Chicago Thin Crust Pizza

Is it just me or did anyone else out there think that Chicago Style pizza was always a deep dish pizza?   When I hear Chicago Style Pizza I have a vision of a thick bubbly crust baked in a deep cast iron pan with spicy sauce and a blanketing layer of cheese.  It never even occurred to me that there might be a thin crust version of the classic Chicago Style Pizza.  And to be honest with you - I'm not sure what characteristics classify this particular recipe as a Chicago Style pizza and distinguish it from other thin crust pizzas but I'm sooo not complaining. 

I'm not here to question the authenticity of this recipe - I'm really only interested in taste testing it.  And I can tell you that it passed the test with flying colors.  This was a really yummy, thin crust pizza.  

We love, love, loved the sausage topping on this pizza pie but since the recipe makes 2 pizzas, you could always switch up the second pizza with another topping.  I cooked mine on the Big Green Egg and it took less than 15 minutes to get the cheese nicely browned and bubbly.  The crust didn't really brown very much but I think that was more related to the pizza stone that I used and not necessarily recipe related.  

Chicago Thin Crust Pizza
Pizza
2 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons yeast
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons cold water
​2 Tablespoons olive oil
12 ounces sweet Italian sausage, cooked
3 cups mozzarella cheese
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

Sauce
8 ounce can tomato sauce
1 Tablespoon tomato paste
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
​

Combine flour, yeast and salt in food processor. 

With processor running, add water and process until dough forms a ball. 

Place in a greased bowl, cover and let rise 2 hours. 

Whisk together sauce ingredients. 

Divide dough in half and flatten each into a 12" circle. 

Place dough on heated pizza stone and cook 2-3 minutes. 

Remove from stone.  Add sauce, cheese, sausage and 1/4 t. oregano. 

Return to oven or grill and cook until cheese is browned and bubbly.

Cool pizza 5 minutes before slicing.  

Slice.

What's more fun that homemade pizza night?  Making pizza together is such a fun family activity - even if we ARE running into each other in the kitchen.  

Ciao!

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