American Style-Crispy? Where?

[chickenparm]

Several times over the last few years or so,my kids would win free pizzas from PH,PJ's,Doms or etc through school reading programs or etc.Sometimes the kids would go somewhere and bring chain pizzas home.Sometimes we would take the kids to get their pizzas.Heck,I used to eat some of these when I moved out west and chain pizza was all that was available.

That said,I have never seen a American style Pizza crispy on the outside,or anywhere from one these Chain pizzas.They are always very soft on the bottom and even the rim.Soft everywhere.They fold soft.The rim may be inflated some,but no crispy outer layer anywhere.The bottoms never get crispy because its cooked on a screen in a conveyor oven.Just browning from sugar in the dough??

I had to re-edit...there was a few pizza a bit crispy on the rim bottom or edges,but that was from PH,one was a oil fried Pan,the other was a thin crust crackery style and was super nasty.Frying pizza in oil to make it crispy is not a norm everyone does,so I'm not counting that.

Do we need to re-word on the forum,what is truly an American style pie?

Pizza americana is a medium to thin crust pie that is crispy on the outside, yet soft inside. Found at popular pizzerias throughout the U.S. including Papa John's, Domino's, and Pizza Hut.

My experience says it is both soft and extra chewy on the inside and out.Easily foldable,very soft crusts and rims.

The other day,my kids went with their church group and they brought home Papa Johns pizza.I told them to save me the crust or rim for an observation I wanted to make.15 hours or so later inside the box,the rim is still pretty soft,did not even stale up yet to be crispy on the outside!

What is your experience?
 

[chickenparm]

I wanted to add,when I cloned a pie once,it was crispier at home using KABF,and a stone.But I am talking mainly about what these chains put out and if anyone has experienced a crispy outside and chewy inside.
 

[Pete-zza]

Bill,

I think it is difficult to come up with a definition of the American style doughs and cover all of the products as sold by the major American style chains like Papa John's, Domino's, Pizza Hut and Little Caesars. Some of these chains sell crispy pizzas with thin crusts that I don't consider to be American styles. Typically they are made for the chains by others and are delivered in frozen form to the stores, where they are held in freezers and coolers pending use. Most of the basic American style dough skins as used by the chains tend to be of medium thickness and use a fair amount of sugar and oil. These ingredients yield a soft and tender texture to the rim and crumb. They also keep the crusts from drying out, which keeps them from staling as quickly and drying out. This is because the oil in the doughs restrains evaporation of moisture in the doughs during baking and the sugar, as a hygroscopic substance that attracts moisture from its surroundings, helps keep the moisture in the crust, even after the crust cools down. I have looked at the dough ingredients used by Papa John's, Pizza Hut and Domino's and they are generally high in oil and sugar. I have not seen the ingredients for the Little Caesars doughs, which are maintained as trade secrets by LC. I might be able to figure things out from their Nutrition Facts but I have not had a reason to do so.

All of the foregoing chains use conveyor ovens with screens or the like, so their crust characteristics will be different than if they were baked on stones. For such an application, they would perhaps lower the amount of sugar in their doughs to keep the bottoms of the pizzas from prematurely turning dark or even burning.

Peter

[Pizza Inhaler]

I got a pizza once from Me-n-Ed's that had a crispy bottom.  Must have got lucky because the next one I ordered wasn't the same.    They do advertise fire-brick baked though.