Thick or thin crust – the pizza dough debate
It is one of the great questions of the age, an almost unsolvable conundrum as unfathomable as squaring the circle, tying the Gordian Knot. Forget the quest for world peace, of far more importance is the question – thick crust or thin crust – the great pizza dough debate.
For traditionalists and Italians of course there is no great existential struggle, no excruciating soul-gazing and searching debate over the nature of their pizza dough. For those of a traditional bent there is, and always was only one pizza dough option, as far as crust is concerned, there is only ever thin crust.
That is the Italian way, from the first Margherita, perhaps even from the first pizzas beloved of Virgil, there is only one pizza dough form, only one type of crust. Although it was probably quite tricky to manufacture thin crust trenchers, admittedly.
Pizza dough and the great crust debate - image by Flickr.com
Thick crust pizza dough – an unwelcome upstart
For traditionalists, the thick crust – or Chicago-style pizza is an unwelcome upstart in the world of pizza dough. An unwelcome rapscallion resulting from the economic hardships that forced so many millions to flee the motherland and form such an impressive diaspora.
But who can deny the simple delight of the pizza dough mountain that is a deep pan pizza or, even worse of the eyes of pizza conservatives – the stuffed crust?
It depends of course on where you stand in regard to your crusts. Do you dive in and savour the riot of tastes and textures that are lavished on the pizza, disdainfully casting your crusts to one side to moulder in the side of the delivery box for days afterwards?
If that’s the case then the great debate of the age is no more than academic to you.
And my preference? Well that would be telling, wouldn’t it?
One Response