No, Deep Dish And Stuffed Pizza Aren't The Same Thing

Who doesn't love pizza? The crispy crust. The flavorful sauce. Not to mention all of the toppings, from mushrooms to pineapple. The combination of textures and flavors is simply fabulous. And there are all kinds: You can find pan pizzas, thin-crust pizzas, and thick-crust pizzas. They can range from the simple Margherita pizza, which is made with tomato sauce, mozzarella, and basil, to pies with dozens of toppings, all depending on what you like to eat.

And the most popular pizza depends on where you live, according to The Takeout. California-style pizza is often made with smoked salmon and capers. In St. Louis, a cracker crust made without yeast is topped with a combination of cheeses. In Miami, a Cuban pizza has a combination of gouda and mozzarella. New York-style pizza is usually a very thin foldable crust with sauce and mozzarella. In the Midwest, people like their thin-crust pizza cut into squares. 

Then there are Chicago's pizzas, which are more complicated. The two most popular are deep dish and stuffed. And despite popular misconceptions and similar appearance, these two kinds of pizza are not the same.

There is more difference between a deep dish pizza and a stuffed pizza than nomenclature. A deep dish pizza is simply one made in a special pan so the crust can extend up the sides, per King Arthur Flour. That type of crust can hold more filling — a lot more filling. In fact, deep-dish pizzas can be 3 inches thick! They are definitely knife-and-fork material.

Deep-dish pizzas first came to the Midwest through Neapolitan immigrants, per the BBC. In 1943, entrepreneurs Ike Sewell and Italian-born Ric Riccardo teamed up to start Pizzeria Uno in Chicago and served up the first deep-dish pie. This type of pizza is not only thicker but the typical layers are switched. The cheese is on the bottom, then the meats and sauces are added, then tomatoes, and perhaps more cheese. 

If you want to try a real deep-dish pizza, you have to go to Chicago, of course. But you can make a pretty good facsimile yourself at home with a recipe for deep-dish pizza, which has cornmeal in the crust for crunch, Italian sausage and pepperoni, and a tomato sauce rich with basil and oregano.

Stuffed pizzas are definitely thick. But there's a crucial difference between deep-dish pizza and stuffed pizza. Stuffed pizzas have an extra layer of dough that is placed on the filling and pressed to the crust on the side. Holes are poked into the crust (or slits are cut) to let steam escape, per The Cooking Channel. Then more sauce is added on top and the whole thing is baked until the crust is deep golden brown and crisp. (By the way, real stuffed pizza is nothing at all like stuffed crust pizza, where only the crust around the edge is filled with cheese).

Doreen's Pizza details the history of this luscious invention. In 1971, Rocco and Annunziata Palese cycled through a few pizza joints before they started Nancy's Pizza, offering their special stuffed pizza. At about the same time, Giordano's introduced stuffed pizza to the windy city via Efren and Joseph Boglio. Which came first? Well, go to Chicago and try them both, then decide.

If you can't make it there, bake your own stuffed pizza. This recipe from King Arthur Flour is delicious and complex, with a pork sausage filling rich with fennel and oregano, homemade yeast dough, and a garlicky tomato sauce. Invite a crowd over for dinner — no one will leave hungry!