Hand-Tossed or Pan Pizza: Which Crust Reigns?

Hand-tossed vs. pan pizza debates often spark fierce loyalty among pizza enthusiasts everywhere.

Two distinct styles offer completely different eating experiences for casual diners and food connoisseurs alike.

The airy, traditional crust of hand-tossed creates a foldable slice with that characteristic New York-style chew.

Pan pizza, meanwhile, boasts a buttery, golden exterior with a fluffy interior that some people find irresistibly comforting.

Many restaurants now feature both options prominently on their menus, acknowledging the split in customer preferences.

This choice ultimately comes down to personal taste – whether you prefer light and crispy or thick and decadent textures.

The perfect pizza match for you might reveal something about your overall food personality and preferences beyond just this Italian-inspired favorite.

What Is A Hand-Tossed Pizza?

During fermentation, pizza dough develops numerous air bubbles that can cause problems when they're too large, creating an uneven surface that struggles to hold toppings properly. Pizza makers tackle this issue through hand tossing, a method that eliminates these troublesome bubbles while keeping the crust relatively flat and non-rising.

The beauty of this approach lies in how it maintains moisture within the dough, resulting in a much lighter and softer texture. Chefs stretch the dough by literally tossing and spinning it in the air, where natural centrifugal forces work to create a perfectly thin, round shape without excess thickness in the middle.

Many famous thin-crust varieties like New York style, St. Louis style, and New Haven style pizzas come from this traditional technique, which looks absolutely amazing when performed by someone with experience and skill.

How To Make A Hand-Tossed Pizza

To make hand-tossed pizza, start by mixing flour, water, and salt into a dough, then knead it on a floured surface until smooth and about the size of your hand; refrigerate to enhance flavor. Next, form a crust by squeezing the edges and toss the dough on the back of your fist, spinning it until it’s thin and roughly 12 inches wide, patching any tears as needed.

Place the dough on a pizza peel, add sauce, cheese, and toppings, keeping them away from the edges to avoid burning, and bake at 500°F (260°C) for 10-15 minutes, watching carefully to prevent burning.

Exploring Pan Pizzas

Pan pizza gets its name from how bakers handle the dough in a deep-dish pan for both preparation and cooking. Those high sides of the pan support thicker dough and keep all your favorite toppings safely contained - the deeper your pan, the more substantial your crust can be.

Several regional varieties exist, including Chicago, Sicilian, and Detroit styles, each offering its own special thickness profile. The signature thick crust serves as an excellent foundation for generous amounts of sauce and piled-high toppings that make pan pizzas so popular.

Pan pizza likely originated in early 20th-century Tuscany, where housewives baked a dish called "al Teslo" using pan-like trays in wood-fired ovens. In the 1960s, Pizza Hut founders Dan and Frank Carney popularized pan pizza in Kansas, receiving great customer acclaim.

Since then, many pizzerias have added thick-crust pan pizzas to their menus, continuing a tasty tradition that has lasted for generations.

How To Make A Pan Pizza?

Making pan pizza is simple and skips the tricky dough shaping:just prepare a dough with basic ingredients like flour, water, olive oil, salt, and yeast, adding optional flavors or toppings like garlic, herbs, or sausage. Coat a skillet or pizza pan with oil and preheat your oven to 500°F (260°C).

Press the dough evenly into the pan, shaping the edges around the walls to ensure even cooking. Then add your sauce, cheese, and favorite toppings before baking for 20-25 minutes until the cheese bubbles and the crust turns crispy.

Hand-Tossed vs. Pan Pizza: The Differences

Pizza lovers often debate between hand-tossed and pan varieties since each offers a different eating experience.

This table will help you to differentiate them easily.

Crusts

Hand-tossed pizza features a thin, flat crust achieved by skillfully tossing and spinning the dough to remove air bubbles, resulting in a thinner, less risen base. In contrast, pan pizza has a thick, chewy, and fluffy crust that rises significantly because the dough is pressed into a pan without removing air bubbles, giving it a texture similar to focaccia bread.

Preparation And Cooking Process

Preparing hand-tossed pizza requires technique to evenly stretch the dough through tossing and spinning, and it bakes quickly:usually 10 to 15 minutes at 500°F (260°C). Pan pizza is simpler to prepare, with dough pressed directly into a greased pan, but it needs a longer baking time of 25 to 35 minutes at the same temperature to fully cook its thicker crust.

