Deep Dish Pepperoni
Thick, buttery crust, layers of cheese, pepperoni, and chunky tomato sauce on top. Pan pizza maximalism.
Recipe by ThePizzaPlanet.com · Published
Essential tool for this bake
Deep dish isn't NY-thin or Detroit-square — it's a pizza that wants to be a casserole. Cheese first (a real moisture barrier), then meat, then chunky tomato sauce on top. The 220°C (425°F) bake is slow on purpose; if you crank it higher, the top burns before the center sets. Cast iron, a springform pan, and a deep cake pan all hold the shape. Cast iron is the pick — both for the crispier bottom and for the dramatic restaurant-style presentation. Cut it like a pie, eat it like a casserole. The cheese-first order is not tradition for its own sake — it is the moisture barrier that stops the base going soggy under all that sauce.
Flour: King Arthur Bread Flour (12.7% protein) — read the review
Dough Formula
| Ingredient | Grams | Baker's % |
|---|---|---|
| Flour (12.7% protein) | 218 g | 100.0% |
| Water | 131 g | 60.1% |
| Salt | 4.4 g | 2.0% |
| Yeast | 1.1 g | 0.5% |
| Oil | 11 g | 5.0% |
| Sugar | 4 g | 1.8% |
Makes 1 ball of ≈370 g
Ingredients
Dough
- Pizza dough (see formula above)1 ball
Layers
- Low-moisture mozzarella300g, sliced
- Pepperoni150g
- Crushed tomatoes (chunky)300g
- Oregano1 g
- Parmigiano40g
Instructions
- 1
Make the dough: mix per the formula above, then follow the calculator schedule for Pan — 14 h bulk/cold ferment before shaping (hands-on 20 min).
- 2
Oil a deep cast iron or cake pan generously.
- 3
Press dough in, pushing up the sides 1-2 inches.
- 4
Layer: mozzarella slices on bottom, then pepperoni, then chunky tomato sauce on top.
- 5
Sprinkle oregano and parmigiano.
- 6
Bake at 220°C (425°F) for 22-28 minutes.
💡 Deep dish bakes slower — don't rush it.
Tips
- →Hands-on time is about 40 minutes; allow the dough its full ferment — see the calculator schedule
- →Cheese goes UNDER the toppings and sauce
- →Use sliced mozzarella, not shredded — better barrier layer
- →Sauce goes on top and should be chunky
Video by Food Network · 186K views · 18 min · CC · on YouTube
Shop this bake
Flour
King Arthur Bread Flour
The first bag to buy if you bake in a domestic oven. At 12.7% protein with added amylase on the label it gives you chew and colour at 250 °C, which is exactly what an unmalted 00 will not.
$13.42· as of Nov 5, 2026, 03:49 UTCCheck price on Amazon →Read the review →i
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon.com at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.Ingredient
Polly-O Low Moisture Whole Milk Mozzarella
Thick enough to cube for a Detroit rim, where shreds burn to lace — and four ingredients against a coating of rice flour, cellulose and natamycin that no bake removes.
$39.00· as of Nov 5, 2026, 03:49 UTCCheck price on Amazon →Read the review →i
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon.com at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.Ingredient
Cento All Purpose Crushed Tomatoes
Crushed in the tin instead of by hand, and sold as one can rather than a case — the low-commitment way in when a six-tin case is what stops you buying at all.
Check price on Amazon →Read the buying guide →Ingredient
SAF Instant Yeast
Instant, so it goes in dry with the flour: no warm-water step means no step at which the yeast can be cooked, which is where an active-dry dough most often dies.
Check price on Amazon →Read the review →Equipment
Greater Goods Single Sensor Baking Scale
One model behind one listing, on the maker's own page: 5 kg (11 lb) of capacity, reading down to 1 g. What the listing sends is what the maker documents — rarer here than it ought to be.
$19.99· as of Nov 5, 2026, 03:49 UTCCheck price on Amazon →Read the buying guide →i
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon.com at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
If this goes wrong
Pizza base is soggy in the middle
Not enough heat is reaching the centre of the base fast enough to drive the water out before the crust sets. Bake on a fully preheated steel or stone rather than a tray, give it 45–60 minutes at maximum, and cut the water you put on top.
Cheese burns before the base cooks
The top of your oven is running far ahead of the bottom. Get the slab hotter so the base needs less time, move the pizza down away from the grill element, and use a whole-milk low-moisture mozzarella — it carries more fat and browns more slowly than part-skim.
Pizza crust is dense and bready, not chewy
Dense crust means the gas never got in or never got out of the dough into the crumb. Proof to the peak, keep the rim untouched, stop adding bench flour, and bake on a surface hot enough to give you real oven spring.
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