Pizza is known around the world as one of the most well-loved types of foods, but there is more than one type of pizza crust and knowing your New York Style pizza from you Neapolitan pizza is important if you want to impress your friends and family who are pizza lovers.
In the main, there are ten types of pizza crusts and which you prefer will depend on your personal taste and diet.
In this article, we are going to be looking at the different style crust you can get and what makes each of them so special.
What Are The Different Types Of Pizza Crust?
As we have mentioned, there are ten types of pizza crust; although nothing is stopping you from experimenting and developing your own style crust – who knows, you could be the next chef for which pizza is known.
Let’s take a look at the ten main types of crust.
St Louis Style Pizza
One of the most special things about the St Louis pizza is that it has a unique flavor thanks to the blend of different sorts of cheese. In a St Louis pizza, there are many different cheese styles, including provolone cheese, white cheddar cheese, and swiss cheese.
However, this isn’t the only tasty part of this St Louis pizza – this is a thin crust pizza, but unlike other pizzas with this style crust, there is no yeast in the pizza dough, so you get a cracker-like crust that is very crispy. Due to the cracker-like crust, many people cut this pizza into rectangular rather than the traditional triangle slice.
New Haven Style Pizza
Perhaps one of the most different types of pizza owing to the super-thin crust, the New Haven Style pizza, features the most thin crust of all. But the good news is that the texture is not as crisp as you might think. These pizzas are baked in a wood-fired oven at very high temperatures that do not dry out the dough, giving a texture that is crispy on the outside and light inside.
Neapolitan Pizza
The Neapolitan pizza is one of the most well-known pizzas in the world. People have been baking Neapolitan pizza for over 150 years, and this type of crust gets more popular as time goes on.
It is baked in a wood-fired oven at more than 800ºf for just 90 seconds, and this style of baking means that you get the floppy crust and beautifully cooked toppings, cheese, and sauce. Of all the different pizzas, the dough for the Neapolitan Italian pizza is the most tricky. It only contains flour, yeast, water, and salt, whereas some pizza dough recipes contain olive oil and sugar, but it takes some practice to get this traditional recipe perfect for baking.
New York Style Pizza
The New York-style crust is famous around the world and often depicted in the media with a hungry Italian pizza fan rolling up a huge slice into a pizza pie. If you like a big slice, then the New York-style pizza is for you. The New York-style crust is another thin-crust style of pizza but is baked in a different way to the Neapolitan.
New York-style pizza is baked in a wood-fired oven or a regular oven for around 15 minutes. The difference in the dough is that unlike Neapolitan pizza, New York-style pizza dough features sugar and olive oil, which help the crust to brown and become crispy on the outside. This also gives it a unique flavor.
Stuffed Crust/Double Dough Pizza
If you are a big fan of toppings, cheese, and sauce, why not extend that and put them inside the pizza crusts? Some of these pizzas are known as double dough, and this means that the thick crust is made from two layers of dough, giving improved taste, texture, and space to add your favorite toppings inside. This is a very popular choice, and out of all the deep pan pizza options, many people would choose the stuffed crust.
Unlike the Neapolitan and New York-style pizza, the stuffed crust pie is normally eaten from the crust first, working your way to the golden-brown baked toppings, cheese, and sauce last. This is probably the furthest away from the traditional Italian pizza that was invented in the 1800s.
Sicilian/Detroit Style Pizza
This is another of the most popular style of pizza pan options and is distinguished by its unique dough recipe. Unlike the Neapolitan pizza, which uses very basic ingredients, the Sicilian pizza or Detroit style pizza uses both olive oil and water. This results in a very thick crust that has an incredible taste, texture, and chewiness.
Next time you want to try baking a Detroit/ Sicilian style pizza, you should keep in mind that many of the traditional recipes dictate that it should be baked in a very deep dish pan that is covered in lots of oil.
The Detroit and Sicilian pizza are one of the same since the former takes its inspiration from the latter, but if there was a key difference, it would be that the pan used to make the Detroit pizza is much deeper and usually a cast iron pan.
Flatbread/Foccacia Style Pizza
Many people are under the false impression that the flatbread pizza is one of the newest styles, and this is largely thanks to the range of innovative toppings that we see in trendy restaurants. Tradition pizza will feature tomato sauce and many other toppings such as pepperoni, mushrooms, and pineapple. However, the toppings that are used on a flatbread pizza in a bistro are far more adventurous.
