Tavern-style pizza
Chicago is famous for its deep-dish style but this giant sharing bar pizza is also a firm favourite in the city
- 350g strong white bread flour
- 1 tsp caster sugar
- 1 tsp fast-action dried yeast
- 4-6 tbsp pasta sauce (we used Mutti tomato pasta sauce with chilli)
- 50g parmesan finely grated
- 90g pepperoni
- 100g Italian-style sausage or any herby garlicky sausage skins removed
- ½ tsp fennel seeds crushed
- pinch of chilli flakes (optional)
- 4 tbsp giardiniera (pickled vegetables) drained and chopped
- 250g block of mozzarella sliced
- Mix the flour, sugar, yeast and 1 tsp of salt in a bowl. Add 250ml of water and mix to a rough dough, then knead briefly until it forms a fairly smooth dough. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and leave for 2 hrs until doubled in size (or leave to slow rise in the fridge overnight).
- Divide the dough in half, knead briefly, then roll each into a ball. Use a rolling pin to stretch each into a large circle on a large piece of baking paper until 1cm thick. Chill the bases for 1 hr, uncovered, or until you are ready to cook.
- Heat a large baking sheet in a 240C/220C fan/gas 7 oven for 15 mins. Take the bases out of the fridge and invert each onto a new sheet of baking paper so the dried out base is now on the bottom.
- Spread a thin layer of tomato sauce over the bases, going all the way to the edges. Sprinkle over half the parmesan then top one pizza with the pepperoni and the other with little pieces of sausage. Sprinkle the sausage pizza with the fennel seeds and a pinch of chilli flakes, if you like.
- Divide the giardiniera between the bases then top with the mozzarella and the remaining parmesan.
- Slide one pizza on its paper onto the hot baking sheet. Cook for 10-12 mins or until the base is crisp and the top is bubbling and golden. Slide onto a board and cut into squares. Repeat with the second pizza.
- 350g strong white bread flour - 4-6 tbsp pasta sauce (we used Mutti tomato pasta sauce with chilli) - 50g parmesanfinely grated
- 100g Italian-style sausage or any herby garlicky sausageskins removed - ½ tsp fennel seedscrushed - pinch of chilli flakes (optional)
- 4 tbsp giardiniera (pickled vegetables)drained and chopped - 250g block of mozzarellasliced
- step 1Mix the flour, sugar, yeast and 1 tsp of salt in a bowl. Add 250ml of water and mix to a rough dough, then knead briefly until it forms a fairly smooth dough.
Cover the bowl with a tea towel and leave for 2 hrs until doubled in size (or leave to slow rise in the fridge overnight). - step 2Divide the dough in half, knead briefly, then roll each into a ball.
Use a rolling pin to stretch each into a large circle on a large piece of baking paper until 1cm thick. Chill the bases for 1 hr, uncovered, or until you are ready to cook.
- step 3Heat a large baking sheet in a 240C/220C fan/gas 7 oven for 15 mins. Take the bases out of the fridge and invert each onto a new sheet of baking paper so the dried out base is now on the bottom.
- step 4Spread a thin layer of tomato sauce over the bases, going all the way to the edges. Sprinkle over half the parmesan then top one pizza with the pepperoni and the other with little pieces of sausage.
Sprinkle the sausage pizza with the fennel seeds and a pinch of chilli flakes, if you like. - step 5Divide the giardiniera between the bases then top with the mozzarella and the remaining parmesan.
- step 6Slide one pizza on its paper onto the hot baking sheet. Cook for 10-12 mins or until the base is crisp and the top is bubbling and golden.
Slide onto a board and cut into squares. Repeat with the second pizza.
