There are several different types of pizza crust. How many dough varieties can be made with the five basic ingredients? Are there other differences?
The classic dough consists of five ingredients – flour, yeast, olive oil, salt, and water. This pizza came to us many years ago. Over time, the list of products that make up its basis has changed and been supplemented.
To give the dough splendor, milk was added to it. It also gave the base tenderness and softness.
However, there are many lovers of dough without yeast in the world. It is very convenient to cook it at home in an ordinary bread machine, and its composition is the same as that of the classic dough, only an egg is used instead of yeast.
Italians also like to add oregano and other spices to the dough to give it an interesting flavor.

Which Crust Is Best?
Pizza is a fairly easy dish to prepare, however, there are a lot of options for preparing it. Its basis is dough, and it is the quality of this flour mass that determines how tasty the delicacy will turn out. Many are interested in what dough is best. It is rather difficult to answer this question, since everything here depends on the taste of a particular person. However, it is still possible to speculate a little on this topic.
Little by little, family-owned pizzerias run by moms and dads, usually of Italian-American descent, spread across the country, pizza crusts are different as well. However, due to the lack of the now well-developed information system, different regions have developed their own styles of pizza. Soldiers returning home from Europe after the end of World War II are believed to be the catalyst for pizza’s spread outside the Italian-American community.
Let’s immediately denote that pizza that there are thick or thin types of pizza crust. Let’s start with the types of thin crust.
Thin Types of Pizza Crust
For the most part, the thin crust pizza is the go-to choice for pizza lovers.

Neapolitan crust
This is the most Italian pizza crust, which was invented in Naples, in the 18th century.
Flour, yeast, salt and water are what makes this dough. You should not add too much topping, as an extremely thin dough will not withstand the heavy weight of the filling.
Neapolitan pizza includes pizza margherita, pizza marinara and other types of thin crust pizza are cooked on this pizza crust.
The oven must be well heated and the pizza baked for about 90 seconds if you want an authentic Neapolitan pizza crust.
Real Neapolitan pizza is soft, not as crispy as many foreigners think. This softness of the dough is due to the baking method: at about 400 degrees Celsius in a wood-fired pizza oven. A talented pizza maker rolls the pizza from the center to the edges, thus moving the air bubbles inside the dough.
Thanks to this technique, during the baking process, the edges come to readiness before the dough in the center of the Neapolitan style pizza becomes hard. That’s why the pizza stays soft, tender, and supple – characteristics just needed to create the perfect base for tender local mozzarella and marinara sauce.
At the same time, the edges of the pizza crust significantly increase in size, and become golden, with characteristic “bubbles” along the entire diameter. Properly cooked Neapolitan pizza is an art.

New York style pizza crust
Pizza is one of New York’s favorite foods. Therefore, this pizza is radically different from what you can find in other parts of the world. However, at its core, it is still similar to Italian. New York pizza is usually round (but not necessarily) and has a crispy crust.
New York style crust is usually rolled out very thinly. The filling consists of only two or three ingredients or even cheese alone. You can eat it in different ways. But New Yorkers are sure that it is most delicious to fold the pizza slice with the stuffing in half, and only after that put it in your mouth. It is one of the most popular thin crust pizzas around the world.
To this day, to make New York pizza, pizzaiolos use parmesan cheese and tomato sauce. All kinds of seasonings go in tandem with the filling.
The most typical New York style are:
- oregano;
- dry red chili pepper;
- grated parmesan cheese;
- garlic powder.
These spices add flavor to the dish and make it unique. It is worth noting that real New York style pizza is very difficult to cook at home. New York style pizza crust is prepared on the basis of a special type of flour, which is rich in gluten. The dough must be kneaded by hand until it becomes elastic enough.

New York Crust
St. Louis crust
This is a Missouri’s favorite pizza. Unlike New Yorkers, they like to cut this pizza into squares.
The dough taken for the St. Louis pizza crust is not leavened, it does not consist of yeast, and as a result of which we get a thin crust pizza, which crunches like chips and reminds us of cracker crust.
St. Louis style pizza is not as flexible as a New York style pizza dough, so you can’t eat it by folding the pieces.
Delicious provel processed cheese is added to St. Louis pizza, a mixture of provolone, cheddar, and swiss.

