NYT Cooking - Kenji Makes Chicago Thin-Crust Pizza | J. Kenji López-Alt | NYT Cooking
Chicago thin crust pizza is distinct from the city's famous deep dish, offering a cracker-thin crust with toppings spread from edge to edge. This style is cut into small squares, making it perfect for sharing. The dough is simple to prepare at home, requiring no special equipment. It uses a dry, oily dough with a 50% hydration level, which is lower than typical pizza doughs. This results in a crisp, crackery texture. The dough benefits from resting in the fridge for up to five days, enhancing flavor and texture. Toppings include a heavily seasoned sauce and traditional sausage, with the pizza baked at 500 degrees for about 10 minutes. The result is a crispy, flavorful pizza that's easy to make and share.
Key Points:
- Chicago thin crust pizza features a cracker-thin crust with toppings from edge to edge, cut into small squares.
- The dough is easy to make at home, requiring no special equipment, and uses a dry, oily mixture for a crackery texture.
- Resting the dough in the fridge for up to five days enhances flavor and texture, resulting in a crispier crust.
- Toppings include a heavily seasoned sauce and traditional sausage, with the pizza baked at 500 degrees for about 10 minutes.
- This style of pizza is ideal for sharing, with small, easy-to-eat pieces.
Details:
1. 🍕 Midwest Thin Crust vs. New York Pizza
- Midwest thin crust is characterized by its cracker-like texture and is typically cut into squares, offering a contrasting experience to the foldable, large slices of New York pizza.
- New York pizza is known for its thin, yet flexible crust, often with a chewy texture, and is served in oversized slices meant to be folded.
- Both pizza styles have their own strengths: Midwest thin crust is appreciated for its crispiness and bite-sized convenience, while New York pizza is celebrated for its distinctive foldable slices and flavorful crust.
- The speaker maintains a neutral stance, appreciating the diversity in pizza styles and acknowledging that preference is subjective, often influenced by regional and cultural factors.
2. 👋 Meet Kenji López-Alt
- Kenji López-Alt is a renowned food writer and chef, recognized for his scientific approach to cooking.
- He is the author of the bestselling book 'The Food Lab' and a contributor to Serious Eats.
- Kenji's method emphasizes precision and experimentation, applying scientific principles to enhance culinary techniques.
- In this segment, he shares insights into making Chicago thin crust pizza, focusing on achieving the perfect crispy texture.
- His techniques involve specific dough preparation methods and cooking times, which can be adapted for home kitchens.
3. 📝 Discovering Chicago Thin Crust Pizza
- Chicago Thin Crust Pizza features an extraordinarily thin, cracker-like crust.
- The sauce and cheese cover edge to edge, creating a consistent flavor in every bite.
- The pizza is cut into small squares, facilitating easy sharing among groups.
- This pizza style is easy to make at home, requiring no special equipment.
- The dough is dry and easy to handle, simplifying the preparation process.
- Suitable for those who find New York or Neapolitan-style pizza preparation challenging.
4. 🍞 Crafting the Perfect Dough
- Chicago-style thin crust pizza originated in the taverns of Chicago during Prohibition in the 1920s.
- The dough uses basic ingredients: flour, salt, yeast, sugar, water, and olive oil.
- The dough is distinct due to its drier and more oily consistency, similar to a cracker, unlike New York-style pizza dough.
- 300 grams of all-purpose flour should be measured by weight, not volume, for consistency.
- The recipe includes 7 grams of salt (2.5% of the flour), 7 grams of sugar, and 1 gram of instant yeast.
- 150 grams of water is used, making the dough 50% hydrated, compared to typical pizza dough, which is 60-65% hydrated.
- 30 grams of oil is added, making the effective hydration 60% (50% water + 10% oil).
5. 🔄 Preparing and Curing the Dough
5.1. 🔄 Preparing the Dough
5.2. 🔄 Curing the Dough
6. 🔥 Perfecting the Bake
6.1. Preparation and Techniques
6.2. Baking Techniques
7. 🍽️ Toppings and Taste Test
- The dough is prepared by letting it cure overnight, resulting in a dry, leathery feel which aids in easy sliding onto the pizza peel without additional flour.
- The oven is preheated to 500 degrees with a baking stone, crucial for achieving the desired crust texture.
- Chicago-style pizza sauce is heavily seasoned compared to New York-style, with ingredients like fresh and granulated garlic, Italian seasoning, and tomato paste, contributing to a rich flavor profile.
- The pizza bakes for approximately 10 minutes, during which the sauce cooks and the sausage renders fat, enhancing the overall taste.
- Docking the dough to prevent bubbles is crucial, as bubbles can lead to burning spots during baking.
- Mozzarella cheese should be spread evenly, with 8 to 12 ounces recommended, ensuring coverage to the edges to avoid burning.
- Sausage is a traditional topping in Chicago due to its historical availability and is recommended to be applied raw for optimal flavor integration.
- Hot giardiniera, a popular modern topping, adds a spicy and tangy flavor, though not traditional.
- The pizza is cut into squares after baking, with preference for crispy corner pieces for those who enjoy a crunchy texture.
- Using low-moisture, full-fat mozzarella is advised for the best texture and melting characteristics. If unavailable, a mix of part-skim mozzarella and Monterey Jack is suggested.
- Post-baking, a sprinkle of Romano or Parmesan cheese adds fresh cheese flavor to complement the cooked cheese taste.
- The final product should have a cracker-like texture with minimal bubbling, making it easy to consume in small portions.