Thin, Thick and Deep Crust Pizza
Pizza is a popular, delicious food dish that is made and consumed throughout many different parts of the world. Because of the variety of cultures, pizza has taken on many different forms. Although there are virtually thousands of different pizza recipes, the main categories are thin, thick and deep crust pizza. Each one is prepared and cooked in different ways, having different roots and origins as well. However, the original pizza is the wood-fire brick oven pizza. This type of pizza originates from Rome, more specifically Pompeii. So in actuality, all pizza originally comes from Rome.
The Origins of Pizza
Many medieval pizza ovens can be found all throughout Europe today. Even the brick ovens found today are very similar to the ones made in ancient Rome. Italy has made these type of ovens themselves. However, their ovens are a little smaller in size. Unlike today’s modern, conventional ovens that run on gas or electricity, these red brick ovens are strictly heated by the combustion of wood. One can even argue that pizza cooked in a wooden stove tastes better in general, much like how steaks cooked over a BBQ are suspected to taste better than steaks cooked over a gas grill.
Because the original pizza dates back so long ago, nobody is really sure whether or not thin, thick or deep crust pizza came first. Pizza made during this era is very different from the pizza that we know of today. One source claims that the Greeks added “oil, herbs, spices and dates” to flat bread. Tomatoes, a necessary ingredient today, were probably not even discovered at the time.
The Difference Between Thin, Thick and Deep Crust Pizza
When most people think of thin crust pizza, they think of New York. What they don’t know is that thin crust pizza originally comes from Italy. This makes a lot of sense when one considers the fact that Italy was the first country to adopt the red brick oven from Rome. If one wants really thin crust pizza, then they should go to Sicily, which has really thin crust. In general, thin crust pizza is made by simply rolling the pizza dough into a thin sheet, rather than a thick or deep one. Italy shapes their pizzas into rectangular shapes, so America wasn’t the one to come up with the idea of rectangular pizza. Naturally, thin crust pizza takes a bit less time to cook. Even Chicago, a city known for thick crust, makes thin crust pizzas. Some may even argue that thin pizza tastes better because one can taste the toppings more. However, every person has their own likes and tastes. The next type of pizza is the well-known thick crust.
Unlike thin crust pizza, thick crust pizza doesn’t really have an origin, or a known one at least. Chicago is generally the accepted origin of thick crusted pizza. However, deep crust pizza, without a doubt, originates from Chicago. Thick crust pizza is made in a very similar way to thin crust pizza. The difference is that the dough is set at a thicker depth, especially at the outer edges. Therefore, thick crust pizza takes quite a bit longer to cook. Also, thick crust pizza recipes require different ratios of flour to water. This is mainly done to increase the dough’s viscosity, therefore making it thicker. In addition to the thicker crust, thick crust pizza has significantly more toppings on it compared to thin crust pizza. The extra toppings may be a big reason why so many people like thick crust pizza.
Deep dish pizza, on the other hand, is the extreme version of thick crust pizza. As mentioned already, deep dish pizza originates from the city of Chicago. Although deep crust pizza is thicker than both thick and thin crust pizza, it’s prepared a bit differently. For one, the outer edges, originally known as the crust, are much thicker. Not only are they much thicker, but they’re much taller in height as well. This height is accommodated with a large amount of toppings, much more so than thick pizza. In fact, one may not even consider deep dish pizza a pizza, but a pie. It actually looks more like a pie than a pizza. Either way, all of these types of pizza satisfy the taste buds of billions of people everyday.
