The Quiet Magic of Deep Dish Pizza Crust

Chicago deep dish gets a bad rap from people who have never had it from a real Chicago place. The crust is the whole reason that pizza works. It is biscuit-meets-pie crust, with cornmeal for crunch, butter for flavor, and a structure built to hold a load.

The secret most home cooks miss is the cold proof. Make your dough on Saturday night, let it rest in the fridge until Sunday afternoon, and the flavor will be miles ahead of a same-day cook. While the dough rests, the cornmeal hydrates and the gluten relaxes, so it presses easily into the pan.

Build the pie cheese first, then sausage, then sauce on top. The cheese protects the dough from the wet sauce, and the sauce gets the fresh-tomato flavor it should because it never touches the bottom of the oven. Bake at 425 F for 35 minutes and rest at least 10 before slicing.