Tavern-Style Thin Crust Pizza Dough from Scratch (Part 1)

Tavern-style pizza -- the thin, crackery, cut-in-squares kind you find in Chicago and Midwest bars -- looks intimidating but uses a straightforward dough process. Dave walks through the full recipe from dry ingredients to cold-fermented dough balls, then covers his preferred overnight curing method that sets up the crust for baking the next day. The finished product, shown right at the top of the video, is a golden round loaded with pepperoni and sliced jalapenos on a wooden board, with a crisp, lightly browned underside visible when a square slice is lifted.

Mixing the Dough

The dry ingredients go into a glass mixing bowl first: bread flour, cornmeal, yeast, salt, and sugar. After a quick stir, water at roughly 90 degrees goes in along with a pour of olive oil. You can see the olive oil streaming into the flour mixture from a small measuring cup. Mix everything until it forms a shaggy, rough dough -- not smooth, just cohesive enough to hold together.

First Rise and Kneading

Pour the shaggy dough onto the counter and work it by hand until all the flour and water are fully incorporated. Cover the dough with an inverted bowl (shown in the video sitting on a marble countertop) and let it rise for about 30 minutes. After that short rest, knead for another two minutes to tighten things up.

Dividing and Shaping

Divide the dough into two equal pieces. Shape each piece into a tight ball by pulling the surface taut and pinching the seam at the bottom. The video shows this step clearly: both hands working the dough into a smooth round on the marble surface, with a second ball already formed nearby. Lightly brush olive oil inside your storage containers -- Dave uses a round black container -- then drop each dough ball in and refrigerate for one to three days.

The Overnight Curing Method

This is where Dave's process differs from a basic recipe. Rather than rolling and baking on the same day, he prefers to roll the dough out the night before baking. The steps:

1. Pull the cold-fermented dough from the fridge.
2. Let it sit on the counter for 30 minutes to take the chill off.
3. Press it as flat as possible while keeping a circular shape.
4. Roll it thin in every direction, dusting with flour or cornmeal to prevent sticking.
5. Dock the entire surface with a fork or a dedicated docking tool (the small holes prevent bubbles during baking).
6. Place the rolled dough on a flat pan between sheets of parchment paper. Multiple doughs can be stacked this way.
7. Return the pan to the fridge until you are ready to bake.

Assembly Preview

Part 2 picks up the next day. Dave notes that the dough will have a harder, leathery side after its overnight rest in the fridge -- that side goes face-down as the bottom of the crust. His topping philosophy is generous: sauce spread almost to the edge, plenty of cheese, and plenty of toppings. The finished pizza in the opening shot confirms the approach, with edge-to-edge coverage and a deeply caramelized cheese line around the rim.

Key Takeaways

• Bread flour and cornmeal together give tavern-style crust its signature snap and texture.
• A one-to-three-day cold ferment in the fridge develops flavor without complexity.
• Rolling the dough the night before and curing it flat in the fridge produces a thinner, crispier result than same-day rolling.
• Dock the dough thoroughly with a fork to avoid air pockets during baking.
• Stack multiple rolled-out doughs between parchment paper sheets for efficient fridge storage.
• Sauce, cheese, and toppings should go nearly to the edge -- tavern style does not leave a wide bare crust border.