Acorn Deep Dish Pizza Crust
Recipe by Jed Wheeler of Manzanita Cooperative
Deep dish pizza is one of Chicago’s great culinary contributions to the world. With roots stretching back to Sicily, deep dish puts the “pie” oin pizza pie. Unlike its hallower cousins, authentic deep dish often features a corn meal crust. We’ve replaced the cornmeal with acorn flour. The acorn is superior to cornmeal in this recipe because the higher available starch content relative to corn meal helps the yeast and gives more lift. It’s also softer and chewier, avoiding the grittiness that sometimes accompanies cornmeal crusts.
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 cups acorn flour
1 packet yeast
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups warm water
1/2 cup acorn oil or softened butter
1 tbsp honey
Process
In a large mixing bowl, add the water, honey, 2 tbsp of the flour, and the yeast. Set someplace warm to proof (15 minutes or so)
Prepare your fillings of choice while the yeast proofs. We recommend mushrooms, sausage, and caramelized onions but do you!
Add flour, salt, and oil to bowl and mix until it forms a dough. Knead until it tightens up and resists a bit when you push back. This typically takes 3 to 5 minutes of kneading, depending on if you use a mixer.
Set dough aside and let it rise until it has increased in size by at least 50%.
Preheat oven to 450
Stretch to fit a deep dish, making sure crust reaches all the way to the top. I like cast iron, but use what you have
Layer in toppings, starting with Mozzarella and Provolone, followed by other fillings, and topped with red sauce.
Bake for 20 minutes
Remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes.
Slice and serve.
