Chicago-Style Deep Dish Pizza

What better way to celebrate Pi Day than with a Deep Dish Pizza Pie!

I was feeling a tad homesick and so I decided to make myself a Chicago-Style Deep Dish Pizza.  I found a great recipe over at Girl Versus Dough and then went to town adding my own flair and customizing the recipe to include my favorite pizza toppings.  I went with a whole wheat crust, yummy tomato sauce, a mix of low-fat provolone and low-fat mozzarella cheese, and spinach, mushrooms, and onions as my toppings.  Holy cow this was a good looking pie and it was even better to eat!  I had tons of leftovers that I continued to enjoy throughout the week.  I love that this recipe had a healthy whole wheat crust, ensured that I got enough veggies, and left me feeling full all through the school day!  It wasn't too difficult to make and it was a fun project.  Plus, I just love using my cast iron skillet, its a great pan.

Pi day is pretty much the second most exciting day for me, after my birthday.  It brings together food and math!  That is what I am all about!  Today at school, we have a Pi Day party planned where students can bring in any kind of circular treat.  We are going to do a little warm up where we find the ratio of diameter to circumference of a few different circles   Guess what?  They all equal Pi!  So cool!  Then, I have a great Pi Day Math Rap to listen to as we chow down on our circular desserts.  I, of course, baked for my classes.  I made EIGHT pies.  Two for each of my classes.  There are four chocolate chip cookie pies and four oreo cream pies.  Don't worry, recipes will all show up here.

Without further ado, here is the recipe for my Chicago-Style Deep Dish Pizza Pi.  Happy Pi Day!

Chicago-Style Deep Dish Pizza

Ingredients:
For the crust:
4 cups white whole wheat flour
3 tbsp corn meal
3 1/2 tsp active dried yeast
1 3/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
2 tbsp canola oil
1 cup plus 4 tbsp lukewarm water
For the pizza:
28 oz can diced tomates, drained
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups sautéed vegetables (I used spinach, mushrooms, and sliced onions)
8 oz sliced low-fat provolone cheese
6 oz sliced low-fat mozzarella cheese
1 cup grated parmesan
olive oil

Directions:
1. Make the dough, mix together the dry ingredients and then stir in the rest of the ingredients.  Knead dough for 8-10 minutes, roll into a ball, and let rest for 1 - 1 1/2 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 425.  Coat 12 inch cast iron pan with olive oil.  Once dough has rested, punch down dough and place in pan.  Press dough into the bottom and up the sides of the pan.  Bake for 10 minutes.
3.  Prepare the filling: in a large bowl, mix tomatoes with sugar, italian seasoning, salt and pepper.  In a separate pan, heat about a tbsp of olive oil with the garlic.  Saute vegetables in the garlic and olive oil until cooked.
4.  Place sliced cheese on the bottom of your slightly cooked crust.  Spread tomato mixture over the cheese.  Place vegetables on top of the tomato layer.  Sprinkle parmesan cheese over the top and drizzle with olive oil.
5.  Bake for 25 minutes.  Let rest for 5 minutes.  Slice!

Enjoy :)