Tavern-Style (Chicago Thin)
Cracker-thin, butter-flaky, cut into squares, eaten over a beer. The actual Chicago pizza.
Intro
This is what Chicagoans actually eat — not deep dish. Low hydration, cold butter cut in like pie crust, aggressive docking, uncovered overnight rest in the fridge. Toppings go right to the edge — there is no border. Cut into squares: three cuts each direction = 16 pieces per pie. Party-cut, never wedges.
Ingredients
Sized for 2 × 12-inch pizzas (2 crust of 2 crust/batch · 1× batch)
note · 50% hydration — the lowest on the site.
note · Butter, not oil — creates the flaky-cracker layers.
Sized for 2 × 12-inch pizzas (250 g of 350 g/batch · 0.71× batch)
note · ½ × 28oz can.
note · ~1 small 6oz can. Doing the structural work — don't skimp.
note · ~1 tsp. Powder, not fresh — fresh garlic reads wrong here.
note · ~1 tsp.
note · ~1 tsp.
note · ~1 tsp.
note · ~½ tsp.
Sized for 2 × 12-inch pizzas (350 g of 350 g/batch · 1× batch)
note · Galbani, Polly-O, Boar's Head, or your local deli's house block. Whole milk — not part-skim.
The process
- ◆ DOUGH
Tavern Dough (Chicago Thin)
↗ - 1
Combine dry
Mix the flour 400 g, salt 8 g, sugar 8 g, yeast 2 g in a food processor (best tool) or stand mixer. Pulse to combine.
- 2
Cut in cold butter
Add the cold butter cubes 40 g. Pulse/mix until butter is in pea-sized pieces — same as making pie dough.
- 3
Add cold water
Add the cold water 200 ml. Mix just until the dough comes together, about 30 seconds. Don't overwork.
- 4
Divide & chill
Turn out, divide into two 320g balls. Wrap each tightly. Refrigerate 24 hours.
⏱ Chill1440:00 - 5
Roll thin
Roll each ball on a floured surface to a 12-inch round, very thin (⅛ inch or less). A rolling pin is mandatory here.
- 6
Dock aggressively
Dock with a docker or fork — every half-inch, all over.
✶ Pizzaiolo tipA pasta roller can stand in for the rolling pin if you want pizzeria-thin precision. - 7
Dry uncovered
Place skins on parchment, on a sheet tray, uncovered, in the fridge for 12–24 more hours. This dries the surface for crackling crispness.
✶ Pizzaiolo tipThe uncovered fridge dry-out is what separates good tavern from soggy disappointment. Don't skip it.⏱ Dry uncovered720:00 - ◆ SAUCE
Tavern-Style Paste-Heavy Sauce
↗ - 8
Combine
Combine the crushed tomatoes 286 g, tomato paste 64.3 g, oil 10.7 g, garlic powder 2.14 g, onion powder 2.14 g, oregano 1.43 g, dried basil 0.71 g, sugar 5.71 g, salt 3.57 g, and red pepper 0.71 g in a saucepan.
- 9
Smooth it
Whisk or blend with an immersion blender until smooth.
- 10
Reduce
Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Cook 10–15 minutes, stirring often, until thick enough to sit up on a spoon. Reduces to about half the starting volume.
⏱ Reduce13:00 - 11
Taste & cool
Should read as noticeably sweet, slightly spicy, herby. Adjust accordingly. Cool before using.
✶ Pizzaiolo tipFor Quad Cities-style, add 1 tsp molasses + ½ tsp cayenne to this base. - ◆ CHEESE
Block Mozzarella Prep
↗ - 12
Buy block, not bag
Buy whole-milk low-moisture mozzarella in a block. Pre-shredded cheese is coated with cellulose and won't melt the same way.
- 13
Chill before grating
Chill the cheese 30 minutes in the freezer. Cold cheese grates cleanly without smearing.
⏱ Chill30:00 - 14
Grate
Grate on the large holes of a box grater, or the grating disc on a food processor for larger amounts.
- 15
Surface-dry 15 min
Spread on a tray and let sit at room temperature 15 minutes. This dries the surface slightly and improves melt.
✶ Pizzaiolo tipFor grandma-style, mix in 50g of grated low-moisture mozzarella + 30g grated Parmesan for the iconic salty-nutty top.⏱ Surface-dry15:00 - 16
Use or freeze
Use within 24 hours of grating, or freeze for up to a month.
- ◆
Assembly
- 17
Preheat
Preheat oven to 500°F with a steel for 1 hour.
⏱ Preheat60:00 - 18
Top edge-to-edge
Sauce 125 g thinly spread, sausage crumbles 100 g, mozzarella 175 g over everything. Toppings go right to the rim — there is no border.
- 19
Slide onto steel
Slide the rolled-out skin onto the steel (parchment and all is fine).
- 20
Bake
Bake 7–10 minutes until cheese is deeply browned and almost nutty.
⏱ Bake08:00 - 21
Party-cut
Cut into squares — three cuts each direction = 16 pieces per pie. Party-cut, never wedges.
✶ Pizzaiolo tipFor St. Louis-style, swap the mozzarella for Provel and don't @ anyone.
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