There are a few ground rules for what makes a good deep-dish pizza. The crust should be flakey and buttery, and a chunky red sauce and tons of mozzarella cheese are essential. After that, the next most common question about Chicago-style pizza is, “how do I eat it?” Deep-dish pizzas generally require a knife and fork. If you go to a pizzeria in San Jose that makes a mean deep-dish pizza, you’ll have a hard time picking up a slice with your hands. But there’s certainly no one stopping you from trying.

At the end of the day, the most important rule of eating a deep-dish pizza is this: There are no rules! Eat it with a fork or pick it up with your hands, as long as you enjoy every bite you’re doing it right. One of the best Chicago-style pizzerias in San Jose is Pizza Chicago. The pizza experts at Pizza Chicago will show you how to enjoy a deep-dish pizza the Chicago way, or at least bring you lots of napkins if you prefer to eat it another way.

How do you like your pizza? If you like a thick, flaky crust, pounds of toppings, and a chunky tomato sauce, you would love the pizza in Chicago. Fortunately, you don’t have to take a cross-country flight to enjoy Chicago-style pizza. You can find pizzerias in San Jose that specialize in this time-honored process of pizza making. But what exactly does that process entail? And why are deep dish Chicago-style pizzas so darn delicious? This article takes you into the kitchen and gives you a step-by-step look at how Chicago deep-dish pizzas are created.

1. Dough – The first step is to pat out a flakey, buttery crust by hand on a well-seasoned deep-dish pizza pan. The dough is raised up high on the sides of the pan to hold in the incredibly amount of ingredients that go inside a traditional Chicago-style pizza.

2. Cheese – If this were a thin-crust, NYC-style pizza, this is where the sauce would come in. But this ain’t a New York pizza, is it? The second step of making a deep-dish pizza is to layer thick slices of mozzarella cheese directly on top of the dough.

3. Toppings – After the cheese is properly layered (and extra cheese is added per your request) the “toppings” are put into the pizza. It’s really more appropriate to say “ingredients” since they are incorporated into the pizza beneath the chunky, saucy surface. Popular deep-dish ingredients include onions, mushrooms, spinach, green pepper, and sausage.

4. Sauce – We’ve mentioned the pizza sauce a few times by now, but it bears mentioning just one more time. Deep-dish pizzas call for a rich and chunky tomato sauce that features a blend of grated parmesan cheese and other spices. The sauce goes directly on top of the cheese and “toppings” to produce a warm, gooey, and delicious center after baked.

If Chicago pizza in San Jose has become a staple of your diet, you may be interested in learning a little bit about the meal. Deep-dish pizza is much different from other types of pizza, including the thin round pies typically found in New York and down the East Coast of the United States. If you are interested in learning about the components of this style of pizza as well as the materials used to make it and the best way to save it for later, read on for Chicago Deep Dish Pizza 101.

Elements

Almost every kind of pizza is made up of several key components: toppings, sauce, cheese, and crust. When it comes to deep-dish pizza, sausage is a traditional component as well; however, this layer is no longer a given and is not always incorporated. One of the biggest differences between deep-dish pizza and East Coast pizza is that the sauce goes on top of the cheese rather than the other way around. The bottommost layer of a deep-dish pizza is its crust, which serves as a thin foundation for the pie. The cheese is then laid on top of the crust, followed by the now-optional sausage layer , and completed with the sauce and any other toppings you might desire.

Pans

Once you have gathered all of the elements and ingredients for your deep-dish pizza, the next step is to identify the proper cookware. A deep-dish pizza requires a sturdy pan that can heat up homogenously. This pan style is similar to that of a cake pan, with short walls that support the deep crust. It helps to use a darkened pan because lighter colored pans will not absorb as much light or heat.

Ovens

If you do not have access to a commercial oven, you will want to use a pizza stone and sheet of aluminum foil in your oven. Avoid using any sort of speed settings on your oven to ensure that your pizza cooks evenly throughout; these settings tend to result in uneven cooking and cool spots in the center of the pie.

Few types of pizza are as unique and iconic as Chicago-style pizza. If you’ve never tasted it before, you can try Chicago pizza near San Jose at Pizz’a Chicago . The Windy City’s most famous dish is different than most other types of pizza that you’ll find around the world. Read on to learn a few facts about this unique regional food.

