Deep Dish Pizza

This pizza is big, packed full of toppings and incredibly delicious. It makes a fabulous meal to share and is equally tasty cold. It requires surprisingly little effort and is a great thing to cook on a lazy weekend. There are a couple of key things that you must know before embarking on the recipe. Firstly, it is key to get a 10-inch wide, 1.5-inch high tart tin with a removable base. This will give the pizza the structure you want. Secondly it’s very important to cook the tomato sauce nice and slow, as it will stop it being bitter and reduce it to the required thickness.

Prep

  1. Add the sugar and yeast to the warm water. Give it a quick stir and leave, covered with a tea towel, in a warm place for 5 minutes. This should activate the yeast and get the process started.
  2. Meanwhile, sift the flour and salt into a large bowl. Once the yeast is ready (it should be frothy) add the liquid and oil to the flour. Work to a soft dough using your hand. Add more water if dry, or flour if sticky.
  3. Chuck onto a floured flat surface. Knead for 10 minutes until soft and elastic. Got a machine with a dough hook? Knead for 8 minutes. The finished result should feel smooth to the touch and not too sticky.
  4. Round the dough into a ball and place into a lightly oiled large bowl. Cover with a tea towel. Leave to double in size in a warm place. It will take around 1 hour but check regularly.
  5. While the dough is rising, start with the sauce. In a heavy bottomed sauce pan add 1tpsn of olive oil. Place the pan onto a gentle heat and add the crushed garlic. Sweat very gently, avoiding coloring the garlic. After a couple of minutes add the chopped tomatoes, oregano, 1 tspn of sugar, a large pinch of salt and some black pepper. Cook gently, uncovered, until it’s required for use (about 40 minutes).
  6. Preheat your oven to 200c fan/220c conventional. Prepare your tart tin by lightly oiling it. It’s also good to get your other toppings ready to go, before the dough is ready.
  7. Now the dough has doubled in size, remove from the bowl and place onto a large floured board/ surface. Knead again for 2 minutes. Now form the dough into a ball and begin to press it to form a larger, flatter circle. You can use your hands or a rolling pin until you get to a size where the dough is around a cm thick and will cover the tart tin base and sides.
  8. It’s time to put the fillings in. Start by spreading the sauce onto the base evenly. Then add the ham hock and mushrooms, followed by the slices of mozzarella.

Cook

  1. Place the pizza into the oven for 20-25 minutes or until the dough is cooked through. The dough should have slightly come away from the tin. Check regularly to make sure the crust isn’t getting too dark – should this be happening then place some baking paper or foil loosely over the top.
  2. While you are waiting for the pizza to cook, quickly make the drizzle by combining the mustard and honey – add more of either to taste.

Plate

  1. Once the pizza has cooked, remove and place on to a cake stand. Leave to settle for a couple of minutes. Run a knife round the edge of the tin to make sure it is loose. Sit the tin on a narrow bowl and the edge of the tin should come off with some gentle encouragement. Ease the pizza off the base using a spatula and place onto a board. Drizzle with the mustard honey sauce and serve! This is a knife and fork job.

Useful Cooking Information

Weight

Metric Imperial
10 g½ oz
20 g¾ oz
25 g1 oz
50 g2 oz
75 g3 oz
110 g4 oz
150 g5 oz
175 g6 oz
200 g7 oz
225 g8 oz
250 g9 oz
275 g10 oz
350 g12 oz
450 g1 lb
500 g (½ kg)18 oz
700 g1½ lb
900 g2 lb
1 kg2¼ lb
1.3 kg3 lb
1.8 kg4 lb
2.2 kg5 lb

Volume

Metric Imperial
50 ml2 fl oz
75 ml3 fl oz
100 ml3½ fl oz
125 ml4 fl oz
150 ml5 fl oz¼ pint
200 ml7 fl oz
250 ml9 fl oz
300 ml10 fl oz½ pint
425 ml15 fl oz¾ pint
600 ml20 fl oz1 pint
800 ml1½ pint
1 l1¾ pints
1.2 l2 pints
1.5 l2½ pints
1.8 l3 pints
2 l3½ pints

Measurements

Metric Imperial
5 mm¼ inch
1 cm½ inch
2 cm¾ inch
2.5 cm1 inch
3 cm1¼ inches
4 cm1½ inches
5 cm2 inches
10 cm3 inches
15 cm4 inches
20.5 cm6 inches
23 cm9 inches
25 cm10 inches
30 cm12 inches

Spoon measures - mean level measures unless the recipe says 'heaped'

Eggs - are always large for baking, unless recipe says otherwise


Oven Temperatures

Gas °F °C
Mark 1275140
2300150
3325170
4350180
5375190
6400200
7425220
8450230
9475240

Fan assisted ovens - remember to reduce temperatures by 20°C

Most Useful US/European Conversions

ButterUS 1 cup / 2 sticks8 oz220 g
SugarUS 1 cup6 oz175 g
FlourUS 1 cup4 oz110 g
LiquidUS 1 cup8 fl oz225 ml
Prepped OnionsUS 1 cup4 oz110 g
Cheese, GratedUS 1 cup4 oz110 g
Diced FruitUS 1 cup5 oz150 g
Fresh BreadcrumbsUS 1 cup2 oz55 g

You May Also Like...