The Great American Debate

Who has better cheesecake, bagels, hot dogs, or pizza: New York or Chicago? I personally prefer different toppings on the different crust styles.  The recipe for the crust is the same n both instances but the amount and design of crust creates controversy. On a New York style crust, I prefer cheese or pizza margarita with anchovies. Chicago style pizza I like loaded with meat or veggies. The crust on a Chicago style pizza supports more toppings but again that is MY opinion.

Basic Crust Recipe:

Basic Pizza Dough:

1 package active dry yeast

2 teaspoons sugar

1 cup warm water (110 degrees F ** Very Important)

1/4 cup lard or vegetable shortening

3 to 4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons salt

Olive oil

In an electric mixing bowl, whisk the yeast, sugar, water and lard together to make a paste. Add the flour, salt {and mix using a dough hook} until the dough comes away from the sides and crawls up the dough hook. Remove the dough from the bowl. Grease the bowl with olive oil and place the dough back in the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and divide dough in half. Roll the dough into balls, cover, and let the dough rest for 15 to 20 minutes. The dough is ready to be shaped.

This recipe yields about 2 (12-inch) pizzas or 1 deep dish pizza. 

NOTE: Pizza is best made in an oven that can reach 500 degrees F.  However, most conventional ovens can safely reach 450 F.  This is OK! If you are still worried about the oven not truly reaching 450 F or keeping the heat evenly, then you may want to check out a pizza stone.  A pizza stone is a marble {traditionally} or ceramic stone slab that collects and holds oven heat. You can order them via Donna Cooper with Pampered Chef for $32.00. << Click the link to go directly to her page! biz/donnacooper 

New York Style:Traditional Pizza Margarita

Chicago Style: Spinach, mushroom, and Mozzarella.