Chicago Style Sausage Pizza

Total Time: 1 hr 35 mins Preparation Time: 1 hr Cook Time: 35 mins

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 (1/4 ounce) package dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• vegetable oil cooking spray
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups chopped green bell peppers
• 1 1/2 cups chopped onions
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 2 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 lb lamb sausage
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons yellow cornmeal
• 1 1/2 cups canned crushed tomatoes
• 1 1/4 cups shredded reduced-fat monterey jack cheese
• 3/4 cup shredded provolone cheese
• oregano sprig (optional)

Recipe

• 1 crust: dissolve sugar and yeast in warm water in a small bowl; let stand 5 minutes. place flour, cornmeal, and salt in a food processor, and pulse 2 times or until blended. with processor on, slowly add yeast mixture and oil through food chute; process until dough forms a ball. process for 1 additional minute. turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead lightly 4 to 5 times. place the dough in a bowl coated with cooking spray, turning dough to coat top. cover the dough, and let rise in a warm place (85 degrees), free from drafts, 45 minutes or until doubled in bulk.
• 2 heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. add bell pepper, onion and crushed garlic, and saute for 5 minutes. add mushrooms, sausage dried oregano, and salt; saute 3 minutes or until tender. remove from heat; let cool.
• 3 punch dough down; cover and let rest for 5 minutes. divide dough in half.
• 4 roll each half of dough into an 11-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. place the dough into 2 (9-inch) round cake pans coated with cooking spray and each sprinkled with 1 tablespoon cornmeal; press dough up sides of pan. cover and let rise 20 minutes or until puffy.
• 5 spread half of vegetable mixture over each prepared crust, and top each with half of the crushed tomatoes. sprinkle cheeses evenly over pizzas. bake at 475degrees f for 15 minutes. reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees, and bake an additional 15 minutes. cut each pizza into 8 wedges. garnish with oregano sprigs, if desired.