The Magnificent Mile Desiccated Spinach
Chapter 3 — The Pies
Deep-dish is perhaps the most misunderstood pie in America—dismissed by the uninitiated as a casserole, but revered by the dedicated technician as a masterclass in moisture management and thermal engineering. This isn't a New York foldable; it’s an indigenous architectural marvel demanding a short, fat-heavy crust and a 24-hour cold retard to build flavor. The secret to the magnificent spinach pie of Michigan Avenue isn't just the buttercrust—it's the brutal, absolute desiccation of the greens. Respect the baker's percentages, heat the steel, and witness the monumental glory of a true Chicago slice.
Before you start
Dry hydrate the dough ingredients.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, fine yellow cornmeal, fine sea salt, sugar, and instant dry yeast.
Integrate the lipids and mix sparingly.
Combine the cold water, corn oil, melted butter, and olive oil in a separate vessel. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix for a maximum of 2 to 3 minutes until a shaggy, cohesive mass forms; do not over-knead.
Execute a cold retardation.
Form the dough into a rough ball, place it inside a lightly oiled container, cover airtight, and refrigerate for 24 to 48 hours to suppress yeast activity and build lactic acid.
Wilt and flavor the spinach matrix.
Heat the olive oil in a skillet, sauté the minced onion until translucent, add the garlic, then wilt the fresh spinach in handfuls. Season with kosher salt, black pepper, and fresh basil, then let cool to room temperature.
Mechanically desiccate the greens.
Transfer the cooled spinach mixture into a potato ricer or clean kitchen towel and wring it aggressively until not a single drop of water remains, resulting in a dense, dry puck.
Drain and season the tomatoes.
Place the hand-crushed plum tomatoes in a fine-mesh sieve over a bowl for 15 minutes to drain the watery serum. Discard the liquid, then gently fold the dried oregano, garlic powder, salt, and olive oil into the pulpy tomatoes without applying heat.
Ingredients
- unbleached all-purpose flour300 g
- fine yellow cornmeal15 g
- cold water144 g
- corn oil36 g
- unsalted butter18 g
- extra virgin olive oil6 g
- fine sea salt4 1/2 g
- sugar4 1/2 g
- instant dry yeast1 1/2 g
- fresh baby spinach16 oz
- extra virgin olive oil15 g
- yellow onion50 g
- garlic3 large
- fresh basil10 g
- kosher salt3 g
- black pepper1 g
- low-moisture whole-milk mozzarella16 oz
- Parmesan or Pecorino Romano30 g
- whole peeled plum tomatoes28 oz
- dried oregano1 tsp
- garlic powder1/2 tsp
- salt1/2 tsp
- extra virgin olive oil1 tsp
Method
- 01
Calibrate the oven and prepare the pan.
Place a baking steel on the lowest rack of your oven and preheat to 450°F for at least 45 minutes. Generously grease the bottom and sides of a 12-inch cast iron skillet or deep-dish pan with softened butter or solid vegetable shortening.
- 02
Temper and press the dough.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator 60 to 90 minutes before baking. Place it into the center of the greased pan and use your fingers and the heel of your hand to press it evenly across the bottom, pushing it exactly 1 1/2 to 2 inches up the sides.
- 03
Construct the basal cheese barrier.
Tile the slices of mozzarella evenly over the entire bottom of the dough, overlapping slightly, and run them slightly up the walls to form a hydrophobic seal.
- 04
Crumble the desiccated spinach stratum.
Evenly distribute the deeply flavored, bone-dry spinach mixture across the mozzarella layer so it can rehydrate purely with ambient fats.
- 05
Encapsulate with the tomato layer.
Spoon the drained, seasoned tomato sauce edge-to-edge over the spinach, encapsulating the ingredients below, then crown generously with the grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano.
- 06
Execute a conductive bake.
Place the heavy skillet directly onto the preheated baking steel. Bake at 450°F for 15 minutes to aggressively set the bottom crust, then carefully reduce the oven to 425°F and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes until caramelized.
- 07
Rest to secure structural integrity.
Remove the pizza from the oven and let it rest in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes. This allows the molten cheese to re-solidify slightly and the crust to set, ensuring a clean slice.
Notes
The dough architecture relies on high fat and low protein to inhibit gluten.
A true deep-dish dough utilizes nearly 20% fat in baker's percentages to physically coat the flour proteins, creating a short, tender, biscuit-like crumb rather than the chewy elasticity of a New York slice.
Pre-shredded cheese will ruin the pie.
Always buy a block of whole-milk, low-moisture mozzarella and slice it yourself. Pre-shredded cheese is coated in anti-caking agents that inhibit smooth melting and cause the fats to separate into oily pools during a long bake.
Conductive heat transfer is non-negotiable.
Baking a 2-inch thick, ingredient-dense pie in a home oven requires a baking steel. Placing a heavy room-temperature cast iron pan directly onto superheated steel is the only way to fry the bottom crust before the toppings turn it to mush.