Paleo Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza
A delicious deep dish pizza with a thick crisp crust. A wonderful way to enjoy pizza on a paleo diet!
If you like deep dish pizza, and particularly Chicago style, this Paleo Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza recipe is for you. It has wonderful layers of crust, cheese, toppings of choice, and sauce. Yes, the sauce is on top as Chicago pizza changes up the order of layers. And besides the delicious taste, it's visually stunning!
How to Make Paleo Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza
Start by gathering and measuring the ingredients for the crust. It's really best to have it measured prior to mixing.
Place the olive oil and honey in a bowl. Just a tip--measure the olive oil first, then use the same tablespoon for the honey. The honey will fall right off the tablespoon as it will still be coated with some oil. Stir the oil and honey to combine, then add the warm water (the water should be warm but not hot or boiling). Sprinkle the yeast over the top, then give a stir or two to mix it together. Let the yeast bloom for about 10 minutes or until it is foamy.
Whisk the egg and add to the yeast mixture and stir with a metal or wooden spoon. Add the arrowroot flour and salt and stir again until the mixture is smooth. Add the almond flour, then using your hands, knead the dough just until the almond flour is mixed in. This should take less than a minute. Shape into a ball and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let sit for about an hour to rise.
If you choose to make homemade sauce, it can either be made ahead of time or while the dough is rising. See the detailed recipe for instructions. Store bought sauce works fine too, but be sure it is thick and doesn't contain much liquid.
When the dough has risen, preheat the oven to 350°F. Oil the bottom and sides of a 10" springform cake pan with your hands, then with the oil still on your hands, remove the dough from the bowl.
Flatten into a disk with your hands, then place in the pan. Spread out the dough around the bottom and sides of the pan. The dough doesn't need to go up the whole side of the pan, as about 1/3 of the way is enough. If you have a double roller, this works well to push the dough around and even it out. If not, continue evening out the dough with your fingers. Try not to have too much dough gathering in the corners.
Place in the preheated oven and bake for 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and turn up the temperature to 450°.
Then add the pepperoni or other toppings of your choice.
Finally, add the sauce on the top. Be sure to keep the sauce from getting too close to the edge as you don't want it dripping down the sides. Place back in the oven when the temperature is ready and bake for another 15 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let rest for a few minutes on a cutting board. Remove the side of the springform pan. Using a metal spatula, slide the pizza off the bottom of the pan and onto the cutting board. Cut into 6 pieces and serve. Enjoy!
FAQs
Sauce -
If you use a store bought pizza sauce, be sure that it is thick. A runny sauce can cause the dough to become a little soggy or undercooked.
Cheese -
Many paleo eaters will turn to vegan cheese as it is dairy free. If you compromise and eat goat or sheep milk products, there are some nice goat milk mozzarella cheeses available. They typically are not already shredded so will require shredding.
Toppings -
If you use other toppings, be sure to place them over the cheese and under the sauce for an authentic Chicago style pizza.
Storage
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Reheat in the oven at 350°F for about 15 minutes or until warm.
Paleo Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza
Equipment
- 1 10" springform cake pan
- 1 double dough roller optional
Ingredients
Pizza Crust
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1/3 cup warm water
- 1 package active dry yeast
- 1 egg
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cup arrowroot flour or tapioca flour
- 1 cup almond flour
Toppings
- 6 oz vegan shredded mozzarella cheese or goat milk mozzarella (see notes)
- 3 oz uncured pepperoni or desired amount
Sauce
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion or 1/2 large onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 15 oz can of crushed tomatoes
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
Instructions
Crust
- Place the olive oil and honey in a medium sized bowl and give a stir to combine. Add the warm water, then sprinkle the yeast over the top. Stir a couple times to mix.
- Let the yeast mixture sit until the yeast has bloomed, about 10 minutes. Yeast should be foamy and bubbly.
- Whisk an egg and add to the yeast mixture. Stir to combine.
- Add the salt and arrowroot powder and stir until the mixture is smooth.
- Add the almond flour. Using your hands, gently knead the dough until the almond flour is just combined. Make into a ball and keep in the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for an hour to rise.
Homemade Sauce
- While the dough is rising, make the homemade sauce. A thick store bought sauce works too if you prefer to skip this step.
- Finely chop a small yellow onion or half a large onion. Heat a medium saucepan on the stove on medium heat. Add olive oil, then add onions to the heated olive oil. Sauté until soft and translucent, about 5-7 minutes, while stirring occasionally.
- Mince the garlic and add to the saucepan while stirring constantly for about 30 seconds.
- Add the crushed tomatoes, salt, and Italian seasoning. Let simmer for a minimum of 30 minutes or until the sauce is thick and all the liquid has evaporated.
Assembling the Pizza
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- After the dough has risen (it will be bigger but not significantly), rub olive oil on the bottom and sides of a 10" springform cake pan with your hands. With olive oil still on your hands, remove the dough from the bowl and flatten it into a disk with your hands. Place in the bottom of the springform pan and press to spread out along the bottom and up about 1/3 of the way on the sides. If you have a double roller, you can use that to roll the dough out toward and up the sides. (see photo above) If the dough is getting sticky, place a small piece of parchment on it when spreading it around the pan.
- Place the pan in the preheated oven and bake for 12 minutes. Remove from the oven. Turn the oven heat up to 450°F.
- Add the shredded cheese to the partially cooked dough. Add the pepperoni or other toppings over the cheese, then cover with the sauce.
- When the oven temperature is ready, return the pizza and bake for another 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and place on a cutting board and let rest for a few minutes. Remove the side of the springform pan. Using a metal or icing spatula, carefully slide the pizza off the bottom of the springform pan onto the cutting board.
- Cut into 6 pieces and serve.