Extra thick pan pizza!

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   Pan pizza on steroids. Extra thick crust.
Extra saucy. Extra cheesy. Extra crispy edges. Inspired by my childhood memories of cold aluminum to-go trays of focaccia my Mom bought from an Italian deli on Taylor street in Chicago in the 70's.
   It's best eaten cold the next day. It
resembles an upside-down Sicilian or
Detroit style. 68% hydration
dough gives basic bread like chew. I'm not
really trying for the big air pockets or
classic focaccia bread bubbles.
   Same simple dough recipe I've used for thin crust. Same simple sauce recipe too. Same four cheese combo I picked up from the forum. Two stage bake lets the cheese flatten out just enough to sauce for a final amount in the oven. Sauce above the cheese just tastes great here.
9 x 13 x 2.5 aluminum pan. There are several details that make a big difference. I'll mention
all I do and tools I use.

Brant
Barrington, Illinois

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Pics...

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I had trials with larger and smaller
dough balls. It got too thick to fit
in my mouth at one point.

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I just realized the recipe
left out sitting on the counter
to rise two hours...

[Pizza-Face]

I do just the opposite, make a Grandma pizza with a 1 inch crust and put WAY too much cheese and sauce -eheh.

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I do just the opposite, make a Grandma pizza with a 1 inch crust and put WAY too much cheese and sauce -eheh.

Sounds good. Around here there's
Not too many left overs if 1" thick.
Lasts a while with a bigger ball.
The 36oz ball was a bit much.

[dmaclaren]

wow, that 3.5" one , 36 oz 1020 grams is a tf of .30  wow, that a lot of dough.

I do a DS of .13 TF /3.92g per sqin and that gets me 2"+

is that really dense? 

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wow, that 3.5" one , 36 oz 1020 grams is a tf of .30  wow, that a lot of dough.

I do a DS of .13 TF /3.92g per sqin and that gets me 2"+

is that really dense?

I don't remember it being dense.
Letting it sit for 60 minutes prior
to baking helps a bunch. I wanted
to push the limit of thickness on
purpose, then dial it back. It really
was too thick to get in my mouth. Ha!
The ball size in the recipe listed
was similar to the thickness I
remembered from the deli.
-Brant

[Travinos_Pizza]

The crumb seems incredibly dense, but I'm not complaining. Does it eat light or heavy? One piece and you're done?

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The crumb seems incredibly dense, but I'm not complaining. Does it eat light or heavy? One piece and you're done?

Made this yesterday. I would not
describe it as too dense. It's similar to
jets. Under cooked pizzas bother
me, so I usually error on the side of
being well done. Crispy edge, chewy,
too much rich sauce, too much cheese.
I make how I like it. Tangy vinegar
sauce. This stuff will make you fat fast!

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Pics

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Pics

[Travinos_Pizza]

Made this yesterday. I would not
describe it as too dense. It's similar to
jets. Under cooked pizzas bother
me, so I usually error on the side of
being well done. Crispy edge, chewy,
too much rich sauce, too much cheese.
I make how I like it. Tangy vinegar
sauce. This stuff will make you fat fast!

Unfortunately I can put it away at an alarming rate regardless if it eats heavy or not. Looks good regardless

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Unfortunately I can put it away at an alarming rate regardless if it eats heavy or not. Looks good regardless

Thanks!
Me too. My pizzas don't last long
around here. I've lost a bunch of
weight in the last year. Fridays are
my cheat meal for the week. I look
forward to a few glasses of Pinot
noir and planning out improvements
and experiments with my recipes.
This Italian bakery style should
probably only have sauce and a
sprinkle of Romano but it's better
loaded with all the cheeses. It's
great cold out of the fridge, if it
survives that long.