Andy Style Deep Dish Pizza

One of the things I think we could do better in our house is to plan meals. Some weeks we don’t really make much in the way of a plan for dinner. Those weeks aren’t great. When we plan it… we do great! This week we had our first full week of planned meals and it went great. We even found the back of the freezer, crazy I know.
One of the things Andy wanted to make this week was Deep Dish Pizza. We planned it for the weekend so we would have extra time to make it… so the dough could rise. You’ll see him diligently making pizza. Also you’ll see the awesome cutting board my dad made us for Christmas. He was over a few nights ago and I had to admit we use a plastic cutting board on it when we cut… I want to keep it pretty… he says he’ll make it pretty again – for now… we’ll use protection…
We halved this recipe and used a spring form pan which worked great. We also used shredded cheese, that’s what we had. We have ideas of what we’d change for next time…. We’ll see – maybe we’ll post again.

Andy Style Deep Dish Pizza
What you need!
2 pkgs. quick rise dry yeast
2 c. tepid water (90 degrees)
1/2 c. salad oil
4 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 c. cornmeal
5 1/2 c. flour

What to do!
Use an electric mixer or food processor with a dough attachment for this recipe unless you have very strong arms. In a bowl, dissolve the yeast in water. Add oils (do not substitute olive oil), cornmeal, and 3 cups of flour. Beat or process for 10 minutes. Put on dough attachment and mix in the rest of the flour. Knead for approximately 10-15 minutes. Put the dough onto a cutting board or countertop and cover with a large metal bowl. Allow the dough to rise until it doubles. Punch down and allow it to rise again. Punch down a second time and you are ready. Oil a large round deep dish pizza pan (this recipe makes two pizzas). Put half of the dough in the pan and push it out to the edges, using your finger. Make sure you can run the crust right up the side of the pan. Make it about 1/8 inch thick throughout the pan.

The Filling:
What you need!
3/4 - 1 lb. sliced Mozzarella cheese
2 lg. cans plum tomatoes, drained and squished
2 tsp. basil
2 tsp. oregano
4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed (this can be to your taste)
Salt to taste
Grated Parmesan cheese for topping
3 tbsp. olive oil

What to do!
Place the cheese in tilelike layers on the bottom of the pizza. Next put in the tomatoes and sprinkle the basil, oregano, garlic and salt over the top. Now is the time to add your own preferences such as: Italian sausage (uncooked), onions, mushrooms, pepperoni, green peppers, olives, etc. Now sprinkle the grated Parmesan cheese over the top and then drizzle the olive oil over the pie and you are ready to bake. Bake in a preheated 475 degree oven until the top is golden and gooey and the crust should be a light golden brown. This will take approximately 35-40 minutes.