Chicago Thin Crust Pizza

Description

While the city of Chicago is known for its famous deep-dish pizza, the style of pizza most popular with Chicago natives is actually the tavern-style thin crust pizza. Like many major US cities in the early to mid 20th century, Chicago was home to a large population of Italian immigrants who brought their tradition of pizza making along with them to America. This style of pizza gained popularity in the 1940s, and started as a salty snack that bars would offer to entice customers to order more beer. A major characteristic of Chicago pizza is its cracker like thin crust, which is far different from the hand-stretched style of pizza found in Italy or New York City. The truth about Chicago tavern pizza is that it was designed to be more of a bar snack, rather than a full meal in itself. Hence, this style of pizza is most commonly cut into small squares that can be eaten like crackers and fit easily on a napkin, rather than needing plates and silverware. Many of the founding establishments for this style of pizza are still in operation, such as Vito & Nicks, Falco’s Pizza and Pat’s Pizzeria, where Chicago tavern pizza continues to be enjoyed by locals to this day, both as a snack with beer or as a meal in itself.

(Source: Chicago Mag)

Ingredients

(Makes 2 pizzas)

• 1 lb shredded mozzarella cheese (453 g)

• 1 lb Italian sausage (453 g)

• Dried oregano

• Cornmeal

Dough

• 3 cups flour (360 g)

• ¾ cup water (180 g)

• 2 ½ tbsp vegetable oil (36 g)

• 1 tsp yeast (6 g)

• 1 tsp salt (6 g)

• 1 tsp sugar (6 g)

Sauce

• 2 cups crushed tomatoes (250 g)

• ¼ cup tomato paste (60 g)

• ½ tsp dried oregano (3 g)

• ½ tsp dried basil (3 g)

• ¼ garlic powder (1.5 g)

• ¼ tsp onion powder (1.5 g)

• ¼ tsp red pepper flakes (1.5 g)

Preparation

To make dough, combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix until combined. Allow to rest for 20 minutes, then knead on a board until smooth, about 5-10 minutes. Cover and allow dough to proof at room temperature until doubled in size, about 2 hours. Divide the dough into two balls and allow them to rest, covered, for 30 minutes.

On a floured cutting board, roll the dough out until it is 12 inches in diameter and very thin. Optionally, you can use a circular tray or lid to measure the pizza into a perfect circle and trim off any excess dough. When each pizza is rolled out, place it on a sheet of parchment paper and use a fork to gently poke the surface evenly (about 30 times). Allow to sit in the refrigerator, uncovered, for at least 12 hours. The desired result is from the dough to dry out slightly and form a skin.

To make sauce, add all ingredients to a small pot and cook for 5 minutes.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees (260 C). Sprinkle a pizza peel with cornmeal and place the dough on top. Spread the sauce evenly on top of the pizza, all the way to the edges. Place small pieces of half of the raw sausage evenly on top of the sauce. Finally, top with half of the mozzarella and dust with dried oregano. Bake for 10 minutes, until the crust is golden and the cheese is evenly melted.

Notes

• Other popular toppings that can be added with or without the sausage include giardiniera (pickled vegetables), pepperoni, mushrooms, onions and green peppers.