Tavern Style Pizza
Seeking true Chicago pizza? Look no further than the thin, crackery, flavorful tavern style.
Servings: 4 pizzas
Calories: 540kcal
Equipment
- Electric stand mixer with dough hook optional but very helpful
- Food scale
- Medium mixing bowl
- rubber spatula
- whisk
- 68 oz container with lid
- 4 Smaller containers with lids
- Food processor or strong blender
- Pizza Stone
- Pizza Peel optional but very helpful
- Cheese Grater
- Ladle
- Cutting board
- Knife
- Frying Pan
- spatula
Ingredients
For the Crust
- 14 oz room temperature or slightly warm water
- 1 tsp active dry yeast
- 2 tsp sugar or honey
- 23 oz bread flour
- 2 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp salt
For the Sauce
- 1 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp minced garlic (2-3 cloves)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Fresh Italian herbs (rosemary, thyme, basil, oregano) or 1 tbsp dried Italian seasoning
Toppings
- 2 lb fresh mozzarella grated or sliced
- 1 lb Italian sausage
- 1 lb pepperoni
- 4 oz banana peppers
Instructions
For the Crust
- Add the yeast, sugar, and water to the bowl of your stand mixer and let stand for 5 minutes.
- Weigh out your flour, and add it a scoop at a time to the mixing bowl. Make sure it's just incorporated between each addition.
- Halfway between incorporating the flour, add the salt.
- Keep adding the flour and mixing until the dough starts to come together (it doesn't need to be perfect, just 90% there). If you overmix, the dough will be too tough.
- Turn the dough out into a container with a lid at least 2x the size of the dough ball.
- Cover the top loosely with plastic wrap, add the lid, place in the fridge, and allow to rise at least 12 hours, preferably 24.
- Once the dough has risen, flour a clean surface and grab your kitchen scale.
- Weigh the dough out into 4 equal portions, roll them into balls, and place each ball in its own smaller container.
- If making pizza immediately, allow the balls to rest for 2 hours at room temp. If making pizza later, place each container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
For the Sauce
- If using fresh herbs, remove the leaves from the stems and add to a small bowl.
- Add all ingredients to the bowl of a food processor or blender.
- Blend all ingredients together until smooth.
- Transfer to jars and store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Assembly and Cooking
- Preheat your oven (with a pizza stone in it) to 550℉, or as high as your oven will go.
- Flour a clean surface and roll out 1 ball of pizza dough into a 12-inch pie. You'll want it to be as thin as possible without tearing or allowing light through.
- Pick up the dough with a pizza peel or pizza pan, and place on the pizza stone. Bake for 2 minutes.
- Remove crust from the oven. Allow to cool until you can safely touch it, then tamp down the bubbles on the surface.
- Using a ladle for ease, pour sauce on the pizza crust and use the underside of the ladle to evenly smooth it around.
- Liberally sprinkle mozzarella over the top of the sauce.
- Place your desired toppings in an even layer over the top of the pie.
- Place the pizza back in the oven (this is where the peel really comes in handy). Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the cheese is browning in the center.
- Cut into a grid shape for authenticity. Top with fresh grated parmesan and red pepper flakes.
Nutrition
Calories: 540kcal
