What is Grandma Pie?

Grandma Pizza – The Underdog of Square Pies

what is the Grandma Pizza Pie

Sicilian Pizza, Detroit Style, Grandma Pie. There is something very hip about a square pizza slice, especially when that slice has roots deep into Italian home cooking. Detroit and Sicilian Pizzas though with their thick, spongy almost focaccia-like crusts, meant to satisfy the hungriest of customers have prevailed in popularity. American food culture has always been one of abundance so the “food porn” qualities of Detroit and Sicilian Pizza have captured the hearts and social media feeds of all pizza lovers. But away from the noise of the Square Pie wars, a refined & elegant pizza rises. What is it about the Grandma Pie that makes it stand out? Is it the elegance or the genius simplicity of it? Let’s dive into the world of Nonna Pies and see how things pan out (sorry I am now contractually obligated to have at least one pizza pun per article!)

Sal’s Pizzeria is known as the “Home of the Grandma Slice” but what exactly is Grandma Pizza? When and where does it come from? Where did the cheese go? (Hint: it’s UNDER the sauce!) How did the socio-cultural background of Old-World immigrants affect the infamous pizza? Is it really hip to eat squares? Does baking pizza in a pan a la Nonna make it a healthier alternative? Answers to all of these and more burning questions to follow. But first a bit of history…

Who invented the Grandma Pie?

Story of the Grandma Pie, a NY original pizza

As with many things NY, the origin of the Grandma Pie is fuzzy at best. In such a huge city, ideas are easy to come by, resources (or resourcefulness even better…) are plenty, and the market is HUGE! These ideal conditions have fueled the NY restaurant scene for decades now, making it the culinary epicenter not just of the US but the world. Can’t talk about NY restaurants though without mentioning the pizza, right? The iconic New York slice, depicted in countless movies and tv shows has a story of its own (you can read it here: What is NY Style Pizza?) but from the staff or better yet “family” meals of pizzerias in Long Island, the underdog of all pizza emerges. The Grandma Pie is an easy and quick version of a traditional Sicilian housewife classic, that does not require extensive proofing times and is economical in the equipment and utensils it requires.

Why is it called “Grandma Pie”?

Pizza alla Nonna (translation: Pizza Grandma Style) was developed by first generation Italian immigrants in the boroughs of New York. It holds its origins in the traditional Italian Pizza alla Casalinga (translation: Pizza Housewife Style). In Italy, Pizza alla Casalinga was a quick and easy way to feed hungry kiddos and house guests. A quick dough is stretched in a pan coated with olive oil. Fresh or crushed tomatoes mixed with garlic on top and a generous sprinkle of Pecorino or Parmesan would complete the quick homemade snack. Of course, there was no time to proof the dough (hangry kids is a big NO-NO in Italian tradition!) or to go to the communal wood burning oven, which would traditionally bake pizzas at 900F. In a regular Italian home, a 900F oven is not a staple, so house cooks made with what they had, which was your regular electric or gas stove oven. To accommodate for the lower cooking temperature the consistency of the dough as well as the quantity of toppings would have to be adjusted so it could bake at lower temperature and for longer times.

From a quick meal for a family to “Family Meal” in restaurants.

But how did we get from quick homemade family meal to popular menu item in restaurants?

“Family Meal” or simply “Family” has a whole other meaning in the restaurant industry. “Family” is assigned as a duty to one of the cooks and it is just as important as any task in the whole kitchen. The cook preparing “Family” is responsible for feeding the whole restaurant crew, in the most efficient and economical way possible. So, they needed something that can be made with leftover ingredients of a pizza restaurant, cooks relatively fast, doesn’t require a bunch of containers or special equipment and comes in a convenient square pan that occupies the scarce oven space in a more efficient way (square pans fit better in square ovens, there is loss of surface between 2 round pizzas…get it??).

Enter the Grandma Pizza!

Inspired by the resourcefulness of their Nonna’s, Long Island pizzaiolos in the early 70’s started making Grandma Pies for Family Meal in their restaurants. Occasionally these pies would make to the slice table and would pick up in popularity among customers over the years. The Long Island pizzeria that is most credited for the creation and popularization of the Grandma Pie was Umberto’s of New Hyde Park. There are of course other pizzerias that hold similar claims, but from our research all roads lead to Umberto’s.

What is the difference between a Grandma Pie and Sicilian? Is a Grandma slice healthier than regular pizza?

what is the difference between grandma pie and Sicilian pizza

The answer is deceivingly simple: It all has to do with the anatomy of the pizza!

There are countless variations of Grandma Pies across NY. Most recently popular is the Upper East Side version, which is closer to the traditional Italian version, with a thin crust, easy cheese, easy sauce. Sometimes no sauce at all, just fresh crushed tomatoes with garlic and olive oil. That sounds pretty healthy right? Upper East Siders seem to think so!

