Look, we’ve got nothing against wood-fired Neapolitan-style pizza, fancy crunchy flatbreads, or New York-style, thin-crusted pies. We’ve got room in our hearts for pretty much every kind of pizza. However, sometimes we crave something with a little more heft, a pizza with a wildly generous amount of toppings and a decadent thick and pillowy dough. Sometimes, nothing will hit the spot quite like a deep-dish pizza.
Good deep-dish pizza can be tough to find on the East Coast, but not to worry — we’ve got a near-foolproof method for making it at home! The first step is to pick up a ball of dough or two from your local pizzeria. Even if it doesn’t advertise selling dough, most usually will hook up their regulars for a few bucks. Pro tip: Let the dough come to room temperature, which might take an hour or so, before you start shaping it. That will make it much easier to handle.
Then, find some locally made Italian hot sausage (or mushrooms, if you want to keep it veg), PA mozzarella cheese and high-quality pizza sauce. We like the stuff from Vesper Bros. Foods, an artisan jarred goods company based in Wayne, PA.
After browning the sausage in the cast-iron skillet, the dough goes right into the pan (and fries to a gorgeous crispy gold in the leftover oil as it bakes in the oven), and is topped with the sauce, cheese and sausage. It comes out perfectly every time! Pair this pizza with a nice green salad and a bottle of natural wine for the ultimate night in!
Watch our video for the technique, and then check out our full recipe to try this PA-proud cast-iron skillet pizza for yourself!
- Video and photo: Dish Works
