Chicago Pepperoni Pizza Recipes

HOMEMADE PEPPERONI PIZZA

Steps:

• For sauce: Combine all sauce ingredients with 1/2 cup water in a medium bowl; set aside for flavors to develop while making crust. Freeze remaining paste .
• For crusts: Combine 2 cups of flour with the dry yeast, sugar and salt. Add the water and oil and mix until well blended (about 1 minute). Gradually add enough remaining flour slowly, until a soft, sticky dough ball is formed.
• Knead for about 4 minutes, on a floured surface, until dough is smooth and elastic. Add more flour, if needed. (If using RapidRise® Yeast, let dough rest, covered, for 10 minutes.)
• Divide dough in half. Pat each half (with floured hands) into a 12-inch greased pizza pan OR roll dough to fit pans.
• For pizzas: Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Top crusts with sauce, pepperoni and cheese.
• Bake for 18 to 20 minutes until crusts are browned and cheese is bubbly. For best results, rotate pizza pans between top and bottom oven racks halfway through baking.

OLD WORLD CHICAGO-STYLE THIN CRUST PIZZA

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine the milk, water, yeast and sugar. Lightly whisk and let sit until bubbly and the yeast is bloomed, about 5 minutes. Add the oil.
• Mix the all-purpose flour and salt in a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Set the mixer to medium-low speed and slowly add the yeast mixture until entirely incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl to get everything homogenous. Knead on medium low until the dough is glossy and forms a rough ball, about 5 minutes. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Set it in a warm part of the kitchen until doubled in size, about 2 hours.
• Place a pizza stone on the bottom rack of the oven and preheat to 450 degrees F.
• Split the dough into 2 balls. On a lightly floured surface, roll one of the balls of dough as THIN as possible with a rolling pin. To get an even "trimmed" circle, use a large round lid to trim a rim around the dough. Sprinkle some semolina flour on a pizza peel. Carefully transfer the round of dough to the peel. Dock the crust with a fork or docker, poking holes all over the surface to keep it thin and crispy.
• Working quickly, add half of the pizza sauce almost all of the way to the edge of the crust, leaving about a 1-inch border. For the pepperoni side, place an even layer of pepperoni directly on top of the sauce on half of the pizza. Combine the skim- and whole-milk mozzarella in a large bowl and top the entire pizza with half of the cheese. Top the pepperoni side with some more scattered rounds of pepperoni. For the sausage side, spread half of the giardiniera on top of the cheese, then dollop with hunks of the Italian sausage on top. Transfer to the pizza stone in the oven and bake until golden and bubbly, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer the pizza to a cutting board with the pizza peel. Make another pizza with the remaining ingredients.
• Let the pizza rest for 4 or 5 minutes, then cut into small squares--never triangles. This is called the party cut. Why? Because no matter what's going on, when you're eating Chicago thin crust, it's always a big ol' party.

TRUE CHICAGO-STYLE DEEP-DISH PIZZA

Steps:

• Mix sugar, yeast and 11 ounces room temperature water (about 80 degrees) in a bowl and let bloom for 15 minutes. Combine flour, salt and cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Once yeast has bloomed, add to dry ingredients along with corn oil. Gently combine with a rubber spatula until a rough ball is formed.
• Knead on low speed with the dough hook for 90 seconds. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl and proof until doubled in size, about 6 hours. Punch down and let dough settle for 15 more minutes.
• Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 450 degrees F.
• Coat bottom and sides of a 12-inch cake pan or traditional Chicago style pizza pan with melted butter. Using your hands, spread out about three-quarters of the dough across the bottom and up the sides of the pan (save the remainder for another use). Cover entire bottom in mozzarella, all the way up to the edge. Cover half with a thin, even layer of raw sausage. Cover the other half with the pepperoni. Top with a couple handfuls of crushed tomatoes. Spread out with hands to the edge. Sprinkle top evenly with grated Parm.
• Bake, rotating halfway through, until golden around the edge, about 25 minutes. Let rest for about 5 minutes, then either gently lift pizza out of pan or just cut your slice out of the pan like a pie!

