Chicago tavern-style pizza, rolled thin and cut into squares

Dough spec

Flour

All-purpose flour

Hydration

50%

Salt

2.2%

Oil

3%

Scale this guide

This dough is rolled to a round rather than portioned by ball weight — use the pan/tray dough calculator with an equivalent round pan diameter and the thin_pan loading band (the same band `pan-calculator.ts` names tavern-style as its reference example) to size dough for a different diameter. Open the full dough calculator for more control, or the fermentation schedule builder to work backwards from a target bake time using this guide’s same day direct approach.

Related techniques

Steps

1. MixMachine-mix to a firm, low-hydration dough with thorough gluten development — low protein all-purpose flour is essential here; a stronger bread flour fights the style's defining low-rise, cracker-like crumb.
2. Bulk fermentBulk ferment at room temperature for 1-3 hours — enough to relax the dough for rolling, not to build an open crumb.
3. ShapeRoll out thin and even with a rolling pin rather than stretching or tossing by hand — evenness matters more here than in any hand-stretched style, since any thick spot will stay noticeably chewier than the rest.
4. TopApply sauce, then cheese out to the edges (no raised rim to hold it back), then toppings.
5. BakeBake on a preheated steel, stone, or perforated pan at 250-280C for 8-12 minutes, until uniformly crisp — this style is meant to be crisp edge-to-edge, not just at the rim.
6. RestRest for a minute so the cut holds cleanly.
7. ServeCut into a grid of small squares ('party cut') rather than wedges — this is a defining serving convention of the style, not an optional garnish choice.

Bake notes

Underbaking is the most common way to lose this style's identity — a pale or chewy tavern-style pizza reads as an underdone New York slice rather than the intentionally cracker-crisp result this recipe aims for.