Chicago Deep dish Pizza

[pathill]

I am having trouble when I make this pizza with a lot of excess liquid at the bottom of the pan when I cut into the pizza. I am using a springform pan, Dough, cheese, meat, sauce then 1/4 cup olive oil and parmesan on top. It looks great but when I cut my first piece there is a lot of water that seeps out??????? I don't know why? Any ideas>

[duonyte]

Your sauce may be a bit too watery. That seems like a lot of olive oil on top - check out these recipes and see whether they might not give you some hints.

Chicago Style Deep-Dish Pizza
Uno Chicago Grill Deep Dish Pizza (Copy)
Chicago Deep-Dish Pizza

[Chocolatl]

I grew up in Chicago, and I've never heard of putting oil on the top, ever.

What recipe have you been using?

[pathill]

Thanks for your help! Checked out the recipes and maybe the 1/4 cup of olive oil on the top is the problem! I will also try a commercial sauce instead of my own. I cooked it down for 25 minutes, seemed thick but maybe it broke down.
I got this recipe from a video blog that used cornmeal and semolina flour in the crust which was quite good! Thanks again!

[pathill]

It was a video blog but can't find it now! I think your right about the oil on top it may be stopping the steam from escaping from the pizza and causing it to form inside the pizza! I will leave it off and see! Thanks!

[duonyte]

I can see drizzling a little bit on, but 1/4 cup seems like a lot. Good luck.

[JoeV]

1/4 cup of olive oil is what's used in making a batch of olive oil pizza dough.

Pizza or spaghetti sauce usually cooks for 4-6 hours. The longer you simmer it, the more water steams off. At 4 hours I take a tablespoon of sauce and pour it onto a white saucer to see how much water remains in the sauce. You will see a thin, pink colored liquid surrounding the sauce and seeping onto the plate. I simmer my sauce until that red line (the water) is less than 1/8" surrounding the sauce.

[Chocolatl]

JoeV wrote:
1/4 cup of olive oil is what's used in making a batch of olive oil pizza dough.

Pizza or spaghetti sauce usually cooks for 4-6 hours. The longer you simmer it, the more water steams off. At 4 hours I take a tablespoon of sauce and pour it onto a white saucer to see how much water remains in the sauce. You will see a thin, pink colored liquid surrounding the sauce and seeping onto the plate. I simmer my sauce until that red line (the water) is less than 1/8" surrounding the sauce.

Chicago Deep Dish Pizza doesn't use regular pizza dough. It uses a special dough that contains cornmeal.

Some pizza sauce is long-cooking, some quick cooking. Chicago Deep Dish Pizza uses a chunky marinara sauce.

[duonyte]

pathill wrote:
It was a video blog but can't find it now! I think your right about the oil on top it may be stopping the steam from escaping from the pizza and causing it to form inside the pizza! I will leave it off and see! Thanks!

Let us know what happens when you have a chance to try it again. I have found that sometimes the videos don't match the recipes they publish that supposedly go with the videos.

[Riverside Len]

Real deep dish pizza has a special place in my heart. You might be surprised to know that not too many pizza restaurants in Chicago do a good job of it and most do not even offer it which might explain why most Chicagoans eat thin crust pizza. But I am also very passionate about thin crust pizza.

First, I agree with those who say not to put olive oil on the topping. A properly made pan pizza dough is short and already has a healthy dose of olive oil in it. Your sauce might be too watery and/or you may be using too much sauce. Too much sauce is a common problem in many homemade pizzas.

Traditional Chicago Deep Dish pizza uses canned tomatoes for the sauce. You drain them and then squeeze them over a colander to remove the juice and crush them. It is not cooked. I am of the opinion that you can use whatever kind of sauce you prefer, it just won't be traditional. But again, just don't overdo it.

I posted a few photos a deep dish pizza a while back, if you are interested.

http://www.food.com/bb/viewtopic.zsp?t=369792

[Red Apple Guy]

Great tutorial! I' must try that sometime.

Your comment about using canned tomatoes with the water pressed out is a good one. I often use crushed italian tomatoes (shake the can to pick the least watery one) and drain through a sieve. The tomatoes are already cooked and will be again in the oven. It makes a very tasty sauce.

Red

[Riverside Len]

Thanks Red. I think the extended baking time plus the fact the sauce is at the top of pizza is what makes the canned tomatoes work in a deep dish pizza.