What is the consensus on par-baking a Chicago-style deep dish crust?

[youonlylivetwice]

When  I read through the recipes included in the long threads, they often get up to pannning the dough, but don't comment on par-baking, times, etc. 
I ask in part because the Reinhart recipe does call for a par-bake, but in trying to mimic the great Chicago restaurants I can't believe they can afford to parbake, they must top and bake all at once in a commercial setting.
Chicago style is the only type I have parbaked before, for fear of the dough not cooking through.   I am interested in what those of you with much more experience than I have found to be optimal....

thanks!

[RSMBob]

By "Chicago-style" I'm assuming you are talking about a deep dish/stuffed crust pizza ala Giordano's, Uno/Due, Gino's East, etc. For me, while I DO par-bake my thin crust pizzas, I do NOT do so with the deep dish stuff. The lower oven temp, longer cook time, and cheese below allows it to sufficiently "cook" the crust and toppings/fillings/cheese together.

[buzz]

IMO, Reinhart doesn't know the first thing about making a proper Chicago deep dish. I bake my deep dishes at 450 and don't have a problem. But I don't see why you couldn't par-bake the dough if you want to!

[Pete-zza]

Tom Lehmann occasionally writes about par-baking of crusts. In response to a request for assistance from one of our members who was starting a pizza business in Mexico, I rounded up everything I could find that Tom Lehmann wrote on the subject and incorporated it in the thread at http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,1549.msg14102.html#msg14102. That thread also includes a link to a good Correll discussion on par-baking of crusts.

As buzz points out, it is OK to par-bake a crust if that is what one wants to do and, in some circumstances, it may be very convenient to do so because of volume or as a time saver. However, in a typical home setting where you are not making pies in volume, I think you will get better overall results baking the pie fresh.

Peter

[DKM]

I don't belive it is necessary to par-bake.

DKM

[jordanzimmerman]

While not strictly a Chicago style, I make a deep dish that I pre-bake: http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,2014.0.html

[DKM]

Pre-bake or par-bake?

DKM

[jordanzimmerman]

I guess par-bake is more accurate.

[youonlylivetwice]

Hi, DKM, I am not sure I know the difference.  Any pre-baking would be par-baking as well, wouldn't it?
Thanks and sorry if I used a poor term 

[DKM]

Pre-bake is to fully bake now for use at a later time.  Typically a pre-baked item only needs to be heated through to eat or even eaten cold.

Par-bake is to partly bake now and to be finished baking at a later time.  A par-baked item must finish baking before eating.

DKM

[youonlylivetwice]

gotcha.  I am talking par-baking, like I said in the first post I brought it up because the recipe in American Pie by Peter Reinhart calls for par-baking the crust, and I wondered what most people did here.... many of the recipes don't get quite specific enough to know.  I can't see that any of the restaurants that folks are trying to copy could possibly try to par-bake crust, and so I don't know why Reinhart's recipe would call for it.  My suspicion was that very few people here do par-bake.

[buzz]

Try one par-baked and one not, and see which you like better!