I have loved pizza for as long as can remember. It is one of my all-time favorite comfort foods. Growing up, I wasn’t as particular about the quality of the pizza, either restaurant quality or frozen. As I wandered through life and expanded my knowledge of the world around me, I slowly became aware of qualities in pizzas that appealed to me. I remember noticing that some of the adults in my family enjoyed eating the crust of certain types of pizza as much as they enjoyed the sauce and toppings. In my teenage years, I preferred the sauce from certain restaurants or even a particular brand of frozen pizza.
A lifetime later, I have seen, and still learn about, regional styles and flavor combinations that are enjoyed all over the world. In the United States, there are a couple standouts that most people have heard of. New York pizza is a hand-tossed style with a somewhat airy crust topped with sauce, cheese and toppings. Chicago has two types of pizza. The most attributed would be the deep-dish pizza, which is more like a pizza pie with crust followed with cheese, toppings and topped with sauce. The tavern style, with its extremely thin, crisp crust is also from Chicago. The cracker-like crust is topped with sauce, cheese and toppings.
In Detroit the pizza is rectangular, and the dough is thicker. Cheese slices line the outside of the crust, which gives it a characteristic caramelized cheese crust. This pizza is topped with sauce, cheese and toppings. St. Louis style pizza shares similarities to tavern with the modification of the cheese. Provel cheese is used, which is a blend of cheddar, Swiss and provolone with a bit of liquid smoke. California pizza has a similar crust to New York with a little more influence from traditional Italian pizza as well as its use of non-traditional toppings.
Naples, or Neapolitan, style pizza is a traditional pizza known for its simplicity and focus on quality ingredients. The dough is delicate with large air pockets. The sauce is often San Marzano tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil, salt and fresh basil. Toppings are simple. For a pizza margarita, it is only the dough, sauce, fresh mozzarella, fresh basil and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
I don’t know if I have a favorite style, but I always appreciate the use of fresh, quality ingredients and a thoughtfully prepared dough. A quick dough is convenient, but with a little planning and patience, a far better dough can be created that is an easy way to level up your pizza.
Dough
Ingredients
200 grams flour
140 grams water
6 grams salt
4 grams honey
2 grams instant yeast
Olive oil, as needed
Directions
Combine everything in a stand mixer. Mix on low for 15 minutes.
If you don’t have a mixer, just kneed by hand for 15 minutes.
Drizzle a little bit of olive oil on the dough.
Cover with a towel, and let sit for 1 hour at room temperature.
Separate it into 2 or 3 pieces if desired, depending on the size of pizza you want. Roll into balls.
Let rest 30 minutes covered or in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Get the fire going in an Ooni pizza oven or other fun pizza oven. Alternatively, preheat your oven to 500 degrees.
Dust the work surface with flour, shape the pizza starting in the middle working toward the crust.
Top with sauce and mozzarella
Bake to desired doneness. Top with fresh basil. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil. Enjoy!
Sauce
Ingredients
1 can San Marzano tomatoes
1 clove fresh garlic, minced
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt to taste
Directions
Blend everything together.
Season.
Toppings
Ingredients
Fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced
Fresh basil, torn
Dough Variation
Ingredients
Steps 1-2
40 grams flour
40 grams water
1 gram yeast
4 grams honey
Steps 3-7
160 grams flour
100 grams water
6 grams salt
1 gram instant yeast
Olive oil, as needed
Directions
Combine in a small container. Cover and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour.
Place in fridge for 16-24 hours.
Mix these ingredients with the mixture that has rested 16-24 hours, just until smooth, about 5 minutes on low or by hand.
Cover, and let rest at room temperature for 1 hour.
Divide into 2 or 3 pieces, depending on your desired size.
Cover, and let rest for 1-2 hours at room temperature or in the fridge for 16-24 hours.
Dough is now ready to be shaped, topped and baked like the previous version. When shaping, do not deflate too much, as you have spent more effort to develop a lighter and airy dough.
About
Lincoln Land Community College offers credit programs in Culinary Arts, Hospitality Management and Baking/Pastry, and non-credit cooking and food classes through LLCC Community Education.
Cooking or food questions? Email epicuriosity101@llcc.edu.