Chicago Style Pizza

I love Chicago Style Pizza. Today I became inspired to try and make one at home. I researched recipes on the web. One of the most helpful things I found for general technique was Mark Malnati ( of Lou Malnati's fame) describing the process of making a Chicago pie.



For the pan I decided to use our fancy springform pan which is a whopping 3 inches deep. Lou Malnati's pie is great, but it's not thick enough for my liking. I prefer Giordano's which is the thickest in Chicago. I went up nearly the entire depth of the pan with the crust.




Next comes the cheese. Shredded mozzarella might work fine, but the authentic Chicago pies use sliced mozzarella and plenty of it. The act of putting the cheese on the bottom makes your crisp crust taste more like cheesy bread on the edges.



Next comes the toppings. I used green pepper and onion. Then comes the sauce which is packed with diced tomatoes.






I topped the whole thing with a liberal sprinkling of parmesan cheese. I cooked it for 30 minutes at 415.



Finished!






The pizza turned out great! The crust really reminded me of what you get in Chicago. I score this as a major success for my first effort!