License. Photo of Giordano’s, 730 North Rush Street, Chicago Sign by Thomas Hawk and is used by permission under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) License. Additional Information Courtesy of Wikipedia and is used by permission.
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