The Hogs “Better than Giordano’s” Stuffed Pizza

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Tpizza stuffedhe stuffed pizza is a staple of Chicago, it is a man’s pizza, not for wussies. Unfortunately there are no stuffed pizzas in sight here in the southern half of the states, so we improvise. You too can make some delicious stuffed pizza. You will need a spring-form pan.

The crust:

2-1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

½ teaspoon born sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

1-1/2 cups of warm water

3-1/3 cups of all-purpose flour

  1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and brown sugar in the warm water and let sit for 10 minutes.
  2. Stir in the salt and oil into the yeast solution. Mix in 2-1/2 cups of the flour. Turn dough out onto a clean, well-floured surface and knead in more flour until the dough is no longer sticky. Place the dough into a well-oiled bowl and cover with a cloth. Let the dough rise until it is about double its size (about an hour). Punch down the dough and form a tight ball. Allow the dough to relax a minute before rolling out. Cut it into 2.

Okay, now comes the real artistry – pizza making time! You can obviously make any pizza you like. We are fans of spinach and garlic. We usually buy the BIG bag of shredded mozzarella, fresh spinach and fresh garlic. You will also need some of your favorite pizza sauce (or you can make it if you are that cool).

  1. Put together your spring-form pan and put a nice layer of thick butter in the pan (everywhere sides included), the more the merrier. Then sprinkle cornmeal in the pan till the butter is covered completely.
  2. Then roll out half the dough real thin, probably about 1/8”. Now here is the tricky part, getting it into the pan. But with this technique it should do just fine. Fold it in a third, then another third from the other side, then in half. Now pick that up and put it in the middle of the spring form. Then undo it. Then you want to wrap that dough around the edges so it doesn’t fall down.
  3. Add heaps of cheese. You seriously can’t add enough. We buy a 32oz bag and use at least half of it.
  4. Put slices of fresh garlic usually about 3 large cloves, then lots of fresh spinach, completely covering the top so you can’t see any cheese.
  5. Then I add about 10 slivers of aged cheddar. This will give it a bit of a zing.
  6. Now roll out your second half and put on your top. Crimp the top and bottom together.
  7. Add your sauce.
  8. And if you want I sometimes will add fresh tomatoes to the top.
  9. Poke holes in the top (very important)
  10. Now put it in the oven at 375, till the edges get nice and crispy brown, between 25-45 minutes, depending on the size of your springform.

Then you are ready to impress your friends and enjoy some yummy pizza!!!!!