Meat and Veggie Lover's Deep-Dish Pizza

By chelyc13

Ingredients

• For Semolina Pizza Dough:
• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 1 1/4 oz package active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 cup olive oil, plus more for the bowl
• 1/2 cup semolina flour
• 3 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour, plus more for dusting the work surface and your hands
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• FOR PIZZA:
• 1/4 cup plus 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1 sprig fresh thyme
• 1 sprig fresh oregano, plus 1/4 cup chopped fresh leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon feshly ground black pepper
• 1 28oz can whole tomatoes, coarsely crushed, with juice
• 1 tablespoon dry red wine
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 15oz can tomato puree
• 1 lb fresh hot italian sausage, removed from casings and crumbled
• 8 oz mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
• All purpose flour
• 1 lb good quality low moisture or part skim mozzarella cheese, grated (about 4 cups)
• 8 oz pepperoni, sliced
• 1 green bell pepper, cut into thin strips
• 1/2 cup sliced pitted kalamata or other favorite olives
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
• 1 lb fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/4 inch thick slices
• 4 oz parmigiano-reggiano cheese, finely grated

Details

Servings 2

Preparation

Step 1

PREPARE PIZZA DOUGH:

1. Combine the water with the yeast and sugar in the bowl of a standing electric mixer with the dough hook attached. Let it sit until the mixture begins to foam, about 5 minutes. Add the olive oil, semolina flour, all purpose flour, and salt and mix on medium speed for 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth, scraping the dough hook midway. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead it with floured hands two to three times, then shape the dough into a ball. Oil a large mixing bolw, add the dough, and cover with plastic wrap. Set the dough aside in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 2 hours. Punch down the dough and allow it to rise a second time until nearly doubled in size, about1 hour. Divide the dough in half; knead each portion into a ball, and use as directed.

MAKE AND ASSEMBLE PIZZA:

2. While the dough is rising, make the tomato sauce: heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over meidum high heat. Add the onion, garlic, fennel seeds, thyme, oregano sprig, salt, black pepper, and crushed red pepper and cook, stirring constantly, until the onion is soft, about 2 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes, wine, and sugar and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 30 minutes. Stir in the tomato puree, remove from the heat, and allow the sacue to cool completely before using. Remove the herb sprigs.

3. Add 2 teaspoons of the remaining olive oil to a medium skillet over medium heat. When hot, add the sausage and cook until nicely browned and the fat is rendered, about 6 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the sausage from the pan and set aside. Discard all but 1 tablespoon of the fat in the pan. Add the mushrooms to the pan and saute for 3 minutes to release some of ht eliquid. Remove the mushrooms from the pan and set aside.

4. Set the oven racks as low in the oven as possible and line wiht baking sheets. Preheat the oven to 475.

5. Oil two 10 inch round cake pans or deep dish pizza pans with the remaining 2 talbepsoons olive oil. Roll out the dough into two 14 inch circles with a floured rolling pin on a lightly floured work surface and place the dough inside the pan, allowing about 2inches of the dough to fall over the sides of the pans. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes.

6. Sprinkle the grated mozzarella cheese all over the bottom of the pies. Top each pie with half of the pepperoni, mushrooms, bell pepper, olives, and sausage. Lade the sauce evenly over each pizza and top with the chopped oregano, basil, mozzarella slices, and parmesan. Trim excess dough if needed, then fold an dpinch it decoratively around the rim.

7. Set the pizzas on the baking sheets and bake until the cheese is golden and bubbly and the crust is nicely browned, about 25 minutes. You may need to tent the edges of the crust with foil for the last 5 minutes of baking. Remove from the oven and allow the pizzas to rest for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing. serve hot, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil if desired.