We’re celebrating National Pizza Day with arguably the BEST pizza on the planet. Hey, I said arguably. 😉 All pizza is welcome on pizza day but today we’re featuring this deep dish classic. Feel free to mix up those toppings. I’m a fan of mushroom, cherry peppers, and sausage but you do you. No matter what you decide to top your pizza with, this recipe highlights the insanely buttery crust and thick tomato sauce that make this pizza so popular. Perfect for National Pizza Day or just a family movie night at home. ENJOY!

Instructions

Step 1

• For the crust: Combine the flour, cornmeal, salt, sugar, and yeast in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. Add the warm water and 1/4 cup of melted butter. The warm water should be around 90°F, not too hot. 
• On low speed, beat the dough until it is soft and starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl and falls off of the dough hook- about 4-5 minutes. If the dough is too soft, beat in 1 Tablespoon of flour at a time until the right texture is reached.
• Remove the ball of dough from the bowl. Lightly grease a large mixing bowl with olive oil and place the dough inside, turning to coat. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm environment for 1-2 hours or until double in size. 
• Once the dough is ready, lightly flour a large work surface. Remove dough from the bowl, set the bowl aside (to use later). Gently punch down the dough to remove any air bubbles and roll the dough into a large 15×12 inch rectangle. Take your 1/4 cup (half stick) or frozen butter and grate it up. Spread the grated butter on top of the rectangle of dough. Roll it up lengthwise. Cut the dough log in half. Form the two pieces of dough into balls, pinching the ends to keep the butter locked inside. And place back into your greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap again and allow to rise in the refrigerator for 1 hour while you make the sauce.

Step 2

• For the sauce: Place the 2 tablespoons butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the grated onion, salt, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Once the onion has slightly browned after about 5 minutes, add the garlic. Stir together for 2 minutes as the garlic darkens slightly in color (but does not burn). Then add crushed tomatoes and sugar. Turn the heat down to low and allow it to simmer covered until it’s hearty, fragrant, and thick- about 30 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside until ready to be used.
• Preheat your oven to 425°F

Step 3

• Assemble the pizzas: After the dough balls have risen in the refrigerator, they should be slightly puffy. Roll each ball of dough out on a lightly floured work surface, working it into a 12-inch circle. Using your rolling pin as a guide, place over a 9×2 inch deep dish cake pan OR a 9-in springform pan (typically used for cheesecakes). Using your fingers, press the dough into the cake pan. Fold over any excess dough along the edge as your crust. You will need two pans, one for each ball of dough that has been rolled out.
• Brush the top edges of the dough with a little olive oil. I like to sprinkle a little garlic powder and Italian seasoning over the crust edges as well.
• Fill each pizza with 1/2 of the cheese (about 2 cups per pizza), then your toppings (pepperoni, mushrooms, whatever).
• On top of those optional toppings is the sauce. Pour about 1 and 1/4 cups of sauce on top of each. If you do not like that much sauce, use less! Sprinkle each pizza with 1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese. If a little gets on the crust edges, no one will be mad about it
• So it goes: crust, cheese, toppings, and finally sauce on top. A little different than traditional style pizza.  

Step 4

• Place the cake pans on top of a large baking sheet, which will catch any drips. Bake for 25-28 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.
• Remove the pizzas from the oven and allow to cool in the pans placed on a wire rack for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, carefully remove the pizza with a spatula, slice, serve, and enjoy. 

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