Tasty Chicago Pizza FAIL!!!

[forktender]

What did I do wrong?
Made the
"72 hr pizza dough" using 1/2 bread flour and 1/2 Central Milling Co Organic AP flour.

It rolled out nice and easy and actually made it to 24" deep dish pan way easier than I expected.

But things started going wrong when I par baked it in the 575* oven.

What did I do wrong?

Anyhow I decided to go with my original topping plan which was sliced mozzarella on the bottom for a foundation then layers of salami, pepperoni, Canadian bacon, mushrooms, black olives, red bell pepper, arugula and spinach dollops of ricotta cheese more mozzarella and asiago then sauce a little bit of jack cheese and homemade honey fennel calabrian chili Italian sausage.
The fork'in knife pizza taste awesome, but the dough was a huge fail.
I think the butter in the deep dish pan turned the dough into a cracker type crust I'm not sure though.
This was a new dough recipe for me, so I don't know if the dough was the problem or if it was the butter in the deep dish pan.
The pizza taste amazing, but it was a fail in my book because it didn't work out anything like I was as expecting.

So why did the sides bake down during the par bake?
And why did it turn into a cracker type crust? Was it the butter in the pan?

I'm at a loss with this one.
I guess I'll stick with Naples style pizza from here on out.


Thanks for looking.
Any help would be great.

And sorry about the typing, I used talk to text.
Dan

 

[chef jimmyj]

The topping combo sounds great!
Chicago pizza crust is really closer to Biscuit Dough than a Bread Dough. Quite Short from a high fat content and minimum mixing to limit Gluten formation for tenderness. The dough, rolled or patted out to 1/4" thick, goes in the pan, gets filled the way you described, and baked, all in short order. A few recipes will call for a 10 minute par-bake but leave out the crucial Refer Rest instruction!
Since you decided or were instructed to par-bake, did you let the dough Refer Rest or get any rest, post rolling, stretching and Panning? Like with typical Pie Crust, Gluten is not desired, a cold rest, 30 minutes, lets the Gluten relax and the crust does not shrink. Pie Weights are for folks in a hurry, they do eliminate shrinkage when par-baking.
As far as the Butter in the pan? The Butter or Oil, " Fries " the Crust making the exterior Crunchy with a more fluffy tender center. Is this Crunch what to describe as Cracker Crust?
Check out the recipe below. Take notice of the High Fat content, AP Flour only and Minimum Mixing, all to limit Gluten, no Par-Baking called for...JJ

True Chicago-Style Deep-Dish Pizza

Get True Chicago-Style Deep-Dish Pizza Recipe from Food Network

www.foodnetwork.com

 

[forktender]

Funny you say that about the dough because it did taste like a Biscuit . I only let the panned dough rest on the counter for 10 minutes I think you nailed the shrinkage problem.
Yes the bottom was more crisp than I was hoping for actually it was crunchy..lol
Not my best attempt at a pizza thank God I decided to stack on the toppings like a deep dish that saved the meal to be honest the crust was almost too hard to eat...LOL
The good thing about pizza is even the mistakes taste great as long as the crust doesn't burn.
I was pretty bummed with this attempt even though I was just winging it not following a recipe I can normally get things a lot closer than I did tonight. Back to my Naples style pizza...LOL
Thanks JJ.
Dan

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

At least you got to eat yours. Mine ended up in the trash this weekend. Read my gauge on my Kettle oven wrong. Thought was to cold and was to hot.

 

[forktender]

I actually just ate the last piece out of the refrig. I love cold leftover pizza almost as much at fresh hot pizza.

 

[DanMcG]

Thanks for sharing you good looking fail. I learned something already today.

 

[TNJAKE]

Looks delicious to me lol. Nice fail!

 

[chopsaw]

Looks great from here .

 

[SmokinEdge]

Looks like a good pie from here.

 

[indaswamp]

I love thin crust pizza so it's perfect from where I'm sitting...

 

[sandyut]

the pie looks great Dan! A+ on the end result...but I get that its not what you were shooting for which I would beat myself up about too. Upshot is - making more pies while trying again.

 

[Central PA Cowboy]

I have done a few deep dish style pizzas in my cast iron skillet and all have come out fine. Just put dough in and the toppings. The skillet gets so hot there’s not need to par bake.

 

[Brokenhandle]

I wish my fails looked that good! We live and learn but glad it tasted good

Ryan

 

[chef jimmyj]

I have a 17" Lodge Skillet that keeps telling me she'll make good Deep Dish. I just cant get my Crew to try it. They all grew up on NYC style Pizza. Hand Tossed, and slices you pick-up, fold and eat with your hands.

In '85 my brother and I went to Santa Cruz Cali, for 10 days on my companies dime. First night in town these two Jersey Boys go to a nice Pizza Shop. We order, get our Pizza and start eating. Two bites in, the waitress comes over and says, " Gentlemen, there is a reason there are Forks and Knives on the table...USE THEM! " We looked around and the entire joint is scowling at us. I looked up at the Waitress, smiled and said in a loud enough voice for all to hear, " No Thanks Sweety, we are all good here, just like this..." And took a Giant Animalistic Bite, chewing with a big Cheesy Grin on my face...I was such a Wise-Ass back then!....JJ

 

[sawhorseray]

I never tried making a deep dish pizza but what you got there appears delicious to me. I usually make a fairly thick crust and load them up, knife and fork required, I'd be all over that, Like! RAY

 

[jcam222]

I actually just ate the last piece out of the refrig. I love cold leftover pizza almost as much at fresh hot pizza.

Still looked very tasty!’ I’m with you, love leftover cold pizza

 

[bregent]

I guess I'll stick with Naples style pizza from here on out.

Don't give up so quick. Most of the issues have already been covered but I'll mention some again.
The dough for deep dish is MUCH different than for other styles. It is more like a biscuit so don't use any high gluten flour. It also has lots of oil. No need to par bake and only use a small amount of butter on the bottom, not the sides. Baking with all of the ingredients together will keep the dough in place.

Here's a great place to start: https://www.realdeepdish.com/deepdishholygrail/

I've turned out many great deep dish pies based on the formula from that site. I still prefer New York style, but deep dish is so quick and easy to make. Here's an example of a recent pie I made.

 

[wild west]

I don't have a round 12 inch cake pan. Is there any reason you couldn't use a 9x13x2 aluminum pan instead

 

[Brokenhandle]

Nope, no reason at all!

Ryan

 

[chef jimmyj]

A 12" pan has an Area of about 113 inches. A 9 X 13 has an Area of approx 117 inches.
To make up the difference, increase the Flour in the recipe above to 3 Cups, Oil to 5 Tbs, Water to 8 ounces, plus a heaping 1/4 tsp of Salt and Sugar...You will also need a little extra of every topping, of course...JJ