Deep Dish Pizza

I've posted bits and pieces about deep dish pizza before, but never the whole recipe, and many of those older posts are things that I've refined, so here's the complete version with my typical sausage pizza sauce.  If you'd prefer to have yours without sausage check my meatless sauce here.  This recipe is scaled for making one 14" diameter pizza.

Crust:
3 1/2 C AP flour
1 1/2 C warm water
 2 t yeast
heavy pinch sugar
1/2 C olive oil
1/4 C corn meal (optional, makes it easier to remove and adds texture)
1 t kosher salt
Seasonings (oregano, basil, thyme, rosemary, garlic, parmesan, etc. - optional)
oil or non-stick spray

Sauce:
one 28 oz can crushed san marzano tomatoes
1 medium onion, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb spicy Italian sausage
2 T olive oil
1/2 t fennel, toasted and ground
1/2 t basil
1/2 t oregano
1/2 t thyme
splash balsamic vinegar
1/2 t crushed red pepper
1 bay leaf
salt to taste
1/2 t ground black pepper

Toppings:
1 1/2 pounds mozzarella or provolone
1/4 C freshly grated parmesan
Whatever else you want, just remember that it should be a lot.  Deep dish should be about an inch deep.  If I'm doing pepperoni and another topping I'll put about 5 oz of pepperoni on it, corresponding to a complete layer with slight overlap.

Crust:
Mix the yeast with warm water and sugar and allow it to sit for 15 minutes.  Mix in the rest of the ingredients for the crust except for the corn meal, knead lightly, and allow to rise, covered, until doubled in volume.  Punch it down and allow it to rise again.  Make the sauce while the dough is rising.

Sauce:
Cook the onions and garlic in the olive oil until lightly browned, then add in the rest of the ingredients except the sausage and simmer on low for at least half an hour.  While the onion and garlic is sauteing cook the sausage to get a hard sear on it, remove to a cutting board and allow to rest for a couple of minutes, then chop.  Add to the simmering sauce.  At the end of cooking check the seasoning.

Assembly:
Preheat your oven to 425 F.  Oil a deep dish pan (or spray with non-stick spray), and dust with corn meal.  Spread the dough out and push it up the sides; try to get a thin layer on both the bottom and the sides.  You may have more dough than you need, if so just tear off the excess as you push it to the lip of the pan.

Place the cheese on the dough; if using shredded cheese you may need to press it down some.  Add your other toppings on top of the cheese, then spread the sauce out on top; this is important, as your toppings would burn without the moisture of the sauce on top.  Bake for ~30 minutes until the dough is golden brown and the sauce is lightly bubbling.  Pull the pizza out and allow to sit for 15 minutes before trying to de-pan the pizza.

Note: I use an anodized dark colored pan, if using a reflective pan you'll probably have to increase the temperature to 450F, but I haven't tried it.