It’s a Relatively Recent Invention

Though Chicago was founded in 1833, Chicago pizza wasn’t served in the city until more than a century later. Pizzeria Uno, which opened in 1943, was the first restaurant to ever serve this dish. The heirs of the restaurant’s founder Ike Sewell and its chef Rudy Malnati have disputed which of the two men actually invented the deep dish pizza, but both agree that it was first served at Uno’s. In the seven decades that have passed, many more pizzerias serving deep dish have opened in Chicago and all around the country.

It’s Layered Differently Than Other Pizzas

Thin crust pizzas are usually layered in the following way: crust, sauce, cheese, toppings. But the unique structure of a deep-dish pizza requires a different layering scheme. The thickness of the crust and the depth of the topping layer require much longer baking times than other pizzas, so to prevent the cheese from burning it is laid down first. Then the toppings are added, and finally a layer of tomato sauce on the very top. This construction ensures that the other ingredients don’t charring before the crust is perfectly cooked.

It’s Available in Gluten-Free and Healthy Versions

Chicago-style pizza has kept up with changing needs and preferences of modern diners. Gluten-free crust is available so that people who choose not to eat gluten or those who suffer from celiac disease or other gluten sensitivities can enjoy deep dish pizza. In California, pizzerias make deep dish with local vegetables to offer diners fresh, healthy toppings. A customized Chicago-style pizza with all your favorite toppings is the perfect delivery or takeout food for the whole family.

Some nights, it’s okay to stay out of the kitchen and simply order food online in San Jose . When you’re ordering in, pizza is the most classic choice. You don’t need to feel guilty about placing an online order or calling for pizza delivery—there are plenty of great reasons why deep-dish pizza is the perfect food for some evenings. Here are just a few reasons why tonight might be the night to order pizza:

You’ve Had a Long Work Day

While cooking your own food can be great, you might not want to spend an hour or more prepping food and standing at the stove if you’ve had an extra stressful or long workday. Ordering a pizza lets you get a delicious, complete meal featuring all your required nutrients and food groups on the table quickly and easily.

You Want a Complete Meal in One Dish

Choose your toppings carefully, and one slice of pizza can feature every food group. You’ll get carbs and grains from the crust, dairy from the cheese, protein from any meats you order, and vitamins and minerals from the tomato sauce and any fresh veggies you get on your pizza. If you need a gluten-free meal, simply order a pizza made with gluten-free dough.

You Don’t Want Extra Cleanup

Other types of takeout can create a mess almost as big as cooking can. By the time you’ve unpacked several different styrofoam containers and little plastic cups of sauce, there’s a ton of things to rinse out and put in the recycling. A pizza comes in one box, and you can use your own plates. When ordering deep dish, remember that you’ll need knives and forks too! When you’re done, everything can go in the dishwasher.

You Really Love Pizza

For many people, pizza is a comfort food that brings back warm childhood memories of pizza parties at school or birthday parties at pizzerias. It’s perfectly okay to order pizza simply because you or someone in your family loves it and has a craving.

Whether you are hosting a kid’s birthday celebration, a graduation party, or an informal summer get-together with friends, you can’t go wrong with a pizza party in Palo Alto . With pizza catering, it’s easy to build pies that every guest will love, and since pizza is easy to serve, you won’t have much mess to clean up afterwards. This is especially convenient if you host the pizza party in your own home. The tips below will help you throw the perfect party featuring Chicago-style pizza.

Ask Guests for Topping Preferences

Pepperoni is the most popular pizza topping in America, but not every guest will enjoy it. To ensure that you have selections that all your guests will love, send out a quick email to ask everyone you’ve invited about their preferred pizza toppings. Also, leave space for them to indicate any food allergies or sensitivities—you can order vegetarian or gluten-free pizzas, but you’ll need to know ahead of time.

Provide Proper Seating and Utensils

Deep-dish pizza is not meant to be eaten with your hands. The unique crust and thick layer of toppings require a knife and fork. Make sure that you have enough plates, knives, and forks for each of your guests, and even a few extra. Also, make sure that everyone has a seat with a table nearby, so they can easily cut their pizza. Everyone doesn’t have to be in the same place in the house, but every seat should be comfortable.

Select Appetizers, Sides, and Desserts

Although one slice of deep-dish pizza can be a hearty meal, complete with veggies and nutrients, you should still have a few appetizers and sides available to your guests. Garlic bread and buffalo wings are pizza party staples that pair perfectly with any pie you choose. For a side salad, you can order a huge communal portion of Caesar salad, spinach salad, or the pizzeria’s house salad and guests can serve themselves. For dessert, cheesecake or cookies are both great finishes to a hearty, delicious pizza meal.

