Pumpkin and Spice

One of my favorite foods in the world (and I know at least some of you are with me on this) is pizza! I'm pretty indiscriminate about my pizza preferences- I like froufy gourmet pizza, I like greasy pizza from dive-y pizza joints, I like flatbreads, thin Italian pizzas, big floppy New York Style pizza, thick doughy Chicago Style Pizza... it's hard to go wrong. And, while I like almost any topping combination (sausage and green peppers are classic!) I do have a clear cut favorite- Hawaiian pizza is hands down my favorite topping! Mmmm... salty-sweet ham, sweet pineapple on top of savory sauce and covered in gooey salty cheese... Does it get better?

All this week I was craving pizza... it was just about all I could think about, and I know I was annoying Kyle with my incessant requests to order pizza. (He kept saying something about us having just had pizza this weekend... I dunno what that was about. Heehee!)

Since I had Wednesday off, and I'd been fighting this pizza craving, I decided to go with it, and make my own pizza. Since I've just recently got my stand mixer, I've not had a chance to make pizza dough yet. And, since I've never made my own Chicago-style pizza, I decided to give a deep, thick, bready deep dish pizza a shot.

The dough is a little different from traditional pizza dough- it's less chewy, and more bread-like. A higher fat content makes the dough a litte richer, and a bit of cornmeal gives it a bit of crunch and texture.

I had enough dough for two pizza (don't worry, we had guests over!), so of course, one had to be Hawaiian. For the other, I went more traditional and did pepperoni. The traditional assembly of a Chicago style pizza is to line the pan with dough, then lay down a layer of cheese (usually sliced, as opposed to shredded), then the toppings go down, and finally, everything is topped with chunky tomatoes and herbs. After baking, the pizza is cut into wedges and eaten with a fork and knife. Delish!

Chicago-Style Pizza Dough
makes enough dough for two 9" pizzas

• 2pkg rapid rise (instant) yeast
• 2c warm water
• 1 stick unsalted butter, melted
• 1/4c olive oil
• 1/2c cornmeal
• 5 cups all purpose flour
• 2t salt (I like sea salt)

In the bowl of your stand mixer (fitted with the dough hook) combine the water, yeast, butter, oil, cornmeal and half the flour. Knead together for 5min- the dough will be very loose. Add the remaining flour and the salt and knead until the dough forms a ball. (The dough should be slightly tacky, but not gooey- if it's too dry, add a splash of water, if it's too wet, add a tablespoon or two of water.)
Oil a large bowl and place dough in it to rise. Lightly oil a piece of plastic wrap and lay it on top of the bowl. Allow dough to double in size and punch down. Allow to double again. Punch down- now it's time to make a pizza!

Hawaiian Pizza Assembly

• 8oz sliced smoked provelone
• 8oz thin sliced honey ham
• 1/2 can pineapple tidbits in juice, drained
• 1 can diced italian-style tomatoes, drained
• 2t italian seasoning
• grated parmesean cheese
• melted butter

Preheat oven to 475F. Brush a 9" cake pan with butter. Place half the dough into the pan and press it around the pan and up the sides. Brush the "Crust" with butter (the sides, not the bottom.) Lay the cheese on the bottom of the crust, overlapping the layers. Bundle the ham into little balls and cover the cheese. Sprinkle with pineapple, then top with diced tomatoes. Sprinkle with herbs and cheese. Bake pizza for 20-30min, until crust is golden.