Tools Needed

Making hand-tossed dough needs nothing more than skilled hands, though mastering this technique can be quite challenging. Many people damage their dough when they're not familiar with the proper movements.

Tears and clumps often happen during the tossing process, which is why professionals use the backs of their fists to toss, spin, and catch the dough safely. Hand-tossed pizza works perfectly on either a baking sheet or pizza stone.

For pan pizza, however, you need a specific container like a pizza pan, skillet, or deep baking dish. These containers help control how the crust expands as it bakes, resulting in a much fluffier texture than its hand-tossed counterpart.

Toppings And Sauces

Hand-tossed pizzas use thinner layers of sauce, cheese, and toppings to prevent the delicate crust from becoming soggy, often enhanced with herbs for flavor. Pan pizzas can support multiple layers of toppings, thick sauces, and blended cheeses, making them ideal for hearty, generously topped pies.

Taste And Texture

Hand-tossed pizza offers a crisp, sometimes cracker-like crust that is generally dry with less oil absorption, providing a delicate, balanced flavor. Pan pizza delivers a soft, fluffy, bread-like crust with a golden-brown exterior, often richer and sometimes oilier due to the cooking method and amount of toppings.

Serving

Hand-tossed pizzas are typically lighter and easier to handle, often eaten by hand in casual settings. Pan pizzas are heavier with abundant toppings, making them best enjoyed with a knife and fork, often shared as a hearty meal among several people.

Mouth-Watering Pizza Recipes

Pizza's incredible diversity keeps growing every day, with endless flavors waiting to be discovered. Why not surprise your family tonight by making something truly special at home?

New York-Style Pizza

New York-style pizza stands out with its perfect balance of crispy edges and chewy middle, all from a medium-thick crust that feels just right. The magic happens when basic ingredients come together - nothing fancy needed for this iconic taste sensation.

Each bite delivers that signature blend of herbs mixed with extra virgin olive oil, creating a subtle sweetness that sets it apart from other styles. Making this pizza at home takes just a few easy steps, and the results are absolutely worth it.

St. Louis Style Pizza

No-yeast St. Louis pizza has a crispy crust that pairs perfectly with Provel cheese and tasty sauce, making it a crowd-pleaser for your weekend menu.

The homemade dough comes together quickly without waiting for rising time, which means less preparation and more enjoyment. Many families across the Midwest have cherished this regional specialty for generations because of its unique flavor profile and thin, cracker-like base.

After just one bite, you might find yourself adding this recipe to your regular rotation of go-to meals. The simple ingredients and straightforward method allow even beginner cooks to create something truly special that everyone at the table will appreciate.

Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza

Pizza-making success comes down to your choice of bakeware - a cake pan gives you a softer crust while a cast-iron skillet creates that satisfying crunch around the edges. Both options work wonderfully for homemade pizza, so the final texture simply depends on what you prefer that day.

This easy recipe makes deep dish pizza totally doable in your own kitchen without any fancy equipment or complicated techniques. The delicious results will have everyone asking for seconds, whether you go with the cake pan or skillet method.

After trying this approach just once, deep dish pizza might become your new weekend cooking tradition.

Detroit Style Pizza

Detroit-style pizza stands out from the crowd with its unique qualities. The rectangular dough contains an unusual amount of water and oil, making it thick and substantial.

When bakers add yeast and cook it to medium-well, magic happens in the oven. Each bite delivers a perfect balance of crispiness around the edges while staying tender inside.

Many pizza lovers get hooked after just one taste of this special crust that manages to be both light and satisfying at once. The combination of these simple ingredients creates something truly special that has earned fans far beyond Michigan's borders.

Got Questions? We’ve Got Solutions

1. What is hand-tossed pizza known for?

Hand-tossed pizza has a thinner, crispy crust with a light, airy texture. The dough is literally tossed in the air to stretch it, creating those characteristic bubbles and an uneven edge that crisps up nicely when baked.

2. Why do some people prefer pan pizza?

Pan pizza offers a thick, buttery crust that's crispy on the outside but soft and fluffy inside. It's baked in a deep pan with oil, creating that golden-brown bottom that many pizza lovers crave.

3. Which style holds more toppings?

Pan pizza generally supports more toppings because of its sturdier, thicker crust. Hand-tossed pizza can get soggy in the middle if overloaded with too many ingredients.

4. Is one healthier than the other?

Hand-tossed pizza typically contains fewer calories since it has less dough and absorbs less oil during cooking. Pan pizza, with its thicker crust and oil-infused cooking method, tends to be higher in calories.