New Haven style pizza
Near New York, in Connecticut, is New Haven, another place where coke ovens and coal-fired ovens were used to make pizza in the early 1900s (coke is made from coal, is a cleaner product, and burns very strongly).
In each of the three pizzerias, pizza is baked on a very thin crust, with a thin side and a toasted edge. Invented by Frank Pepe’s, clam pizza is often made elsewhere, and with good reason: freshly caught clams, garlic, olive oil, herbs, and bacon make a great combination.
Bobby and Rick Consiglio, the sons of founder Salvatore Consiglio (who, in turn, was Frank Pepe’s nephew and started his career in his restaurant), still work at Sally’s Apizza.
Thick Crust
Thick crust pizzas are very different in toppings and styles of cooking.
Sicilian pizza crust
Also known as Detroit-style thick crust deep dish pizza. Immigrants from Sicily brought the recipe for this wonderful pizza to America.
The Sicilian style pizza is made with bread flour, quick yeast, olive oil, water and salt. Layers of tomato sauce are paired with mozzarella cheese and garlic.
The Sicilian pizza dough comes out crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.
If you have tried Detroit style pizza at least once, then you will definitely want more and more slices. The peculiarity of Detroit-style pizza is that it is first baked with a filling, and then smeared with tomato sauce. Serve immediately while pizza is hot.

Chicago-Style Deep Dish Pizza Crust
And finally, a Chicago-style deep dish pizza. This is a very thick pizza, with a crust and high sides. It has enough space for delicious melted cheese, sauce, and any kind of topping.
The form is greased with olive oil so that the dough is slightly fried. It takes at least half an hour to bake such a base. The mozzarella cheese is put in the first layer of the filling, otherwise it may burn, which is a big no for Chicago deep dish pizza.
Sometimes semolina, cornmeal, and food dyes are added to the dough to give the dough a characteristic yellowish tint. Chicago style pizza is popular among the tourists.

Chicago-Style Deep Dish Crust
Dough Worldwide Features
A feature of some countries is that they make dough based on yogurt. It turns out light and tender, so it is hardly suitable as a base for spicy and meat pizzas, but it is an ideal combination with fruits and milk cheeses.
Types of pizza dough can differ from each other in just one ingredient – for example, if you add sour cream to a traditional yeast dough, then the taste of the dish will be completely new. And this base is suitable for any type of pizza – whether it is sweet or salty.
On the same principle, fermented baked milk is added to the dough, which slightly changes the taste of this dish. The base is stronger, able to support the weight of the filling, but slightly tasteless.
And a fundamentally new trend is the addition of semolina to the dough. It is known that semolina has useful properties, although in fact, it is the same wheat groats, it just has a coarse grinding. Kids will love this pizza dough.
New pizza serving ideas
The dough may differ not only in thickness and composition but also in the method of serving. For lovers of something special, the option is suitable when the dough is rolled out not in the usual circle, but rectangularly, and a wide pigtail decorated with salami circles is molded from it. An easier way to add originality is to “hide” pieces of vegetables or meat along the edges of the base.

You can make stuffed crust pizzas, including cheese crust pizza, double dough crust, etc. Pizza can also be rolled up in different ways, such as rolls, croissants, etc. For such dishes, all types of pizza dough are suitable, but yeast dough is still preferable, stuffed crust style is very fresh and tasty.
Different Pizza Types: Advantages And Disadvantages
There is no perfect recipe. Each person has their own preferences and tastes. Let’s briefly outline the pros and cons of each type of dough.
Yeast pizza dough
Yeast pizza dough is a classic. It is used in almost all famous restaurants. It stands out with the following advantages:
- Minimum components. To prepare such a base, you need water, flour, salt, and yeast. There are more complex recipes, but they are used by experienced chefs.
- To get a nice dough at home, a minimum set is enough.
- A good taste familiar to millions of people.
- The base is soft and tender. It’s the perfect solution for those who do not like a hard, crispy pie.
- You can prepare it in advance. It can be stored in the refrigerator on the shelf for up to two days.
- Freezing is allowed. It retains its properties for three months. You need to defrost gradually.
Yeast dough also has disadvantages. You won’t be able to cook pizza quickly, as you need to activate the yeast in advance. It will take another hour for the mixture to reach the condition.
You can find more details about yeast in our article “Super Inquiry: How Much Yeast Is in A Packet“.

