"While Chicago-style pies look very different when finished, the ingredients that go into them are pretty similar to other recipes. Even the crust itself isn't that thick; it's just shaped differently to hold more sauce and cheese. And that's a big reason why when we spoke to World Pizza Champion Tony Gemignani about mistakes to avoid when making Chicago-style pizza, he told us to avoid adding too many different types of toppings."
"Admittedly, this seems a bit counterintuitive since deep-dish pizza has built its reputation on massive amounts of fillings, but having too many toppings can cause the base of the pizza to end up mushy. There are a few reasons for that. Most toppings, especially vegetables, give off water when they are cooked, so adding too many is going to throw off the moisture level of the recipe."
"This is doubly true of Chicago-style, where the toppings are covered with the sauce before cooking, which will prevent the moisture they give off from evaporating. That extra moisture is also going to extend the time the center of the pizza takes to cook, so when certain parts of the pie are done, the bottom of the crust could still be underdone. Most Chicago deep-dish spots only suggest one to two toppings per pizza, and that's the level you should stick to as well."
Chicago-style deep-dish pizza uses similar ingredients to other pizzas but features a crust shaped to hold extra sauce and cheese. Excessive toppings, particularly water-rich vegetables, release moisture during cooking and can make the pizza base mushy. When toppings are layered beneath sauce, trapped moisture cannot evaporate and prolongs the center’s cooking time, increasing the risk that the bottom crust remains underdone while other parts finish. Limiting toppings to one or two maintains a proper moisture balance, prevents sogginess, and helps ensure even cooking of the center and crust.
Read at Tasting Table
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]