Pizza took on its modern form more than 100 years ago in Italy, and since then it has spread all over the world. In the U.S., many different cities and regions have their own local versions of pizza, but the two most famous are New York style and Chicago style pizza (also called deep-dish pizza). In Northern California, you can enjoy Chicago-style pizza near Palo Alto at Pizz’a Chicago . Read on to learn more about what makes this type of pizza special.

The Crust

“Pizza pie” is a common term for a whole pizza, but it doesn’t really describe most types of pizza accurately. Italian and New York style pizzas are actually flatbreads with a thin layer of toppings. Chicago pizza, however, is baked in a round pan similar to a pie pan—this is the “deep dish” that gives the pizza its other name. The buttery, rich dough is spread on the bottom of the oiled pan and also worked up the sides, and it is partially baked before toppings are added. It should be crispy, flaky, and rich.

The Assembly

Most styles of pizza are assembled in this order: crust, sauce, cheese, toppings. At a Chicago-style pizzeria, however, the construction order is slightly different. Deep dish pizzas require longer times in the oven than thin-crust pizzas, and if the delicious mozzarella cheese was on top and exposed to direct heat for the full baking time, it would burn or become rubbery. Thus, Chicago style pizzas are built in the following order: crust, cheese, toppings, tomato sauce.

The Toppings

Thin slices of pizza can only hold so many toppings before they collapse or get soggy. But a deep-dish pizza has room for a larger quantity of toppings, because the crust is sturdier. Also, it is meant to be eaten with knife and fork instead of with your hands, so a deep-dish slice can come piled high with different delicious ingredients. At Pizz’a Chicago, we offer a wide range of specialty pies, including vegetarian options, packed with different delicious ingredient combinations.

Chicago-style pizza is a popular style of deep-dish pizza that has room for more cheese, sauce, and toppings than other pizza styles. Even pizza places near Palo Alto serve this kind of pizza to please eager fans on the other side of the country. Keep reading to learn more about deep dish and how it came to be:

No Definitive Answers
Although historians know that deep-dish pizza was invented in Chicago, they have discovered that is almost impossible to figure out who actually created it. The only documentation about deep-dish pizza that exists lead back to Pizzeria Uno, which is a pizza place that still exists in The Windy City. Historians can be sure that the first deep-dish style pizza was served out of the Pizzeria Uno building, which stands at 29 E. Ohio Street in Chicago.

The Pizza Mansion
The original Pizzeria Uno operated out of a mansion built by Nathan Mears, who was rich from the lumber industry. Richard Novaretti, also known as Ric Raccardo, and Ike Sewell founded the original Pizzeria Uno, but historians are hesitant to give them full credit for creating this style of pizza . All anyone can be sure of is that it originated in Chicago and quickly gained popularity throughout the country.

A New Kind of Pizza
Historians do know that deep-dish pizza originated in Chicago in 1943. Instead of creating pies with thin crusts, pizza makers in Chicago started to build thicker, crunchier crusts with the sauce on top of the cheese. The entire pizza industry brings in billions of dollars a year and the restaurant that is responsible for deep-dish pizza brings in millions on its own.

A Pizza Associated with a City’s Identity
There is no food that represents the City of Chicago as much as deep-dish style pizza. Pizza places around the country specialize in this deep-dish pizza to give their patrons the authentic Chicago flavor without having to leave their hometowns.

Whether you’re from the east coast, Midwest, or west coast, chances are you’ve heard about the debate over New York versus Chicago-style pizza. Both types of pizza have their fans, but it’s only fair to try both before you decide which you like best. Make sure you get Chicago pizza from an authentic pizzeria in Palo Alto so you can make an informed decision. Watch this video for a look at Chicago pizza as it makes its way to New York.

There are some proponents of New York pizza who dismiss Chicago pizza outright—but chances are these people have never even sampled Chicago pizza for themselves. Chicago pizza is known for having a thick crust, cooked in a deep-dish pan that makes it chewy and delicious. New York pizza tends to have a thin crust, and you won’t get as much cheese or as many toppings as you do on a Chicago pizza. You might need a knife and fork to tackle a Chicago pizza, but that doesn’t make it any less of a pizza. No matter how you eat it, you’ll find it to be tasty and satisfying.