CHICAGO DEEP-DISH PIZZA

Steps:

• Pour water into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Sprinkle in yeast and let dissolve, about 10 minutes. Add olive oil, melted butter, sugar, salt, cornmeal, and most of the flour. Knead, stopping to scrape down the sides occasionally and adding more flour as needed, until smooth and elastic.
• Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface. Knead in extra flour if needed. Roll into a ball and place in a bowl greased with 1/2 teaspoon olive oil. Cover with a plate and let rise in a warm spot until doubled in volume, 1 to 2 hours.
• Meanwhile, let pizza sauce simmer in a pot over low heat until very thick, 60 to 90 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• Poke dough to deflate and turn out onto your work surface. Press and stretch out dough into a round shape 3 to 4 inches larger than a 12-inch cast iron skillet. Brush skillet with 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil. Place dough in the skillet; stretch and pull to evenly distribute it over the bottom and sides.
• Lay provolone cheese over the bottom of the crust. Scatter fresh mozzarella on top. Add Italian sausage and firm mozzarella. Ladle pizza sauce generously on top. Grate Parmesan cheese on top. Fold the edges of the crust in towards the center to seal in the sides. Drizzle crust and center with 1 tablespoon olive oil.
• Bake in the center of the preheated oven until crust sounds hollow and pizza is beautifully browned, about 35 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

MEXICAN PEPPERONI PIZZAS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425°F. Spray 2 cookie sheets with cooking spray. Spray both sides of tortillas; place on cookie sheets. Bake about 3 minutes or until bottoms are slightly crisp; turn tortillas, and rotate pans. Bake 2 to 3 minutes longer or until bottoms are slightly crisp (tortillas will continue to crisp upon cooling). Remove tortillas to cooling rack; let cool. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F.
• Meanwhile, in medium bowl, mix refried beans, salsa, chipotle chile and sauce.
• Spread refried bean mixture (about 3 tablespoons) on each cooled tortilla to within 1/2 inch of edge. Top with pepperoni slices (3 per tortilla) and cheese.
• Bake uncovered 6 to 7 minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted. Cut into wedges.

PEPPERONI PIZZA

Steps:

• In bread machine pan, place the first eight ingredients in order suggested by manufacturer. Select dough setting (check dough after 5 minutes of mixing; add 1-2 tablespoons of water or flour if needed). , When cycle is completed, turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Roll into a 14-in. circle. Sprinkle a greased 14-in. pizza pan with cornmeal. Transfer dough to prepared pan. , Combine spaghetti sauce and sugar if desired; spread over dough. Top with the pepperoni, tomatoes, onion, cheeses and Italian seasoning. , Bake at 400° for 30-35 minutes or until crust is lightly browned. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.

CHICAGO-STYLE DEEP-DISH PIZZA

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine 1-1/2 cups flour, cornmeal, yeast, sugar and salt. In a saucepan, heat water and oil to 120°-130°. Add to dry ingredients; beat just until moistened. Add remaining flour to form a stiff dough., Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes., Punch dough down; divide in half. Roll each portion into an 11-in. circle. Press dough onto the bottom and up the sides of two greased 10-in. cast-iron or other ovenproof skillets. Sprinkle each with 2 cups mozzarella cheese., In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste and seasonings. Spoon 1-1/2 cups over each pizza. Layer each with half of the sausage, pepperoni and mushrooms; 1 cup mozzarella; and 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese. , Cover and bake at 450° for 35 minutes. Uncover; bake until lightly browned, about 5 minutes longer.,

CHICAGO-STYLE DEEP-DISH PIZZA

Steps:

• Move oven racks to lowest positions. Heat oven to 425°F. Grease 2 (15x10x1-inch) pans or 4 (9-inch) round cake pans with olive oil. In large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir in Bisquick mix and oil; beat vigorously 20 strokes.
• Turn dough onto surface generously dusted with Bisquick mix; gently roll in Bisquick to coat. Knead about 60 times or until smooth and no longer sticky. Let dough rest 5 minutes. (At this point, dough can be covered and refrigerated for up to 24 hours.)
• Divide dough in half. Pat each half of dough in bottom and up sides of pans. Or divide dough into fourths and press in bottom and up sides of round pans.
• Reserve 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle remaining mozzarella cheese over crusts. Top with sausage, desired vegetable toppings and tomatoes. Sprinkle with oregano and Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle with the reserved mozzarella cheese.
• Bake 20 to 25 minutes (switching top and bottom pans halfway through bake time) or until crust is brown and cheese is melted and bubbly. Immediately cut pizza into pieces. Let pizzas stand a few minutes for easier serving.

OLD CHICAGO SICILIAN PIZZA ROLLS

Steps:

• Unroll pizza dough.
• Spread ranch dressing over dough.
• Spread pepperoni, green onions and cheese over ranch.
• Roll up tightly and slice into rolls.
• Place on cookie sheet and bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes.