Chicago-Style Stuffed Pizza
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Stuffed pizza became something of a sensation in Chicago around 1980. The combination of flavours is expansive, resulting in an exciting taste sensation.
Course
Main Course
Cuisine 
Equipment
- 1 30cm pizza tin, 5cm deep
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 14 g active dry yeast or twice the amount fresh yeast
- 300 ml warm water 40-45° C
- 400 g strong bread flour more or less as needed
- 1 tbsp salt
- 60 ml vegetable oil
Sauce
- 3 tins of either crushed tomatoes or whole plum tomatoes 400g tins
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp oregano
- 2 tsp chopped fresh basil or half the amount dried basil
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 garlic clove crushed
- 25 g parmesan cheese freshly grated
Stuffing
- 125 g fresh spinach
- 250 g mozzarella cheese grated
Instructions
Dough
- Dissolve sugar and yeast in water. Set aside.
- Mix flour and salt in a large 4 to 5-litre mixing bowl. Make a well in the flour; add the yeast mixture and vegetable oil. Mix and knead thoroughly until a rough mass of dough forms. Knead on a floured work surface for 5-6 minutes until smooth. Dust with flour if sticky. Place in a floured bowl, cover with cling film and a towel, and let rise in a warm place for 1-1½ hours.
- Punch down the dough; turn it out onto a work surface and knead for about 1 minute. Divide the dough into two pieces – 1 slightly larger. Roll out the larger piece (this will be the bottom layer of dough) until it is about 7.5 cm larger than the pan and 3 mm thick. Oil the bottom and sides of the pan. Place the dough in the pan; push it into the bottom and sides. The dough should overlap the pan by about 2.5 cm. Trim off the excess overlap with a knife. Set the pan aside. Roll out the second piece of dough until it is about the same size as the pan.
Sauce
- If using whole plum tomatoes, drain and crush with hands, then add the remaining ingredients (do not cook).
Stuffing
- Wash and dry spinach, remove stems, and chop leaves finely. In a 2 to 3-litre bowl, combine spinach and mozzarella.
Assembly and baking
- Preheat the oven to 240°C. Put the spinach and cheese mixture into the pan. Lay the second piece of dough over the spinach-cheese mixture. Crimp the 2 edges of dough together with your fingers to form a thick border. Press down on the filling with your hand. Cut a 2.5 cm slit in the centre of the top crust to allow steam to escape.
- Spread tomato mixture evenly over the crust.
- Bake on the lowest rack for 10 minutes, then move to a higher rack for 25-30 minutes, until lightly browned.
Notes
Variations:
- Substitute 450g blanched (3-4 minutes) chopped broccoli for spinach.
- Leave out spinach and add 450g Italian sausage (casing removed, cooked, and drained) to the cheese.
- Instead of sausage, use chopped salami, cubed ham, or chopped mortadella.