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Make fluffy, homemade pizza dough in under 20 minutes! It’s fresh, with a few simple ingredients, and you’ll get to enjoy the proud moment of creating a deep dish pizza recipe completely from scratch!
What is Deep Dish Pizza?
A deep dish pizza is a pizza that’s baked in a deep-dish pizza pan! Why? Because the dough fluffs up around the center, leaving the pizza deep in the middle. This way your pizza lays beautifully on a thick layer of delicious homemade pizza crust.
It’s a must try for all pizza lovers! Make the best deep dish pizza from the comfort of your home using simple household ingredients.
This homemade pizza dough is fluffy, soft on the inside but crunchy out and chewy. The perfect dough to use for a deep dish pizza. You can use a cake pan like I did or even a cast iron pan!
Important Ingredients Needed
- All-purpose flour: You can also use bread flour.
- Yeast: Be sure to use INSTANT yeast for this. I always use Fleischmann’s RapidRise Yeast.
- Sugar: Helps the yeast activate.
- Water: very warm water
- Olive Oil: For moisture in the dough
How to make deep dish pizza
- Mix the flour, yeast, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Heat the water to between 120-130° and add it along with the oil to the dry ingredients.
- Stir the dough until you can’t stir anymore – this is called a shaggy dough.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead it until the dough forms a ball – it will spring back when touched with two fingers. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes.
- Press the dough into a 9-inch round cake pan that’s been greased with oil or nonstick cooking spray.
- Sauce: Top the dough with sauce to your liking. I used tomato sauce on this pizza but we love using pesto too!
- Add toppings: Then add cheese and toppings. Use ANY toppings you like! We love making 2 pizzas, one for us and one for our picky daughter.
- Bake: The key to a crunchy crust – no matter the pizza – is baking at a high temperature. This deep pan pizza is baked at 425° until it’s cooked through and golden brown, about 20 minutes.
Expert Tips
- For that perfect crunchy crust, you will want to bake at a high temperature. This will give your deep dish pizza that almost flaky crust you will love! This pizza is baked at 425° until it’s cooked through and golden brown, for about 20 minutes.
- You can also make this in the bowl of a stand mixer – it will knead the dough for you.
FAQs
Since we’re making the pizza in a pan, the dough will rise up around the center and the cheese with any other ingredients will weigh down the middle from rising.
Yes, you can. It makes the process quicker and easier on your hands.
You can! When you finish making your pizza dough, place it in a plastic bag and seal it well in the freezer.
Store your deep dish pizza in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
For a fresh pizza feel, pop your deep dish in the oven for just a few minutes.
Deep Dish Pizza Recipe
Ingredients
CRUST:
- 1 ¾ to 2 ¼ cups (217-279g) all-purpose flour
- 1 package Fleischmann's® RapidRise Yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
- 1 ½ teaspoons sugar
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ⅔ cup (158ml) very warm water (120° to 130°F)
- 3 tablespoons (45ml) olive oil
TOPPINGS
- ½ to 1 cup pizza sauce
- Other toppings as desired
- 1 to 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- Combine 1 cup flour, undissolved yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl.
- Place water in a measuring cup or bowl that is microwave safe. Heat until it reaches 120-130°F (it’s easiest to test this with an instant read thermometer). Add the oil to the water mixture.
- Add water mixture to flour and mix until well blended, about 1 minute. Gradually add enough remaining flour to make a soft dough. Dough should form a ball and will be slightly sticky.
- Knead on a floured surface, adding additional flour if necessary, until smooth and elastic, about 4 minutes. Let dough rest for 10 minutes.
- Grease a 9-inch round cake pan with nonstick cooking spray. Press your pizza dough into the prepared pan.
- Spread with pizza sauce. Top with desired toppings and sprinkle with cheese.
- Bake on lowest oven rack for about 20 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly and crust is browned.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
- If you don’t have a 9-inch round cake pan you can also use a 9-inch square pan, 9×13-inch pan or make this a traditional pizza.
- Be sure to use INSTANT yeast NOT active dry.
Recipe Nutrition
This post was originally sponsored by Fleischmann’s Yeast (the only yeast I still use) in 2020.
Other Favorite Pizza Recipes
- Ultimate Pizza Dough (Regular, Whole Wheat, GF)
- Mushroom Sausage Pesto Pizza
- Hawaiian Pizza
- French Bread Pizza
Easy homemade Deep Dish Pizza! Learn how to make a simple homemade pizza dough and turn it into a deep dish pizza – this is our favorite way to make pizza!
Last Updated on December 28, 2023
I am trying this recipe for dinner tonight. Does the recipe change if I use bread flour?
That should work just fine!
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