Individual Deep Dish Pizzas

These individual deep dish pizzas, with peppers and sausage, are a delicious take on Chicago-style pizza. 

 

These mini deep dish pizzas are a fun way to recreate the flavors of Chicago-style pizza. First, there is a crispy crust that is slightly sweet. It's easy to make, and is ready to shape in two hours. 

Next, there is lots of cheese. Lots and lots of cheese. Three kinds of cheese. With deep dish pizza, the cheese goes directly on top of the shaped crust and the sauce goes over the cheese, kind of like an inside out pizza. 

The crust is crunchy and holds up well to all of the cheese and sauce. 

For this recipe, I topped the cheese with caramelized bell peppers and Italian sausage. You can substitute pepperoni, bacon, prosciutto, meatballs, or pancetta for the meat, and caramelized onions for the peppers. 

Feel free to get creative with the fillings! 

For the sauce, I used jarred pizza sauce. If you want to be totally authentic, use canned tomatoes that you drain, crush with your hands along with some garlic and sugar, and spread over the cheese. Because these pizzas are smaller with a shorter baking time, I decided to use already cooked pizza sauce. 

Typical Chicago-style pizza is definitely best eaten with a knife and fork. With these individual-sized pizzas, you can actually pick up the slices and eat them with your hands if you prefer. 

I made these pizzas in four 7-inch deep dish pizza pans. While the pans I used are no longer available, I've just discovered the Chicago Metalic ones with perforated bottoms. You could also use 6 inch to 7 inch individual cake pans. 

If you'd like to convert this recipe into one large deep dish pizza, multiply the ingredients by 1.5 and use a 14 inch deep dish pizza pan. 

Tips for making individual deep dish pizzas:

Be patient with the dough as you line the individual pans. If it seems like it won't stretch as much as you'd like it to, let it rest a bit and then continue to stretch the dough. 

Don't worry if the dough doesn't come all of the way up to the top of the pan. As you bake the pizzas, the crust will continue rise. 

Be sure to let the baked pizzas rest for five minutes before slicing. I know, that's not easy. 

I'm huge pizza fan. I could eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Seriously. Some of my favorites include:

• Barbecue chicken pizza
• Prosciutto and fennel pizza
• Grilled zucchini pizza
• Cheesy pan pizza
• Potato and leek pizza

Just add "pizza" in the search box to find even more amazing pies. I just counted, and I have over 25 pizza recipes. 

You can never have too much pizza. P.S. Happy National Pizza Day! 

This month, the Bread Bakers are baking all kinds of pizzas. I'm so excited to check out everyone's take on pizza. 

• Aglio e Olio Pizza from The Wimpy Vegetarian
• Barley Flour Vegetarian Pizza from Cook with Renu
• Breakfast Biscuit Pizza from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Deep Dish Hawaiian Pizza from Making Miracles
• Dessert Apple Pizza from Magical Ingredients
• Grilled Fruit Pizza from A Messy Kitchen
• Jerk Chicken Sausage Pizza from Passion Kneaded
• Langallo (Hungarian Pizza) from Palatable Pastime
• No-Knead Thin Crust Margherita Pizza from Sneha's Recipe
• Pizza Empenadas from Ambrosia
• Quattro Stagioni Sourdough Pizza from Food Lust People Love
• Sourdough Pizza from Zesty South Indian Kitchen
• Valentine's Hearts from Culinary Adventures with Camilla

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our lovely bread by following our Pinterest board right here. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

Be sure to pin this recipe to save for later. 

Individual Deep Dish Sausage and Pepper Pizzas

Yield: 4 to 8 servings

Author: Karen's Kitchen Stories

These individual deep dish pizzas, with peppers and sausage, are a delicious take on Chicago-style pizza.

Ingredients

For the Dough

• 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
• 3/4 cup warm water (105 to 110 degrees F)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 390 grams (2 1/2 cups) all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt

For the Topping

• 3  1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large red bell pepper, thinly sliced, seed removed
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 250 grams (1/2 pound) bulk Italian sausage
• 4 1-ounce slices provolone cheese
• 250 grams (1/2 pound) low moisture full fat mozzarella cheese, grated
• 30 grams (1/4 cup) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 cups pizza sauce

Instructions

To Make the Dough

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the dough ingredients and knead with the dough hook for 5 minutes. The final dough should be smooth. I added a bit more water to adjust for the dry weather. 
2. Divide the dough into four equal pieces and form each into a ball. Cover the balls loosely with oiled plastic wrap and let rise for 2 hours at room temperature. 

To Prepare the Pizzas

1. In a skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Add the peppers and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, until the caramelized.
2. Transfer the peppers to a bowl.
3. In the same pan, cook the sausage over medium heat, breaking it up into 1 inch pieces, until fully cooked. Transfer to a bowl.
4. Heat your oven to 450 degrees F. 
5. Oil four 6 to 7 inch pans with the rest of the olive oil (about 2 teaspoons per pan). Place the dough balls in each pan and press the dough so that it forms an even layer across the bottom and up the sides. 
6. Place one slice of provolone cheese in each pan on top of the dough. Top with the evenly divided mozzarella, Parmesan, sausage, and peppers. 
7. Spread each pizza with 1/2 cup of sauce. 
8. Bake the pizzas for 30 to 35 minutes, until the crusts are golden brown. 
9. Remove the pizzas from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes before serving. 

https://www.karenskitchenstories.com/2021/02/individual-deep-dish-pizzas.html

Karen's Kitchen Stories

pizza

Main dish

Chicago

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