This easy Homemade Deep Dish Pizza is seriously delicious! Fresh homemade pizza dough is topped with mozzarella, pizza sauce and your favorite toppings and is garnished with shredded Parmesan cheese and fresh parsley.
You can swap out the toppings for whatever you prefer to eat on your pizza including a meatless version.
This recipe makes a small pizza made in a 9 inch springform pan and is cut into 4 -6 slices.
This small batch recipe for two makes a great lunch, dinner, or impressive romantic date night meal.
I filled this homemade crust with mushrooms, mozzarella, pepperoni, and lots of pizza sauce, and garnished it with shredded Parmesan cheese and fresh parsley.
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How to make Deep Dish Pizza
If you’re using fresh mozzarella that you plan to shred, place it in the freezer to chill while preparing the crust.
For the homemade pizza dough
Preheat the oven to 170 degrees F. This is for allowing the dough to rise.
Tip: For the next step, the water is the right temperature when it feels warm to your finger but not hot. If the water is too hot it will kill the yeast.
Mix the warm water, yeast, and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and let sit for about 5 minutes to get frothy and activate the yeast.
To the yeast mixture, add the flour, salt, and oil. Mix with the dough hook until well combined.
Let the dough knead for another 1 – 2 minutes to make a soft dough.
Cover the bowl with a warm damp towel.
Turn off the oven and place the dough inside with the door closed to rise for 15 minutes.
Take the dough out of the oven.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Spray a leakproof 9-inch springform pan with non-stick spray.
Transfer the pizza dough to the leakproof springform pan and spray non-stick spray on the dough.
Using clean fingers, spread the dough inside the springform pan pressing up the sides about 1 inch high.
To assemble the 9-inch pizza
Sprinkle the pizza dough with the shredded mozzarella, and spread evenly. Press flat.
Add the mushrooms and spread out evenly.
Pour the sauce in an even layer over the mushrooms.
Place the pepperoni slices over the sauce, and spread out evenly.
Bake until the crust is golden brown, about 25 to 30 minutes.
Remove the outer ring of the springform pan.
Top with the Parmesan cheese and fresh parsley, if desired.
Let the pizza cool for about 10 minutes.
Slice into 4 -6 pieces, serve and enjoy.
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Deep Dish Pizza
Ingredients
For the homemade pizza dough:
- ¾ cup warm water (see tip)
- 1 ½ teaspoons active yeast
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
For the toppings (swap out toppings to your taste):
- 4 ounces sliced mushrooms
- 20 slices Pepperoni
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- ¾ cup pizza sauce
- ¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- Fresh parsley for garnish (optional)
Instructions
For the homemade pizza dough:
- Preheat the oven to 170 degrees F. This is for allowing the dough to rise.
- Mix the warm water (see tip), yeast and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and let sit for about 5 minutes to get frothy and activate the yeast.
- To the yeast mixture, add the flour, salt, and oil. Mix with the dough hook until well combined.
- Let the dough knead for another 1 – 2 minutes to make a soft dough.
- Cover the bowl with a warm damp towel.
- Turn off the oven and place the dough inside with the door closed to rise for 15 minutes.
- Take the dough out of the oven.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
- Spray a 9 inch springform pan with non-stick spray.
- Transfer the pizza dough to the springform pan and spray non-stick spray on the dough.
- Using clean fingers, spread the dough inside the springform pan pressing up the sides about 1 inch high.
To assemble:
- Sprinkle the pizza dough with the shredded mozzarella, spread evenly. Press flat.
- Add the mushrooms and spread out evenly.
- Pour the sauce in an even layer over the mushrooms.
- Place the pepperoni slices over the sauce, spread out evenly.
- Bake until the crust is golden brown, about 25 to 30 minutes.
- Remove the outer ring of the springform pan.
- Top with the Parmesan cheese and fresh parsley, if desired.
- Let the pizza cool about 10 minutes.
- Slice into 4 - 6 pieces.
Video
Notes
- The water is the right temperature when it feels warm to your finger but not hot. If the water is too hot it will kill the yeast.
- You can swap out the toppings for whatever you prefer to eat on your pizza including a meatless version.
- Nutrition information is based on the ingredients I used and will change if you make any ingredient swaps.
Nutrition
Hi and welcome. I’m Zona and I have a passion for recipes. I share recipes, tips, tricks, and resources to help you cook for two. Eat, drink, and enjoy!
Beth
Tuesday 5th of September 2023
How do I mix the dough if I don't have a stand mixer?
Zona
Tuesday 5th of September 2023
Hi Beth, you can use a wooden spoon and a mixing bowl to combine the ingredients then you can knead the dough by hand on a lightly floured surface. Thank you for your question :)
Sandy
Tuesday 2nd of March 2021
I made this last night. It was tasty and just the right size for my family of 3 adults. However, I think I oversprayed my pan because soon after I put it in the oven we started smelling something burning. Oil was dripping on the bottom of my oven! Could this be why the finished product seemed to have a slightly soggy bottom crust? The sides and top of the pizza were perfect.
Zona
Tuesday 2nd of March 2021
Hi Sandy. It's difficult to diagnose without being there during the process. It's important to have a leakproof springform pan. If something was dripping you may want to place your pan on a baking sheet before placing it in the oven. I'm not sure over-spraying would cause a soggy bottom though. It may have need to bake a little longer. Have you checked if your oven temperature is calibrated correctly and cooks at the temperature you are setting it to? Or you may want to try baking the dough alone for 5 or 10 minutes before filling it with the ingredients. Also, if you used any veggies in your filling they can create liquid when they cook. Veggies may need some pre-cooking to get moisture out. Also, a thicker sauce is helpful. Thin sauces are more watery. I hope that helps and thank you so much for your question :)
Karen
Friday 13th of November 2020
This turned out perfectly! So delicious and easy!!!
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