Winter is almost upon us and, as the weather is beginning to turn, I find myself craving hearty casseroles. I've been making a lot of Potato Bakes lately. And, as absolutely delicious as dipping my toes back into casserole season has been, it's time to start busting out the heavy duty pans. One of my favorite things to make during the colder months is an absolutely massive deep dish pizza. You can easily cut the dough in half and make two different pizzas. Although I'm particularly fond of breaking out my 15-inch cast iron pan and tossing mashed potatoes, sliced tomatoes, cheddar cheese, and fresh mozzarella in a deep dish pizza.11
Mashed potatoes might sound like an odd combination when it comes to pizza. But they're one of my favorite surprise flavor. Buttered mashed potatoes go incredibly well with a flaky Chicago-style dough. It almost tastes like mashed potatoes and buttered rolls. If I ever make pizza for a major winter holiday, this is definitely going to be a recipe that I'm going to have to try! I tend to make enchiladas for Christmas as a way to mix it up. But perhaps the crowd favorite this year is going to have to be a casserole pizza with mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce or something!
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Variations of Deep Dish Pizza
Pizza is a great recipe to make your own. I tend to gravitate towards spinach, broccoli, tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and maybe an egg or two. Although I know that I'm in the more adventurous pizza making crowd because of this. I oftentimes have people exclaiming that they know that I made it! I definitely have a distinct style of my own. Although you can easily mix and match in your own favorite ingredients and toppings that you have on hand. There are very few things that aren't absolutely delicious on pizza!
Deep Dish Pizza w/ Mashed Potatoes, Tomatoes, & Fresh Mozzarella
This Deep Dish Chicago-style Pizza consists of mashed potatoes, sliced tomatoes, cheddar cheese, and fresh mozzarella on a buttery crust. For just the dough recipe, check out my article on Deep Dish Pizza Dough w/ Butter & Olive Oil. Pizza is a great way to experiment with different flavor profiles and mix and match up your own favorite ingredients. Although a classic go-to topping selection is always comforting. And this mashed potato variety is quickly becoming one of my favorites!
10g.instant yeast(2¾ tsp. or slightly more than 1 package)
480g.all-purpose flour(4 c. + 3 tbsp.)
11g.salt(1¾ tsp.)
50g.olive oil(1/4 c.)
57g.butter(1/4 c. + more for greasing the pan)
Mashed Potatoes
6yukon gold potatoespeeled & cubed
1/4c.butter
dashsalt
dashpepper
Toppings
4mediumtomatoessliced
1/2c.cheddar cheesegrated
32oz.fresh mozzarellasliced (2 packages)
Instructions
Proof Dough
Combine warm water and yeast. Let rest for 15 minutes, or until the yeast begins to bubble.
Meanwhile, whisk together all of the other dough ingredients.
After the yeast has proofed, stir yeast mixture into the flour. Mix until roughly incorporated and the dough has a shaggy appearance.
Lightly grease a large bowl and transfer the dough.
Cover and let proof for 6 hours in a warm place, or until doubled in size.Alternatively, place in the refrigerator and proof for 2 days.
Mashed Potatoes
Peel and cube the potatoes. Place in a large pot and cover with 2 inches of water. Bring to a boil over high heat and boil for 10-15 minutes, or until tender.
Once the potatoes are cooked, drain the water and place back in the pot or a large bowl. Add butter, salt, and pepper. Mash with a potato masher until light and fluffy. Making sure to scrape the sides and stir occasionally.Alternatively, use a mixer and blend until just incorporated.
Bake Crust
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
Heavily grease a large cast iron pan or round baking dish.
Spread the dough evenly across the pan.
Let the dough rest for 10 minutes. Then, continue to stretch the dough into shape with the crust slightly up the side of the pan.
Bake for 10 minutes.
Cook Pizza
Add mashed potatoes down as the base of the pizza.You could make an alfredo sauce or add a drizzle of olive oi. Although there's so much butter, both in the crust and the mashed potatoes, that I don't find this necessary. Although it is an option!
Tips, Tricks, & Notes
I used a 15-inch cast iron pan to make this pizza. Although it more reasonably makes 2 medium-sized pizzas. This pan alone barely fits in my oven. It's more than 22 inches at the handle. Making multiple pizzas also gives you the opportunity to do different toppings on each if you want to mix and match it!
Mashed potatoes are almost deceptively simple to make. There are some easy pitfalls to fall into and simple tips and tricks that can make a big difference. For a more in-depth article on preparing, check out my article on The Fundamentals of Making Mashed Potatoes.
I have a much more in-depth article on The Fundamentals of Deep Dish Pizza Dough w/ Butter. Including photos of the difference between a quick rise and a multiple day proof as well as tips and tricks on kneading the dough by hand or in a stand mixer.
This Page Contains Edited Images
As a general rule, I don't like to edit my images and I am firmly against alteration of images in food blogs. It's not something that we generally think about when it comes to recipes. But food styling, editing, alteration, and even faking entirely is just as rampant a problem in the recipe realm as anything else! Cooking is a very visual art and you can tell when a lot of foods are cooked based on the color. So, when this is altered and you can't use the coloration as a gauge, it makes it quite difficult to follow some recipes. I have an entire article about Food Styling and Unrealistic Expectations of Recipes.
Because of this, I try very hard not to alter any of my photos. I like to take photos with natural sunlight during the day. Ordinarily this is very true to color and I don't edit the photos at all. However, since my place is very warm with a lot of yellow lighting, sometimes my camera overcompensates and ends up with an unnatural blue tone. In the following images on this page, I adjusted the levels and hue to try and make this more true to color. In the interest of transparency, these are the before and after photos.
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