Pizza dough without yeast
Yeast-free pizza dough is a popular home-cooking solution. This is related to the following points:
- A small set of products. You will need flour, an egg, vegetable oil, and salt. Additionally, you can add milk.
- Fast. It takes literally 20-30 minutes to bring the dough to the desired condition, unlike with yeasted pizza dough, when you have to wait for the dough to rise.
- Long-term storage. Can be stored frozen for up to 6 months. Defrost slowly. For two days is stored simply on a shelf in the refrigerator.
- The base is thin and crispy.
- Low calorie.
There are no disadvantages. The only thing is that you need to roll it out well if you want to get a crispy base, otherwise it will be soft.
How long does it take to raise yeast dough and yeast-free dough? We’ve already researched this question, and the professional answer is here.

Liquid pizza dough
This type of dough is rarely used. Although it has many advantages:
- it takes 10 minutes to cook;
- nothing needs to be rolled out or kneaded;
- allows you to prepare any base – thin or fluffy, soft or crispy;
- gets baked quickly.
This base is quite high in calories. In the cooking process, sour cream is used, in some recipes, they even add mayonnaise.
For real Italian pizza lovers, this option is not suitable. It is impossible to get a thin base.
Puff dough
This one is used extremely rarely since all the pluses are completely covered by numerous minuses. Puff pastry is distinguished by the following advantages:
- allows you to get an ultra-thin base;
- long shelf life;
- it comes with yeast and without yeast.
Among the disadvantages:
- high calorie;
- complex and lengthy cooking process;
- you need a large work surface to roll out a thin layer.
Puff pastry is not the best solution for pizza. It takes a long time to prepare, it takes a lot of energy, and in terms of taste, it is much inferior to the previous options.

Different Types of Pizza Crust: FAQ
Which type of pizza crust is best?
In fact, there is a wide variety of types of pizza dough, and to understand which one suits your personal taste, you should try several types and compare them with each other in terms of taste characteristics.
What is a thick crust pizza called?
It’s Chicago-style deep dish pizza and Sicilian pizza, or Detroit-style pizza. Both pizzas are a thick crust pizza, crispy but airy.
What are the 5 types of crust at Domino’s?
Pan Crust
Hand Tossed
Thin Crust
Brooklyn Style
Gluten Free pizza dough
What style of pizza has crispy crust?
There is St. Louis pizza which is very crispy because of cracker like crust. You can also try New Haven style pizza.
What’s the difference between Italian and American Pizza?
Traditional pizza is always prepared on a thin crust. American, as a rule, on a thick one.
In Italy, not as much topping is put on pizza as in the USA, because in the Apennines, pizza is often a “warm-up” before the main course. In the States, it can act as a full-fledged lunch or dinner.
There are a number of traditional Italian recipes – pizza Margherita and other types of Neapolitan pizza, Four Cheeses (Quattro Formaggi), Ham and Mushrooms (Prosciutto E Funghi), Marinara (Pizza Alla marinara) or closed Calzone. And there are native American types of pizza – Hawaiian, Chicago, and California pizza with BBQ sauce, and many others.
Different Types of Pizza Crust: Final Thoughts
There are many types of pizza in the world and a plethora of pizza recipes and pizza toppings. Some would really like a hearty Chicago style pizza, while others would rather prefer flatbread pizza, such as Neapolitan pizza or New York style pizza. Stuffed crust pizza would be the perfect option for those with a big appetite. Some pizzerias serve focaccia bread pizzas, which are basically like bread with a little topping all over it.

If you are on a diet or have gluten intolerance, opt for gluten free crust pizzas, some restaurants offer these on their menu. Otherwise, you can always make your own pizza at home on gluten free pizza doughs, which you can find in some supermarkets.
To tell the truth, even the most ordinary flatbread with sauce and melted cheese will always be tasty – it is difficult to spoil it, and therefore there are many people who enjoy eating pizza prepared without fanfare, whether on thick crusts, focaccia style crust, Sicilian crust, gluten-free pizza crust, flatbread crust, etc. Of course, we highly recommend not eating dishes you are not a fan of or that will harm your health in any way.