Uploaded August 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Eds @sharpridgehomestead similar to famous deep dish pan pizza from 1980s
I make these all the time, they are even cheaper than frozen pizzas and taste astronomically better. The nostalgia of "famous 1980's deep dish pizza" is unforgettable. When you are making pizza, you have a lot of options in how you make the crust, the types of toppings you put on it, and whether you make the sauce from scratch or use store bought pizza sauce. But once you see how easy this is and then compare the taste of your pizza to any commercially made pickup or frozen pizza and also compare the costs, you will never buy pizza out or frozen again. I usually make this at least once a week and its like a less than $4 meal.
The recipe below makes a single thick crust pan pizza dough for a 12-14" cast iron skillet (or you can just use a pizza pan or cake pan or baking stone and shape the crust to fit whatever size you have). I make this in a breadmaker on the dough setting cause I'm lazy and its easy since it does the mixing and rise for me but you can use a mixer or hand mix it and let it rise in a covered bowl for 60-90 minutes also (cut the time in half if you use an oven on proof mode and stick the oven safe bowl in it). You can pre-make this crust and freeze it in ziplock freezer bags for later use (if you do that, there is no reason to let it rise, just mix the ingredients and store and freeze it then remove from freezer, thaw it, and let rise in a covered bowl)
Eds deep dish pizza crust recipe
400 grams all-purpose flour (3.1 cups)
11 grams salt (0.6 tablespoons)
7 grams instant yeast (0.8 tablespoons)
19 grams olive oil (1.6 tablespoons)
297 grams water (1.3 cups)
Optional ingredients: sometimes i add these to the dough all or individually - but the sauce should also have them in it too if making pizza hut sauce
Optional: about 1/4 teaspoons garlic powder
Optional: about 1/4 teaspoons onion powder
Optional: about 1/4 teaspoons dried basil
Optional: about 1/4 teaspoon oregano
Optional: about 1/4 teaspoon marjoram
Optional: about 1/4 teaspoon thyme
Optional: about 1/4 teaspoon rosemary
Optional: about 1/4 teaspoon sage
Optional: about 1/4 teaspoon savory
Note: you can substitute about 2-1/2 teaspoons of italian seasoning for basil, oregano, marjoram, thyme, rosemary, sage, and savory (that IS pre-mixed italian seasoning but its cheaper to do them individually if you have them)
Eds Pizza Sauce - enough for 2 x 12" pizzas above
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
1/2 cup water (sometimes I leave this out because home made tomato sauce is usually runnier than store bought but not always)
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried basil leaves
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 whole bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
Add all sauce ingredients to a pan, mix well over medium heat, bring to just starting to boil, lower heat slightly and simmer covered for 3-45 minutes to thicken
Once the dough & sauce is ready, add dough to your skillet or dish using a liberal amount of olive oil to coat it on both sides, shape to fit the skillet/pan/etc, then bake it by itself at 425F in an oven for 8-10 minutes, remove from oven, then add sauce and toppings of choice, place back in the oven and bake another 10-15 minutes at 425F until the crust edges are starting to turn golden brown. Remove from oven, let stand about 5-10 minutes, slice and serve. Enjoy!
Eds @sharpridgehomestead similar to famous deep dish pan pizza from 1980s
I make these all the time, they are even cheaper than frozen pizzas and taste astronomically better. The nostalgia of "famous 1980's deep dish pizza" is unforgettable. When you are making pizza, you have a lot of options in how you make the crust, the types of toppings you put on it, and whether you make the sauce from scratch or use store bought pizza sauce. But once you see how easy this is and then compare the taste of your pizza to any commercially made pickup or frozen pizza and also compare the costs, you will never buy pizza out or frozen again. I usually make this at least once a week and its like a less than $4 meal.
The recipe below makes a single thick crust pan pizza dough for a 12-14" cast iron skillet (or you can just use a pizza pan or cake pan or baking stone and shape the crust to fit whatever size you have). I make this in a breadmaker on the dough setting cause I'm lazy and its easy since it does the mixing and rise for me but you can use a mixer or hand mix it and let it rise in a covered bowl for 60-90 minutes also (cut the time in half if you use an oven on proof mode and stick the oven safe bowl in it). You can pre-make this crust and freeze it in ziplock freezer bags for later use (if you do that, there is no reason to let it rise, just mix the ingredients and store and freeze it then remove from freezer, thaw it, and let rise in a covered bowl)
Eds deep dish pizza crust recipe
400 grams all-purpose flour (3.1 cups)
11 grams salt (0.6 tablespoons)
7 grams instant yeast (0.8 tablespoons)
19 grams olive oil (1.6 tablespoons)
297 grams water (1.3 cups)
Optional ingredients: sometimes i add these to the dough all or individually - but the sauce should also have them in it too if making pizza hut sauce
Optional: about 1/4 teaspoons garlic powder
Optional: about 1/4 teaspoons onion powder
Optional: about 1/4 teaspoons dried basil
Optional: about 1/4 teaspoon oregano
Optional: about 1/4 teaspoon marjoram
Optional: about 1/4 teaspoon thyme
Optional: about 1/4 teaspoon rosemary
Optional: about 1/4 teaspoon sage
Optional: about 1/4 teaspoon savory
Note: you can substitute about 2-1/2 teaspoons of italian seasoning for basil, oregano, marjoram, thyme, rosemary, sage, and savory (that IS pre-mixed italian seasoning but its cheaper to do them individually if you have them)
Eds Pizza Sauce - enough for 2 x 12" pizzas above
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
1/2 cup water (sometimes I leave this out because home made tomato sauce is usually runnier than store bought but not always)
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried basil leaves
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 whole bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
Add all sauce ingredients to a pan, mix well over medium heat, bring to just starting to boil, lower heat slightly and simmer covered for 3-45 minutes to thicken
Once the dough & sauce is ready, add dough to your skillet or dish using a liberal amount of olive oil to coat it on both sides, shape to fit the skillet/pan/etc, then bake it by itself at 425F in an oven for 8-10 minutes, remove from oven, then add sauce and toppings of choice, place back in the oven and bake another 10-15 minutes at 425F until the crust edges are starting to turn golden brown. Remove from oven, let stand about 5-10 minutes, slice and serve. Enjoy!
