Learn about the different type of pizzas and their history
The Original: Neapolitan
The Neapolitan type is the original pizza which left Italy and arrived in the United States with Italian immigrants . This is the type pizza which launched The American pizza fanaticism. As a matter of fact, Italy has sought for UNESCO heritage protection for this type of pizza.
The dough is normally made from the Tipo 00 wheat flour while the crust is crunchy,thin and baked in wood-fired ovens. The pizza has minimal toppings- The San Marzano tomato sauce, basil and bufala mozzarella cheese since too much cheese or sauce will weigh the crust down and then make it soggy.
California Style
The California Style type of Pizza uses a dough base which is similar to the Neapolitan and jazzes up this base with uncommon and unusual ingredients. This type of pizza is credited to Chef Ed LaDou who managed to develop a pizza with red peppers, ricotta, mustard and pate.
Deep Dish Pizza
In the 1940s, thee deep-dish pizza was developed by Pizzeria Uno. The pizza has a deep crust which lines the deep dish, similar to large metal cakes or a pie pan. Though the whole pizza is quite thick, its crust is of thin to medium thickness. In addition, it has a very thick and large layer of toppings. Since the pizza is very thick, it needs a long baking time. As a result, if cheese is added on the top as it's the case with most pizzas, it would burn. Therefore, in deep dish pizzas, the toppings are normally assembled "upside down" with vegetables, cheese and the meats placed on top of its crust while the uncooked tomato sauce is placed on the top layer so as help the meats and vegetables cook in the oven.
Detroit Style
The Detroit is a square pizza which is similar to the Sicilian-style pizza. It has a deep-dish crust as well as marinara sauce which is at times served on top. The crust is normally baked in well-oiled pans so as to develop the caramelized crunchy edges. Detroit pizza has developed a large fan base after the launch of the Detroit- deep dish pizza.
New England Greek
The Greek style pizza normally refers to a pizza served at the Houses of Pizza which are run by Greek immigrants . The pizza's crust lies in between the crunchy types of pizzas and the thicker ones. It is baked in heavily greased cake or the cast iron pan which in turn results in the thick golden and crunchy crust. Many of these types of pizzas are topped with the typical Greek ingredients like feta, kalamata olives and artichokes although a Greek pizza might simply be topped with mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce .
Thin Crust
The thin crust is crunchier and crispier pizza and it's normally cut into several squares rather than the diagonal slices.There are variations of the thin crust which use a spicy sauce, a large amount of meat and it's cut into squares or strips.
The pizza has a crunchy and thin crust with a perfect balance of lots of the grated mozzarella cheese and thin tomato sauce. The pizza has to be folded over when it's being eaten.
St. Louis Style
St. Louis style type of pizza is a unique take on Thin crust. It originated in 1960s by Margie and EdImo of the Imo's Pizzeria. It has a thin cracker-like crust which is made without yeast and it's topped with the Provel cheese instead of mozzarella. Provel cheese is basically a white processed cheese which is made by combining mozzarella, provolone and cheddar cheeses.
Tomato Pie
The tomato pie refers to a of pizza that was created in early 1900s by the Italian-Americans living in the Philadelphia metropolitan region. Unlike the other pizzas where toppings and cheese are placed on top of the sauce, the toppings and cheese in the tomato pie are usually placed under the tomato sauce. Due to this differentiation, the most dominant flavors of the pizza is the tart and sweet tomatoes which top the pie.
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