Well, It's happened again! I've been asked by several people for my "secret" Gino's East Pizza Dough recipe, so I figure it's time to share on-line! I am not one of those cooks who keeps their recipes close to their chest. I am always honored that others like what I make. I also figure that when someone tries to copy a recipe, they will appreciate what others make even more. Cooking requires practice!
Some history on this particular recipe is that a few years ago my family was in Chicago and we'd heard about Gino's East pizza. Being pizza lovers, we had to check it out. I fell in love with the dough and wanted to know how it was made. If you google Gino's Pizza Dough Recipe, you'll find a whole slew of others looking for this SECRET recipe too! There are many versions, and mine can be added to that collection, but after several attempts, and many, many taste-testing nights by my DH and kids, here's the recipe I settled on!
Enjoy! :)
Hootie's Gino's East Style Pizza Dough Recipe
1 C water
1 pkg yeast
1 TBS sugar
1/3 C oil (5% olive oil/95% corn oil)
1 tsp Cream of Tartar
3 C Bread Flour
2 TBS cornmeal
4-5 drops of yellow food coloring
I mix my dough in my bread machine.
1) by hand mix water, yeast and sugar and let sit for 15-20 minutes.
The water should be at about 115 degrees to activate the yeast.
2) next add the rest of the ingredients and let the bread machine do the work of kneading!
3) I usually let the dough rise in my bread machine too for several hours and then I turn it out onto my counter and roll to the right diameter.
It's always a good idea to let dough rest a bit once rolled too before adding sauce and toppings.
I bake my pizza in a 450 degree oven for about 20 minutes. Since I usually make two pizzas, I set one of my racks up high and the other really low and switch oven positions after the first 10 minutes.
5 comments:
Thank you, thank you! We are on the lookout for the perfect pizza dough!
really?! Ginos? I am very interested in this. I'll let you know how mine turns out.
xo
I googled Gino's and your site came up!
Not quite right. Chicago deep dish pizza depends on two things: lots of oil and a very short knead. A good ratio is 3 Tablespoons oil: 1 cup flour (bread flour has too much protein--use AP or even cake flour). Mix for 1 minute and knead for no more than 2.
There is no cornmeal in Chicago deep dish pizza crust--the yellow color comes from food coloring.
If you don't have cream of tarttar 9which isn't really necessary), just use a little splash of white vinegar--it's a similar acid that the yeast like.
Brian-
Is there a difference between Chicago Deep Dish and Gino's? I ask because in the Gino's I noticed it has a "gritty", like corn meal, feel to their crust when I ate it. Corn Meal certainly not a necessity for this recipe, but it does add texture which seems to be like Gino's.
I have another, traditional crust recipe I use that calls for AP flour. I find the Bread Flour allows the dough to have more "stretch" in it. The AP flour makes it less delicate. I like the bread flour for this recipe because it seems to me to make the crust have a lighter...meaning less heavy...taste to it. Less chewy in my opinion.
Thanks for your insight! I am always looking to tweek my recipes if needed. This time though, I'll be keeping my recipe as is, it still works for me. :)
Hootie
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