You're probably thinking that Chicago is famous for deep dish pizza. While that is true, we also have a great thin and crispy style pizza.
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| Thin and Crispy |
The Chicago thin crust pizza has a crisp non-floppy crust, unlike its New York cousin. This isn't pizza you fold in half and eat. In fact we don't typically cut it into wedges. It's normally served in bar or pub style, meaning it's cut into squares. It's most famous in the south part of the city but these days you can get it most everywhere.
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| Ready for the Oven |
While I love my my classic thick pizza with a crispy outside and chewy center, that dough requires most of the day on the counter and then a three day rest in the refrigerator before you can make pizza. So if I haven't planned well ahead, I turn to this thin crust pizza which we also enjoy.
It's made in a food processor and the high speed of the blade brings the dough together quickly preventing too much gluten formation keeping the crust crisp. It then needs minimal kneeding and rests only 2-3 hours on the counter before baking. In Chicago, sausage is the only topping besides sauce and cheese. That's traditional. But I do sometimes substitute for pepperoni.
Equipment: Food processor, pizza steel or stone, pizza peel, pizza cutter
Ingredients
2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons cold water
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Semolina or Cornmeal for dusting pizza peel
12 ounces sweet Italian sausage, bulk or casings removed
12 ounces whole-milk mozzarella cheese, shredded (3 cups)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
Process flour, sugar, yeast, and salt in food processor until combined, about 3 seconds. With processor running, slowly add cold water and oil and process until dough forms sticky ball that clears sides of bowl, 30 to 60 seconds.
Transfer dough to lightly oiled counter and knead until smooth, about 1 minute. Shape dough into tight ball and place in greased bowl. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let dough rise at room temperature until almost doubled in size, 2 to 3 hours. One hour or more before baking, adjust oven rack to lowest position, set baking steel or stone on rack, and heat oven to 500F degrees. Heat the steel or stone for a full hour at 500F degrees to insure a crisp crust.
Transfer dough to lightly floured counter, divide in half, and gently shape each half into ball. Return 1 dough ball to bowl and cover with plastic. Coat remaining dough ball lightly with flour and gently flatten into 8-inch disk using your fingertips. Using rolling pin, roll dough into 12‑inch circle, dusting dough lightly with flour as needed. (If dough springs back during rolling, let rest for 10 minutes before rolling again.)
Sprinkle pizza peel generously with semolina or cornmeal. (Cover the full area to insure the pizza slides off easily.) Transfer dough to prepared pizza peel and carefully stretch to return to 12-inch circle. Using back of spoon or ladle, spread 1/2 cup sauce in thin layer over surface of dough, leaving 1/8-inch border around edge. Pinch 6 ounces sausage into approximate dime-size pieces and evenly distribute over sauce. Alternatively use half the pepperoni and distribute evently. Sprinkle 1 1/2 cups mozzarella evenly over meat to edge of pizza. Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon oregano over top.
Carefully slide pizza onto baking steel/stone and bake until cheese is well browned and edges of pizza are crisp and dark, 10 to 14 minutes. Slide pizza peel underneath pizza and remove pizza from oven. Slide pizza onto cutting board and let cool for 5 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough, sauce, sausage, mozzarella, and oregano. Cut pizzas into 2- to 3-inch squares and serve.
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