Homemade Pizza: Deep Dish (Pizza Hut copycat)

Next up in the homemade pizza is a recipe for deep dish pizza. I've been making this pizza for several years and found it originally from The Frugal Girl. The first few times were a little tedious because there are several steps to get this pizza on the table. This is also the perfect recipe for cold nights because you need really hot oven, which warms everything nicely since the sun is going down so early!

This recipe makes two 9-inch deep dish pizzas baked in cake pans! The secret ingredient is potatoes and I've also made them with a cup of white whole wheat flour subbed in for all-purpose. It makes a beautifully dense crust and browns up really well.

Deep Dish Pizza (via The Frugal Girl)

1 medium baking potato (about 9 ounces), peeled and quartered
1 1/2 t. active dry yeast
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup warm water

2 T. vegetable oil, plus 2 additional for each pan

1 3/4 t. table salt

Cook the potato, allow to cool, then grate, measuring 1 cup (lightly packed). You can also cook a large batch of potatoes and freeze them to use in this recipe! 

In your mixing bowl, add 3 cups of flour, yeast, and salt. While mixer is running, add water and 2 T. oil and mix for one minute. Then add the potato, mixing for an additional 2-3 minutes. Add in remaining flour slowly. You don't have to use it all, just until the dough is no longer very sticky. 

Turn dough out on to a lightly floured surface and kneed until the dough is smooth but still springy (usually only a minute or so for me). Return the dough to the mixing bowl, covered with a wet towel, and allow to rise for about an hour.

After the dough has risen, punch it down and place on a lightly floured surface. Divide in two and roll each into about a 9-inch round. Place dough into oiled pans (2 T. of oil per pan). You can manipulate the dough some to push it up the sides of the pans (see photo). Let rest for about 30 minutes. Fifteen minutes into this time I set my oven at 425 to preheat with the pizza stone inside.

Using a fork, prick all over the dough to allow the air to escape. I go right up to the edge which helps make a more defined and puffy crust. Put the pans in the oven on the pizza stone and bake for about 10 minutes.

Remove the pans with the semi-baked crusts from the oven and add sauce and toppings. These pizzas can handle a good bit of sauce since the crust is so substantial. Bake for an additional 10 minutes, until brown and crispy. I use a plastic knife to loosen each pizza so that it slides right out onto the cutting board for easy slicing.

This is one of our favorite pizza recipes! Enjoy!