Chicago-style pizza was conceived in Chicago and is a deep-dish pizza. This style of pizza has a three-inch buttery crust which acts a sort of bowl for the generous amounts of cheese and thick tomato sauce.
Chicago-style pizza is another reference to "stuffed" pizza, which is another style of pizza developed in Chicago. Most pizzerias in Chicago serve pizza with a thin crust, which is usually in the normal fashion for the city;
the phrase "Chicago-style pizza" is utilized to describe this thick style of pizza.
Chicago-style pizza was initially conceived in 1943 at Pizzeria Uno by its founder Ike Sewell who was a former University of Texas football player.
This style of pizza is special because it deviates significantly from the origins of Italian pizza. The crust is not thin and the amounts of toppings are not delicate. Instead, Chicago-style pizza is prepared with a hearty, thick crust
and generous amounts of sauce, ingredients, and cheese.
The way to make this style of pizza is to being with a thick layer of dough made with both cornmeal and olive oil, placing it into a deep circular pan and pulling it up at the sides, then parbaking it before adding your toppings in
order to give it a bit of bounce. You want to heavily oil the pan beforehand so that you have a nice fried effect on the outer crust. The crust is then smothered with cheese (usually sliced mozzarella) and a choice of meats that are
spread out in either a patty or layer right above the crust. Italian sausage is a staple with Chicago-style pizza as well as vegetables like mushrooms, bell peppers and onions. An uncooked sauce made from either pureed or shredded tomatoes
is spread across the dough.
Stuffed pizza is very similar to Chicago-style pizza until you slice into it. The toppings on a stuffed pizza are even higher than a Chicago-style pizza, and there is another layer of dough pressed on the top of the bottom crust. |
