What many people don't know is that thin-crust pizza actually originated in Italy. This makes perfect sense when you consider the fact that Italy was the first country to adopt Rome's red brick kiln. If you're looking for a pizza with a very thin crust, Sicily is the place to go, as it has a particularly thin crust. At first glance, the Louis style could be mistaken for a thin Chicago crust, likely due to its appearance and the fact that St.
Louis and Chicago are only a few hundred miles apart. However, the Louis style has a very thin crust, similar to a biscuit, that is yeast-free. It is topped with a special blend of three cheeses (provolone, Swiss, white cheddar) called Provel that is used instead of mozzarella (and sometimes, but not often, in addition to mozzarella). Like Chicago's thin crust, it is usually cut into squares for parties. Imo's Pizza is believed to be the creator of this style.
The pizza shown is from Imo's in St. Louis. There is no specific inventor of this style and it remains popular today. This style was first served in Chicago bars during the Prohibition era, but didn't become popular until World War II.
New York and New Jersey quickly adopted the style. I believe this style of pizza dough has a lot in common with the bar pizza or tavern pizza that I've eaten in New York City and also with the pizzas from independent pizzerias that I've eaten in Milwaukee. It is very similar to Sicilian-style pizzas, or what is also known in other places as “Italian bakery-style pizza”.Another form of pizza that is prevalent in Chicago, although it seems that people outside the Windy City tend to overlook this style when talking about Chicago pizza, is Roman white pizza. Two of the most famous Roman white pizza vendors are Forno Campo de'Fiori and Antico Forno Marco Roscioli in Rome.
It appears that the tradition of cutting thin-crust pizza into squares may be due to its popularity in Chicago. While most people know French bread pizza as something that Stouffer's packages and places in the freezer aisle, the original version was sold out of a food truck in Ithaca, New York. In response to a photo on social media about cutting pizza into squares, many people on Twitter found it offensive. And these large slices of pizza are generally thicker and softer than white ones since they are baked in a pan in an electric oven rather than directly on a stone or the floor of a gas oven. Unlike most pizzas made in Italy, this one was created in the United States by an Italian immigrant in the early 20th century.
It's often thought that Ed LaDou, who made California pizza famous at Spago in Los Angeles and later developed the original menu at California Pizza Kitchen, is considered its inventor. As the story goes, pizza was created in Chicago in 1974 and the square shape is said to have been inspired by the city's gridded design. The Midwest style is round (but not always; for example, Maria's Pizza in Milwaukee), thin, very crunchy but tender when flaked off, and cut into squares for parties or taverns. While people generally don't pay attention to the dough and crust of a pizza, they are essential components for creating a delicious one. Thin-crust pizza refers to any pizza baked with a thin or flattened crust and different rich ingredients depending on taste.
