Deep-Dish Pizza

👨‍🍳 Method

For the Dough base

1. 1
   Mix the flour, yeast and salt in a large bowl.

   Bowl
2. 2
   Add the lukewarm water and olive oil and Knead about 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth, pliable and doesn't stick to your hands.

   ⚙ KneadingBowlStand mixer

   💡For yeast dough, use the windowpane test: a small piece stretches into a thin, translucent sheet without tearing, and that's the sign the kneading is done. Add flour only by the tablespoon, and only if the dough is still sticky after a few minutes: too much flour makes a tough dough.
3. 3
   Cover and Let rise about an hour in a warm place, until the dough doubles in size.

   ⚙ ProofingPlastic wraporKitchen towel

   💡Let rise in a warm, draft-free spot. The dough is ready when it has doubled, and a gentle finger press leaves a dent that fills back slowly; if it springs right back, wait longer.

For the Tomato sauce

1. 4
   Drain the tomatoes and crush them by hand into coarse pieces.
2. 5
   In a bowl, mix the tomatoes with the salt. Don't cook it: the sauce cooks on the pizza in the oven.

   ⚙ SimmeringStoveSmall saucepan

   💡Spread cooled sauce on pizza: hot sauce softens the dough even before baking.

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.

To assemble

1. 6
   Sauté the mushrooms in a dry pan over high heat for 5 minutes, until all their liquid evaporates.

   StoveFrying pan
2. 7
   Preheat the oven to 220°C (430°F). Generously grease a springform pan 26 cm in diameter and at least 5 cm deep with the olive oil.

   ⚙ Preheating the OvenOvenSpringform pan

   💡Put things in the oven only once it's reached temperature, after the heating light has gone off: an oven that hasn't reached temperature changes baking times, and the bake burns outside or stays underbaked.
3. 8
   Press the dough into a large round and transfer it to the pan, so it comes up the sides to a height of 4 cm.

   Springform pan
4. 9
   Lay a dense layer of the mozzarella over the dough, and top it with the mushrooms and green pepper.
5. 10
   Pour the sauce over the top in a thick layer and sprinkle with the Parmesan.
6. 11
   Bake 35–40 minutes, until the edges are golden brown and the sauce is bubbling. If the edges brown too quickly, cover them with strips of foil.

   ⚙ BakingOvenAluminum foilSpringform pan

   💡Check by the cue (until…), not just the clock: every oven bakes a little differently.
7. 12
   Take it out and leave it in the pan for 10 minutes before cutting: without the wait, the cheese runs out and the slice won't hold.