Chicago Deep-Dish Pizza

Ingredients

2 teaspoons sugar
1 package dry yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)
1 cup warm water (100° to 110°)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
12.38 ounces all-purpose flour (about 2 3/4 cups), divided
1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon salt
Cooking spray
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
2 precooked mild Italian chicken sausages (about 6 ounces), casings removed, chopped
1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes, drained
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh basil
2 cups thinly sliced mushrooms (about 6 ounces)
3/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
3/4 cup chopped red bell pepper

Method:

To make Chicago deep dish pizza, dissolve sugar and yeast in warm water in a large bowl. Let it stand for 5 minutes. Mix in olive oil.
Mix together 2 ½ cups flour, cornmeal and salt in a bowl. Combine yeast mixture into flour mixture until it forms a dough. Lightly flour a surface and transfer dough to it. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. Add remaining flour gradually (1tbsp at a time) to prevent the famous Chicago deep dish pizza dough from sticking to hands.
Put the dough in a bowl coated with cooking spray. Cover the bowl and leave the Chicago deep-dish pizza dough to rise in a warm place (85) free from any air flow. Keep the dough for 45 minutes or until the dough doubles in size. Check by pressing the dough with two fingers if the indentation stays it means the dough has risen enough. Kneed the dough again to reduce the volume. Cover and leave aside for 5 minutes. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface. Roll out the dough to a 11×15 inch rectangle.
Spray a 13×9 inch baking dish with cooking oil. Transfer the dough to the prepared baking dish pressing it up the sides of dish. Top with 1 ½ cups cheese evenly over dough. Spread chopped sausage evenly over cheese.
Set the oven temperature at 400.
Cut the tomatoes and mix in oregano and basil. Put the tomatoes in a sieve and let the mixture drain for 10 minutes.
Spray a large non stick skillet. Place over medium heat. Cook mushrooms in this pan for 5 minutes. Stir occasionally. Put in bell peppers, cook until tender. It may take about 8 minutes. Stir occasionally. Assemble vegetables over the sausages. Spread the remaining ½ cup cheese evenly at the top. Bake for 25 minutes at 400. When the cheese starts bubbling and crust browns take out the Chicago deep dish pizza. Let it cool for 5 minutes before cutting.