Sourdough Chicago-Style Deep Dish Pizza

This cast iron deep dish pizza has a thick, crisp, and chewy crust that's piled high with your favorite toppings!

What you need to make this recipe...: ...a sourdough starter. Ideally, you want to use your starter 4 to 6 hours after you feed it, when it has doubled in volume and is very bubbly and active. Here are three sources: Breadtopia King Arthur Flour Cultures for Health ...time. Once your starter is ready to go, this recipe requires an initial 6 - 18 hour rise, followed by at least 6 hours in the fridge or up to 3 days.  Timing/Schedule: The more I make sourdough, the more I realize that the timing of each bake depends so much on the time of year and the temperature of my kitchen. In the summer, because it is warm and humid, the first rise (bulk fermentation) of all my sourdoughs takes between 6 - 8 hours; in the winter it will take longer, 10 to 12 hours. It is best to rely on visual cues. For the bulk fermentation, you want the dough to double or less than double: I now end my bulk fermentation when the dough has risen by 50% to 75% in volume. This is why I cannot recommend using a straight-sided vessel  (as opposed to a bowl) enough. It makes gauging the first rise easier. If at any point you are worried the dough will over-ferment — say, for example, the bulk fermentation is nearly complete but you are tired and want to go to bed — stick the vessel in the fridge and pick up the process in the morning. (Note: If your dough rises above double, don't despair ... my dough has tripled in volume during an overnight rise, and the resulting dough still had plenty of strength and spring.) Schedule: I like mixing this dough in the evening, performing 4 stretch and folds before I go to bed (if time permits), then letting the dough complete its bulk fermentation at room temperature (68ºF) overnight or in the refrigerator (especially in the summer, when my kitchen is much warmer). In the morning, it's typically ready to be portioned (if it rose at room temperature), transferred to quart containers, and stashed in the fridge. If I had let my dough spend time in the fridge for the bulk fermentation, I remove it in the morning, and let it complete its bulk fermentation at room temperature. Once complete, I portion the dough and stash it in the fridge. Sometimes I'll use the dough that same evening; sometimes I'll use it the following day or the next. I encourage using the dough within 3 days.  In short: If you want pizza for the weekend, mix your dough on either Wednesday or Thursday.  Troubleshooting: If you have issues with your dough being too sticky, please read this post: Why is my sourdough so sticky? The 4 common mistakes. Water: If you live in a humid environment or if you are making this on a particularly humid day, consider starting with less water, such as 335 grams of water, which will bring the hydration down to 70%. This amount of water will still produce a light airy crust but the dough will be more manageable.  Flour choice:  Due to supply issues, I've been making this recipe with all-purpose flour, and it works beautifully. You absolutely can use bread flour or tipo 00 flour if you can get your hands on either. If you can't, know that all-purpose (unbleached) flour works great here. If you use 00 flour, you'll likely need to reduce the amount of water. I would start with 350 g, and adjust moving forward based on your results.  Favorite Pizza-Making Tools: Baking Steel Pizza Peel Parchment Paper: I bake my pizzas on parchment paper on my Baking Steel. Parchment allows for easy transfer from peel to steel.  Cast Iron Skillet: If you do not have a Steel or stone, you can use a cast iron skillet. Rub a half teaspoon of oil over its surface, transfer a stretched dough round to the skillet. Top as desired. Bake at 450ºF for about 15 minutes.  Quart Containers for storing dough

Skip the take-out pizza and make cast iron skillet pizza instead! This easy skillet pizza has a thick crust with a crispy bottom and a soft and chewy center. You can make it in 30 minutes with your favorite toppings for your next Friday night pizza!

This sourdough discard pizza dough recipe transforms your leftover sourdough starter into a deliciously tangy pizza crust perfect for any toppings. With simple ingredients and straightforward steps, this recipe makes two 10" - 12" pizza crusts using either a pizza stone or a cast iron skillet. The dough can be topped with anything from classic mozzarella and basil to more adventurous combinations.

Ditch the pizza stone for this cast iron skillet pizza! There is no outer crust on a skillet pizza so the toppings go from edge to edge, which means extra cheese, extra toppings, extra delicious! Crisp bottom, soft chewy center - think of this like a deep dish pizza but not as deep. Did I forget to mention all you need is 30 minutes?

This savory pizza sourdough loaf is stuffed with mozzarella, pepperoni, marinara, and herbs for all the flavors of pizza baked right into bread. Soft and chewy with a golden crust, it’s perfect for snacking, serving with soup, or turning into a loaded sandwich.

A great way to use leftover spaghetti!

