Chicago-Style Stuffed Spinach Pizza

This is my favorite pizza. It's a little work but, to me, it's worth every minute. Another recipe that I clipped years ago from the Chicago Trib. The prep time includes the dough rising time, though it may be less if you're using quick-rise yeast, which works fine with this recipe.

• Ready In: 2 hrs 1 min
• Serves: 6

Ingredients

• Crust

• 2  packages active dry yeast
• 1  tablespoon sugar
• 2  cups warm water
• 1⁄3 cup  vegetable oil
• 4 -6  cups flour

• Sauce

• 2  tablespoons olive oil
• 1  clove garlic, minced
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes in puree
• 2  teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons dried basil
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

• Filling

• 3 (10 ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained (squeeze water out with your hands)
• 2 1⁄2 cups  shredded mozzarella cheese
• 8  ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced (optional)
• 1⁄2 cup  freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 1⁄2 cup  freshly grated romano cheese
• 2  cloves garlic, minced
• 2  tablespoons olive oil
• 1  teaspoon dried basil
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Directions

1. Crust: dissolve yeast and sugar in water in a large bowl; let stand until bubbly; stir in oil then stir in 4 cups of the flour until smooth; add additional flour as needed to form a stiff dough.
2. Lightly flour the work surface; knead dough until smooth and elastic, about 7 to 10 minutes; put into a greased bowl; turn to coat top then let rise, covered, in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
3. Sauce: heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat; add garlic, cook 2 minutes; stir in tomatoes, oregano, basil, salt and pepper; simmer until very thick, about 30 minutes or so.
4. Filling: mix spinach, mozzarella, mushrooms, parmesan, romano, garlic, olive oil, basil, salt and pepper in a large bowl.
5. Heat oven to 450°.
6. Punch down dough; let rest 10 minutes.
7. Lightly oil a 12-inch pizza pan that is at least 2" deep.
8. Roll two-thirds of dough into a 16-inch circle; let sides overhang the pan.
9. Put the spinach mixture into center of dough; smooth evenly over the surface.
10. Roll the remaining dough on a lightly floured surface to a 12-inch circle; place over the spinach filling then pinch the edges together and cut excess dough at the edges so that the bottom dough is level with the top crust.
11. Pour sauce over the dough to cover.
12. Bake until crust is golden, 20-40 minutes.
13. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing into wedges for serving.
14. Ice cold beer or root beer is great with this pizza.