The Lost Deep Dish Pizza Recipe Made for Italian Royalty

mozzarella cheese

🥗Healthier: part-skim mozzarella

💰Cheaper: processed cheese

Part-skim mozzarella reduces fat while processed cheese is often more affordable.

Italian sausage

🥗Healthier: ground turkey

💰Cheaper: ground beef

Ground turkey is leaner, while ground beef can be less expensive.

olive oil

🥗Healthier: avocado oil

💰Cheaper: canola oil

Avocado oil has a high smoke point and is healthier, while canola oil is budget-friendly.

crushed tomatoes

💰Cheaper: canned tomato sauce

Canned tomato sauce is often less expensive and readily available.

Place 100 grams of flour in a mixing bowl.

Heat the milk in a microwave for about 15 seconds, or until it’s warm (but not boiling).

Stir the yeast into the milk until it dissolves completely.

Pour the milk and yeast into the flour and stir all together until an even, smooth paste forms.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place for 1 hour.

After an hour, place the risen “lievitino” mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer.

Add the remaining 400 grams of flour, the eggs, honey and 2 teaspoons of salt.

Mix with a hook attachment at a medium/low speed until all of the ingredients are evenly combined.

While continuing to mix, add one spoonful of the lard.

Once the lard is evenly incorporated into the dough, add a second spoonful.

Repeat this process until all of the lard is incorporated.

Remove the dough from the mixer and form it into a smooth ball.

Place it in a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let it rise in a warm place for 2 hours, or until it roughly triples in size.

Grease a large work surface with lard and transfer the risen dough into the center.

Cut off ⅓ of the dough and set aside for later.

Spread the remaining dough into a flat circle using your hands until it is big enough to drape into a springform mold with a 10 to 12-inch diameter and about a 3 inch height.

Grease the bottom and sides of the springform with lard and drape the dough sheet into the mold.

Gently press the dough sheet into the corners.

Place half of the sliced ham in a layer to cover the bottom, then spread half of the mozzarella on top of the ham.

Cover the cheese with another layer of ham.

Save the remaining cheese for later.

Spread the remaining portion of unused dough into a flat circle with your hands, until it is big enough to cover the top of the pie.

Drape it on top of the ham.

Trim the excess dough from around the sides of the mold, then firmly press and pinch the top and side doughs together to seal the pizza shut.

Cover the pizza with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place for 2 hours.

While the pizza rises, prepare the tomato sauce by placing the olive oil, canned tomatoes, garlic, basil and a big pinch of salt in a small saucepan.

Bring to a gentle simmer over medium/low heat and let it cook, partially covered, until the tomatoes dissolve and the sauce becomes very thick—about 30 minutes.

Salt the sauce again to taste, turn off the heat and set aside for later.

After the pizza has risen, remove the plastic wrap and spread the remaining mozzarella cheese evenly on top.

Cover the top of the pizza and cheese with the tomato sauce, leaving just a small margin of crust free around the edges.

Put the pizza into a cold oven and set the temperature to 350° F.

Cook for 35 to 45 minutes until the cheese has melted and the pizza crust becomes golden and starts to brown around the extreme edges.

Let the pizza cool for 5 minutes before removing the springform, cutting and serving.

Cooking Techniques

Equipment Needed

Spice Level:

Allergens