Deep Dish Chicago-Style Sausage and Mushroom Pizza

I am a total Chicagoan when it comes to pizza~ the deeper the better! I was raised on Malnati's and Gino's, so since I moved out of state it's been hard to find anything that compares. I finally decided to give it a shot myself and below is the result. My pizza most closely resembles Lou Malnati's, with a layer of hot sausage on the bottom topped with mushrooms, three cheeses and a homemade garlic marinara. This is my husband's absolute favorite dish I make, and it's great for leftovers (if you happen to be lucky enough to have any!).

Yields: 1 pie (serves about 4-6 people)

For the dough:

2 1/3 cups bread flour

1 cup cold water

1/2 tsp. active dry yeast

1 tsp. Kosher salt

a dough hook attachment for your mixer

Pour water and yeast into mixer and allow to stand for about five minutes. Add flour and salt, then mix on medium for about 3-4 minutes until dough becomes elastic. Transfer to a bowl and coat with olive oil. Cover and allow to rise 4-5 hours. Punch dough down and roll out (use flour to keep dough from sticking).

For the sauce (this recipe makes a little more than double what you'll need; freeze the leftovers, and you'll have plenty for another pizza night):

1 28 oz. can tomato puree

1 14 oz. can petite diced tomatoes (drained)

1 cup dry white wine (pinot is my favorite)

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 onion, minced

6-8 baby portabella mushrooms, chopped

Kosher salt, black pepper

1 tbsp. red pepper flake

3 tbsp. olive oil

Saute onions and mushrooms over medium high heat in the olive oil for 3-4 minutes. Add garlic and red pepper flake and saute for one additional minute. Pour in white wine and bring to a boil. Reduce wine by half, then add both cans of tomatoes, salt and pepper. Reduce heat to low and simmer 1-2 hours, until sauce is thick and reduced by about 1/4-1/3. Cool completely before adding to pizza. (This sauce is also excellent with penne and fresh parmeggiano reggiano cheese).

For the pizza:

1/4 cup cornmeal

1 lb. hot Italian sausage (try Johnsonville's hot sausage out of the casing)

1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella

4 slices muenster cheese (yes, muenster...it's the secret ingredient!)

1/4 cup parmeggiano reggiano cheese, grated or shredded

6-8 sliced baby portabella mushrooms

1 cup garlic marinara sauce (see above)

Preheat oven to 360 degrees. Coat the bottom of a round pan with cooking spray or olive oil. Add cornmeal and roll around until the pan is coated. Press dough into the pan then cut off the excess crust (save this for an AWESOME dessert; search "dough" in the sidebar). Press sausage into the pan, spreading with your fingers. Top with a layer of sliced mushrooms, then sauce and finally muenster, mozzarella and parmeggiano reggiano. Fold edges of crust inward and place pie on a baking sheet. Bake for 45-60 minutes. Allow to cool 10 minutes before serving (you may need to drain a bit of the fat from the sausage by gently tipping the cooked pie over a bowl).