Deep Dish Pizza

This pizza skips the yeast entirely and builds its crust from a quick biscuit dough enriched with cottage cheese and eggs. The cottage cheese melts into the flour mixture during baking, creating a surprisingly sturdy base with more protein and less carb than traditional pizza dough.

The method is closer to making a pie crust than a bread. You cut reduced-calorie margarine into flour and baking powder until crumbly, then fold in the cottage cheese and egg mixture. Press it into a pie plate, spread on the seasoned tomato sauce, and pile on the mozzarella and Romano.

Twenty minutes in the oven and the crust puffs slightly from the baking powder, the cheese goes bubbly and golden, and the edges crisp up where the sauce didn’t reach. Let it rest five minutes before cutting or the filling slides right off.

Kitchen Tips

• Press the dough evenly across the pie plate and slightly up the sides. Thin spots cook faster and burn before the center sets.
• Leave that half-inch border around the edge uncovered by sauce. It gives you a crust edge to hold and keeps the tomato sauce from making the rim soggy.
• Use block mozzarella and shred it yourself. Pre-shredded bags are coated in starch that prevents smooth melting.
• This crust doesn’t reheat well in the microwave. Use a skillet on medium heat to re-crisp leftover slices.

Variations

• Add sliced bell peppers, mushrooms, or olives on top of the sauce before the cheese.
• Swap mozzarella for a blend of Italian cheeses for a sharper, more complex topping.
• Use ricotta in place of cottage cheese for a creamier, denser crust.