Pizza language shifts by region. Use these definitions as a guide, then read the restaurant’s own description.
Al taglio
Roman tray pizza sold by the cut and often priced by weight.
Cornicione
The raised outer rim of a pizza, especially in Neapolitan terminology.
Crumb
The interior structure of baked dough, including its air cells and texture.
Deck oven
An oven with a stone or metal baking surface used by many pizzerias.
Docking
Pricking or perforating dough to limit large bubbles, common in some thin crusts.
Grandma pizza
A relatively thin rectangular Italian-American pan pizza with crisp edges and rustic sauce-and-cheese coverage.
Hydration
The amount of water in dough relative to flour, expressed as a percentage.
Leopard spotting
Small dark blisters on a rapidly baked crust.
Low-moisture mozzarella
Mozzarella formulated with less water for even melting and browning.
New York style
Large, thin, foldable pizza with a crisp underside and chewy rim.
Neapolitan
A small, quickly baked pizza with a soft centre and puffy spotted rim.
Pan pizza
A broad category of pizza baked in an oiled metal pan.
Party cut
Cutting a round pizza into squares rather than wedges.
Proofing
The period when dough ferments and rises before baking.
Roman tonda
Very thin, crisp round pizza associated with Rome.
Sicilian pizza
In North America, usually a thick rectangular pizza with an airy crumb and crisp base.
Stuffed pizza
A deep Chicago-style pizza with a second dough layer over the filling.
Tavern style
Thin, crisp, square-cut pizza associated with Chicago and parts of the Midwest.
Detroit style
Rectangular airy pan pizza with a crisp base and cheese caramelized at the edges.
Wood-fired
Describes the oven fuel and method, not a single pizza style.