Wood-fired ovens like the ones Fire Within provides lend themselves to cooking many different styles of pizza. While the most traditional pies cooked are Neapolitan, here is a quick look at ten more that you can experiment with and offer your clients!
California – Usually a personal pizza with a thin crust similar to New York pizza. Served with fresh and atypical toppings like avocado, arugula, heirloom tomatoes, broccoli etc. very popular at farmers markets.
DC – DC style pizza is synonymous with huge slices, we’re talking comically huge. It is different from other thin crust pizzas as the crust tends to be more pliable to accommodate folding for ease of eating. Usually found in just cheese or pepperoni.
New England – Single serving pan pizza, known for large amounts of cheese and a crispy crust. Usually heavy on the oregano and spices. Think of a round Detroit with no sauce on top
New Haven – Sometimes called a tomato pie. A thin oval shaped pizza with very little cheese.
New York – New York is the classic thin crust pizza. Big oily slices, Crispy outer crust yet chewy inner crust. Big foldable slices.
St Louis – Thin cracker-like crust made without yeast, cut into squares.
And since we are on the topic of pizza, here are some styles you may have never heard of or tasted before!
Chicago – The deepest deep-dish pizza. Cooked in a pan usually between 1 and 2 inches deep. Filled with classic toppings, cheese and sauce on the top. Sometimes a top layer of crust is used for a complete stuffed pie.
Colorado – Otherwise known as Mountain Pie. Thick crust for a base, loaded with sauce and toppings. It’s signature is a thick, bready, rolled crust that is paired with honey for dipping.
Detroit – Detroit pizza is one of the most popular styles at the moment, popularized by the late Shawn Randazzo in the mid 2010’s. It is a thick, rectangle pan pizza characterized by light but crispy thick crust, crispy cheese all the way to the edge and sauce on the top.
Ohio Valley – A niche style of pizza that is growing in popularity. Square, thick crust that is cooked with very little sauce and cheese. Fresh grated mozzarella is added after it comes out of the oven for a cold/hot experience.
Quad Cities – Another niche pie. Starts with a malt crust, spicy sauce with cayenne pepper, fennel sausage and then robust cheese. Cut into strips before serving.
Rhode Island – At local delis they are called red strips. Thick crust cooked with just flavorful sauce, cut into thick strips. No cheese!
Roman – Traditional roman pizza is made with long focaccia like crusts and topped heavy with toppings and cheese. In many places it is cut to order in sections and sold by weight.
Sicilian – Similar to Roman or Rhode Island in that it has a focaccia like crust. The sauce is baked on and is usually topped with very strong toppings like olives, anchovy and cornichons. May or may not come with cheese but when it does it is usually a strong cheese not just typical mozzarella.
These styles of pizza are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to creating a great tasting culinary delight! We think one of you out there is the next inventor of the next great style of pizza. Drop us a line in the Best Practices Forum and let us know what you have created!
