“Thin crust” and “thick crust” cover a wider range of actual styles than the labels suggest. Knowing the difference helps you order the right pie for the right occasion instead of guessing from a menu photo.
New York thin crust
Hand-stretched, baked in a deck oven, foldable at the tip but sturdy enough to hold toppings without collapsing. The benchmark thin crust most delivery apps default to when a menu just says “thin.”
Chicago deep dish
Pressed into a steel pan with tall sides, baked 30–45 minutes, cheese under the sauce. Structurally closer to a savoury pie than a flat pizza, and always eaten with utensils.
Detroit style
Baked in a rectangular steel pan originally used for automotive parts, giving it a thick, airy crumb and a signature caramelised cheese edge where the mozzarella meets the pan and crisps up. Sauce is often striped on top after baking rather than spread underneath.
Sicilian
A thick, focaccia-like square crust, generally less airy than Detroit style and topped edge-to-edge rather than leaving a bare cheese border. Often sold by the square rather than the slice.
- Thin (New York): fast bake, foldable, best for a quick individual meal.
- Deep-dish (Chicago): long bake, structural, best shared with a fork and knife.
- Detroit: airy crumb, crisp cheese edge, best for people who want crust texture as much as toppings.
- Sicilian: dense, focaccia-like, best for a make-ahead party tray that reheats well.
Pan pizza
A catch-all term for pizza baked in an oiled pan rather than directly on a stone or deck, producing a crisp, almost fried bottom crust. Many chain pizzerias' “pan” option is a simplified, smaller-format take on Sicilian or Detroit technique.