History

Milwaukee-style pizza traces to the city's Italian-American population in the 1950s and 1960s, when Brady Street pizzerias began baking cracker-thin pies cut into squares, a style locally known as tavern-cut. Maria's Pizza on West Forest Home Avenue, opened in 1957, is considered the canonical Milwaukee-style pizzeria; Zaffiro's on East Farwell since 1954 and Pizza Man, opened in 1969, are part of the same tradition.

Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy

Make it at home

Yield Serves 4Hands-on 25 minTotal 2 hrDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 400g all-purpose flour
  • 260ml water at 75F
  • 8g salt
  • 5g instant yeast
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 200g tomato sauce, seasoned
  • 300g low-moisture mozzarella, shredded
  • 150g Italian sausage, cooked and crumbled
  • Dried oregano and red pepper flakes

Method

  1. Mix flour, water, salt, yeast and oil in a bowl until a shaggy dough forms. Knead 8 minutes until smooth.
  2. Rest at room temperature 90 minutes until doubled.
  3. Divide into 2 portions. Roll each into a very thin 12-inch round on parchment, much thinner than typical New York-style.
  4. Spread half the tomato sauce over each round, leaving a thin border.
  5. Sprinkle with half the cheese and crumbled sausage. Add a pinch of dried oregano.
  6. Slide onto a hot pizza stone or baking sheet at 500F.
  7. Bake 7 to 9 minutes until the crust is crisp and cheese is bubbling and lightly browned.
  8. Cut into squares with a pizza wheel, not triangles. Serve immediately.

Tip from the editors. Roll the dough as thin as possible; Milwaukee tavern-cut pizza is meant to crack. Cut into squares only; never wedges. Maria's, Zaffiro's and Pizza Man all serve it this way.

This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.

Where to eat milwaukee-style pizza

Milwaukee-style pizza in Milwaukee

Transfer Pizzeria Cafe ★ 4.3

Pizzeria$$bay-view

Transfer Pizzeria on West Mitchell Street in Walker's Point runs wood-fired Neapolitan-style pizzas in a converted transit garage with Italian wines on tap.

Signature: Wood-fired pizza, Calamari

Order: Pizza Bianca with truffle oil and a glass of Chianti.

Tip: Lunch walk-ins easy; weekend dinner books on OpenTable two weeks out.

101 W Mitchell St, Milwaukee, WI 53204

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