This is one of those family recipes that you never stop craving. These Polish Hamburgers are a meal that my Grandma always used to make. We would have them on weekdays, and sometimes we would even have them on special occasions. They were THAT good. Polish Hamburgers are called Klotlety or Klupskies in Polish. Every family makes them their own special way, but they are all similar. Typically they are made with ground pork, onions, eggs, bread and milk, along with spices and seasonings. The recipe for my family’s Polish Hamburgers is an easy one. I would describe them as a cross between a meatball and an actual hamburger. You do not eat these polish hamburgers on a bun, but on their own with a rich mushroom gravy. This recipe makes ten large burgers. While this may seem like a lot, this is a great recipe to make a big batch of, and set a few aside to freeze for a quick dinner on a busy night. If you do not wish to do this, simply cut the recipe in half to make an appropriate amount for you. I serve mine with homemade buttery mashed potatoes and a veggie. I think this is the way they are served best. You can choose to serve them with rice, egg noodles, or even on their own. Here is what you will need to make this Tipsy Family Favorite: Ingredients 2 lbs of Ground Pork 3/4 lb of Ground Beef 1 1/2 Sleeves of Saltine Crackers, crushed up fine. 3/4 C of Milk 2 Eggs, whisked 1 Medium Yellow Onion, minced very fine. 1 Green Pepper, minced very fine. Salt & Pepper to taste, I prefer a lot of pepper. I use 2 t of salt and 2 of pepper. 1 T of Dried Dill 1/2 T of Garlic Powder 2 T of Dried Parsley 1 t of Nutmeg 2 C of Sliced Mushrooms 1 Can of Cream of Mushroom Soup 1 1/2 C of Beef Stock 4 T of Butter 2 Cloves of Garlic, Crushed with the side of your knife. 2 T of Worcestershire Sauce 1 Heaping Tablespoon of Sour Cream While this may seem like a lot of ingredients, it should mostly be pantry items you have on hand. This recipe also makes a lot of food and as I said earlier, makes a great freezer meal. The steps are fairly simple. Steps In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients except for the beef stock, butter, cream of mushroom soup, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, mushrooms and sour cream. So in your bowl you should have: meat, crackers, milk, onion, green pepper, all your seasonings and herbs. Combine the meat, crackers, eggs, onions, green peppers, milk and seasonings until they are WELL combined. Next, you want to form large patties. These patties will be more wet than your usual meatballs or hamburgers. Prepare a cookie sheet with foil and make about 10 patties that are about the size of your hand and about 2 inches thick. (there is a picture at the end of how they should look) This step is KEY. You must allow the patties to rest at room temp for about 30 minutes. This is so they have time to bind. As I said, they will be more wet than your typical meatball or ground meat recipe. At this point I froze half on a cookie sheet in the freezer and later added them to a ziploc bag to store. When your patties have rested for about 30 minutes you want to heat 2 to 3 T of butter in a deep skillet or braiser. When the butter is warm, add your garlic cloves and give it a swirl in the butter. Prepare a plate with some paper towels to keep near the stove where you will be frying your patties. Carefully remove 2 or 3 patties and place them in your skillet. Allow the patties to cook for about 5 to 7 minutes on the first side before carefull flipping. You want to get a nice sear on each side. When they are well seared on both sides, remove them from the skillet and place on the prepared paper towel dish. Fry the rest of your burgers until they all have a good sear. When you are done frying all the burgers, add the rest of the butter and then add the mushrooms to the hot skillet. Allow the mushrooms to brown and add the Worcestershire sauce. Use a spatula to scrape up the meaty bits from the bottom of the pan as the worcestirshire sauce loosens them. Give your mushrooms about five minutes to simmer in the Worcestershire sauce. Next add the beef broth and cream of mushroom soup and whisk until smooth. This is the step you add your burgers BACK to the pan of gravy you just made. They should have shrunk while cooking so you should have room for them all. Make sure they are submerged in the gravy and bring the pan to a simmer. Reduce heat, cover with a lid and allow to simmer for 30 minutes. At the thirty minute mark, make room in the center of the pan, and add your heaping spoon of sour cream and whisk until combined into all of the gravy. Serve your hamburgers on top of mashed potatoes and top with gravy and a sprinkle of dill. This recipe is not a complicated one. Once you make it the first time you will be an expert and never have to use the recipe again. The nutmeg and dill in this recipe make a unique flavor profile that will wow your tastebuds. The sour cream adds a richness to the gravy that is unexpected. This is a fairly quick recipe that will taste like it took allday. I hope you and your family enjoy this recipe as much as mine does.   For other great family recipes, CLICK HERE.