The foam consists of carbon dioxide that the yeast releases as it warms up and consumes the sugar. This release of carbon dioxide makes the dough rise later.
If the dough is too sticky to form one solid piece after five minutes of mixing, slowly add small pinches of flour until it solidifies. If you don’t have an electric mixer, you can use a large mixing bowl and flour-covered hands.
Kneading is what gives pizza crust its characteristic chewy texture. The longer you knead the dough, the chewier the crust will be. If you don’t have an electric mixer, you can knead the dough by hand. Use both hands to push the ball of dough firmly against the counter, then fold the dough over. Repeat this process for 5–10 minutes.
The bowl can be left on the counter at room temperature or in a warm water bath to allow the dough to rise faster.
If you have a conventional oven, it is important to bake the pizza on the lowest rack of the oven because the skillet needs to heat up quickly in order for the bottom crust to cook enough to be crispy. If you have a convection oven, the temperature of the oven will be uniform, so it doesn’t matter which rack you bake the pizza on. But in order for the crust to cook enough, there is an additional step that must be taken to give the bottom crust a head start before the pizza is placed in the oven. This will be explained more once the pizza is assembled.
Keep an eye on the garlic because it can burn very easily. It does not need to sauté for longer than a minute. If the garlic turns black, you will want to remove it and try again with another serving of minced garlic. Otherwise, the burnt garlic will make the sauce taste bitter.
The flattened circle of dough must be bigger than the bottom of the skillet so that it covers the sides and bottom of the skillet.
The olive oil and cornmeal on the skillet are necessary to make the crust super crispy. Make sure the dough has an even thickness on the skillet. Often, the corner of the crust where the bottom meets the sides is too thick, and the center of the bottom crust is too thin. Pay extra attention to these areas to make sure the crust has an even thickness. If the center of the bottom crust is thinner than the rest of the crust, the pizza slices will sag at the ends and the toppings will fall off because the toppings and sauce are quite heavy.
The cheese and toppings go between the crust and the sauce because this deep dish pizza needs to cook for much longer than traditional pizza, and this arrangement prevents the cheese and toppings from burning.
If you have a conventional oven, place the pizza on the lowest rack and bake for 25–30 minutes. If you have a convection oven, you first need to place the skillet with your pizza in it on the stovetop. Cook the pizza on a stove burner on medium heat for about 3 minutes. If your stovetop is not a gas range and takes a few minutes to heat up, then let the pizza cook for about 5 minutes. Then, carefully move the pizza to the preheated oven and bake for 22–25 minutes. For either oven type, the pizza is done baking when the top of the crust is golden-brown.
Ideally, you should cut the pizza into slices if it’ll be eaten immediately. Cutting the pizza long before serving can make the sauce seep into the crust, which will make the crust soggy. Leftover pizza can be kept in an airtight container and stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