But, there is evidence that the flatbread pizza dates as far back as the Roman and Greek civilizations, so it is evident that people have been baking these for longer than we thought.
The focaccia pizza bread is a spin-off of the flatbread pizza and focuses on infused flavors in the baking process, such as garlic and herbs. Once the toppings and sauce are slathered on, you get something of a taste explosion in a very unique type of pizza pie.
Chicago Deep Dish Pizza
Out of all the deep pan pizza styles, the Chicago style deep dish pizza is perhaps one of the most famous. These pizzas feature a very thick crust with a texture that is unlike any other. Furthermore, they must be baked for a much longer time than other types of deep dish pizza.
The crust of the Chicago style deep dish pizza is a thick crust but is far thicker than other types of crust. In this recipe, the crust gets baked over a longer period, so much be well oiled so that it doesn’t burn. We look at the Sicilian pizza and St Louis pizza or even the New York thin crust pizza and notice the shorter baking times and in comparison this deep-dish pizza, which needs 45 minutes in the oven.
The toppings on the Chicago deep pan pizza are also thicker and include more cheese and tomato sauce giving this a different texture to other deep-dish pan recipes. If you like a thick crust and a chunky slice, you will certainly like this style of pizza.
Gluten-Free Style Pizza
One of the key differences with a gluten-free pizza is the type of flour used to make the dough. Most pizza recipes, both deep-dish and thin crusts, have a high gluten content, and this is unsuitable for anyone who suffers from gluten intolerance. In regular dough recipes, it is essential for there to be a lot of gluten as this works with the yeast during proofing and will cause the dough to rise, giving you the chance to create a thick and fluffy crust.
The pizza industry is becoming more aware of this and is now offering a variety of pizza crusts that do not have a high gluten level – in fact, the dough is made with gluten-free flour. However, this does mean that these crusts are far less dense and so they are not suitable for a thick pizza but are usually used when a thinner crust is required. But that doesn’t mean that you cannot enjoy a delicious pizza; a thinner crust is often preferred by pizza fans who like traditional recipes.
The toppings and cheese are all very similar to other pie recipes, so you can still have a pizza that you like regardless of your dietary requirements.
Vegan Style Pizza
There are more and more people enjoying a vegan lifestyle, and this can mean that the pizza pie is out of bounds. Fortunately, there is a modern take on the traditional pizza crust recipe that is inclusive for vegans.
Thin pan pizza like the Neapolitan already uses a vegan recipe, but some other pizza crust recipes may use by-products from animals or have at least come into contact with them. Therefore, some vegan pizza fans make a cauliflower pizza crust that has added flavor and a unique texture. You might also make this type of pizza crust using flavored oils since the sauce, cheese and toppings may not be vegan-friendly.
What Are The Crusts At Dominos?
Dominos is undoubtedly one of the most popular pizza restaurants on the planet, and they make several pie crust recipes to suit the varying needs and tastes of their customers.
These crust recipes may vary slightly depending on your location, but in the main, there are six different crust types that are made at this popular eatery.
- The thin and crispy crust is one of the most popular offerings on the menu and gives a lovely crispy texture.
- The classic crust boasts a traditional pizza crust recipe that is loved by all.
- The Italian style crust is a thin pan pizza with added bite.
- The gluten-free crust uses a special recipe suitable for those with gluten intolerance.
- The stuffed crust is filled with delicious cheese or a selection of sauces.
- The double decadence crust is another thinner crust but boasts a double layer of pizza dough.
Which Is The Best Pizza Crust?
There is no right or wrong choice when it comes to deciding on your favorite pizza crust – some people like the original method of creating a crisp base and a super-thin crust that is reminiscent of the Neapolitan pizza that was offered to Queen Margherita way back in 1889 – did you also know that this is where the pizza developed its nickname, the Margherita pizza? However, other pizza fans prefer a thicker crust or one filled with delicious cheeses and sauces.
The best way to find out which is the best pizza crust is to experiment with your recipes and try a range of different pizzas in your outdoor wood-fired pizza oven. You could cook up a beautiful Sicilian pizza one day and then attempt a flatbread pizza the next time. Your choices are vast, and this is all part of the fun of making and eating pizza.
Conclusion
In the world of pizza, there are so many crust recipes that you will never become bored with eating the same style of food at every meal. In a traditional sense, these pizza crusts would have been very thin, and if you go as far back as the Roman times, you may have eaten a flatbread pizza.
However, over time, chefs have experimented and come up with a range of crust options, including a super thick one and crusts that are stuffed with delicious ingredients.