Crave Wednesday: Pepperoni Deep Dish Pizza

Do you remember school lunches?  Did you have a favorite?  In Jr. High my favorite was potato bar day, with a baked potato, and then a bar filled with cheese, bacon, broccoli, cauliflower, sour cream, chives, and butter.  I had health/gym at the farthest end of the school from the cafeteria and my teacher used to let us out a minute or two early before lunch so we could get to the cafeteria and beat the crowds.

But when I was in Elementary school, the number 1 school lunch was pizza day.  There's something about cafeteria pizza.  I mean, it doesn't even really taste like pizza.  Not the pizza your family would order in for dinner, or the pizza you and your friends would eat at the roller rink.  School pizza was it's very own entity. 

After one bite of this pizza both Thatboy and I declared that it tasted exactly like school pizza.  Which for him, wasn't a great thing.  But for me, it brought back all those memories of sitting around the table with friends, talking about the dumb boys in our class, or the crazy teacher we had.  That feeling of no responsibility.  Who knew there could be so many memories packed into a slice of pizza?

Pepperoni Deep Dish Pizza  (From Cooking Light)

 1 cup warm water

12 oz bread flour

1 pkg dry yeast

4 tsp olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

cooking spray

2 Tbsp olive oil

5 minced garlic cloves

1 can San Marzano tomatoes

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1 1/2 oz pepperoni slices

2 Tbsp grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

1. Pour 3/4 cup warm water in the bowl of a stand mixer with dough hook attached.  
2. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife.
3. Add flour to 3/4 cup war water; mix until combined.  Cover and let stand 20 minutes.
4. Combine 1/4 cup warm water and yeast in a small bowl; let stand 5 minutes or until bubbly.
5. Add yeast mixture, oil, and salt to flour mixture; mix 5 minutes or until a soft dough forms.  Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray.  Cover surface of dough with plastic wrap lightly coated with cooking spray.  Refrigerate 24 hours.
6. Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
7. Add garlic and cook 1 minute, stirring frequently.
8. Remove dough from refrigerator.  Let stand, covered, 1 hour or until dough comes to room temperature.
9. Crush tomatoes and add them with the juice, salt, and oregano to the garlic. Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes.
10. Punch dough down.  Roll dough into a 14x11 inch rectangle on a lightly floured surface.  Press dough into the bottom and partially up sides of a 13x9 inch metal baking pan coated with cooking spray. 
11. Preheat oven to 450.   Arrange 1/2 cup mozzarella over dough.
12. Top with pizza sauce, pepperoni, parmigiano-reggiano, and 1/2 cup mozzarella.  Bake for 25 minutes.  Cut into 6 rectangles and serve.