Deep Dish Pizza Crust

Instructions

1. Whisk together the flour, cornmeal, salt, honey, and yeast in a large bowl. Add water and melted butter and mix on low speed using a dough hook (or by hand), until fully combined, 1 to 2 minutes, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl occasionally. Increase speed to medium and knead until dough is smooth and pulls away from sides of bowl, 4 to 5 minutes.
2. Coat a large bowl with 1 T. olive oil. Transfer dough to bowl, turning to coat the dough in oil; cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let rise at room temperature until nearly doubled in volume, about 45 minutes – 1 hr.
3. To make flaky crust…Using a rolling pin and extra cornmeal to prevent sticking, roll the dough out onto dry work surface into a rectangle about 15×12-inches (I prefer to do this on a silpat for ease of transfer and clean up). Using clean hands, spread the softened butter over the surface of the dough. Starting at the short end, roll the dough into a tight tube. With seam side down, flatten the cylinder into a rectangle about 18×4-inches. Cut rectangle in half crosswise.
4. Working with one half, fold into thirds like a letter; pinch seams together to form a ball.
5. Don’t worry if it’s not perfect, it will still be delicious.
6. Repeat with remaining half. Return balls to oiled bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let rise in refrigerator until nearly doubled in volume, 40 to 50 minutes.
7. Meanwhile preheat oven to 425F.
8. Remove sausage from casing and saute in 1 T. olive oil.
9. Meanwhile, slice mushrooms, and add to pan, sauteing until liquid has mostly cooked off. Remove stems from kale and chop finely. Add kale until just wilted. Shred the cheese.
10. To bake, coat two 9-inch round cake pans with 2 tablespoons olive oil each. Transfer 1 dough ball to dry work surface and roll out into a 13-inch circle. Transfer dough to the pan by rolling the dough loosely around a rolling pin and unrolling into pan. Lightly press dough into pan, working into corners and 1 inch up sides. If dough resists stretching, let it relax for 5 minutes before trying again. Repeat with remaining dough ball.
11. Add sauce, cheese and toppings and bake until crust is golden brown, about 20 minutes. Remove pizza from oven and let rest 10 minutes before slicing and serving.