What is Grandma Pie on Jersey Shore?

Other pizza joints in Jersey Shore choose a heartier version, heavier on the cheese and putting a thick red sauce on top of the cheese and maybe some Pepperoni or Sausage while they are at it. That doesn’t sound so healthy right? Jersey people don’t seem to care though!

What makes a Grandma pizza different?

There is a set of attributes though, directly linked to Grandma Pies, that have been agreed upon by all pizza scholars.

  1. Needs to be cooked in a square olive oil coated pan

  2. Cheese in on the bottom, sauce goes on top

  3. Dough is not proofed resulting in a denser & crispier crust

What makes Sal’s Grandma Slice special?

what makes it a grandma pie pizza

Even though very similar to our Sicilian pizza, the Grandma Pie has some distinct characteristics that make it different. The dough on a Grandma Pie is not proofed so it is not as spongy and chewy as a Sicilian. The thin crust dictates by itself the number of toppings that can go on a Grandma Pie. No “The Works” or “Supreme” on a Grandma crust. The fewer ingredients the better. That way the quality of them shines through. The crust is double baked for extra crispiness, coated with a healthy drizzle of extra virgin Sicilian Olive Oil, and chopped garlic. Then, the mozzarella cheese blend is complimented with Pecorino Romano to form a thin bed for the chunky “Grandma Style Sauce”. Ours is a variation of our Pizza Sauce reinforced with extra herbs & spices and cooked hot and fast instead of the traditional low & slow method. We hit it with fresh basil, oregano & Pecorino Romano while hot out of the oven and you have the square masterpiece. Sal’s mother had her own variation on the Grandma Pizza which she topped with sautéed Breadcrumbs & Onions – one of the most popular Grandma Pies we offer to date at Sal’s Pizzerias.

How many slices are in a Grandma Pie?

Answer: 9 slices, square cut, medium crust; 1 middle slice, 4 corner slices, and 4 side slices.

So, there you have it, don’t be a square, eat squares instead. Mangia!

What is NY Style Pizza? – A History & Analysis of the Most Iconic Slice

history of new york style pizza slice

If you have not visited NYC and had it yourself then you have seen it in countless movies and TV shows. That oversized, thin & foldable slice of pizza perfection that the protagonist eats while on the go in the mean streets of New York. But besides the appearance in pop culture what makes a NY style pizza as iconic as it is? Let’s take a closer look at the pizza that has stayed (relatively) the same through thick and thin (crust – here I go again!).

What is it about NY style pizza?


How do you make NY Pizza? 

It’s in the way that you make it - There are technical specifications that need to be followed on a NY pie and that’s no joke! Type of flour (high gluten), hydration percentage, pizza sauce technique & the use of shredded full milk Mozzarella are just to mention a few. Pizza-heads all over the world swear that there is something in the NY water that makes the pizza good, is it true? There has been no definite research with verified results on this, but you can’t deny that water is about 60% of a pizza dough recipe. More than half of the dough’s weight is water, so the quality, taste, and other characteristics of it should affect the flavor. To what extent, it remains to be seen and scientifically proven…

NY style pizza needs to be hand tossed thin and in a large round shape (usually anywhere between 18”-25” – creating the iconic jumbo-sized slices that we see in window displays across the city). The sauce is made with uncooked crushed tomatoes, blended with Italian herbs & spices as well as Parmesan and/or Pecorino Romano. The mozzarella is full fat and shredded. It is not very common to use freshly made Mozzarella in NY style pizza but a few pizza joints especially in Brooklyn (where Italian immigrants populated and turned into a cheese making borough) use it and an extra topping, in addition to the shredded cheese. (See Sal’s Brooklyn Pizza)


How do you cook NY Pizza?

When was New York Pizza Invented? 

It’s in the way that you cook it - Pizza lore says that the tradition of pizza in New York started at a legendary Italian restaurant called Lombardi’s. They opened shop in the beginning of the 20th century using coal-fired masonry oven that were initially designed from bread baking. The use of coal oven (instead of the traditional Neapolitan wood fueled ovens) came out of necessity and entrepreneurial ingenuity. Coal is still able to reach temperatures as hot as wood (800 degrees F - 1,000 degrees F) but takes half the space is burns with more efficiency, thus making it a cheaper fuel for the pizza ovens. These pies would be a bit thicker that their modern counter parts and because they are cooked hot and fast that the way they should be consumed as well!

Fast forward to a couple of decades later and Frank Mastro’s tech innovation in the restaurant equipment industry birthed the first gas fueled brick oven, that is now the staple cooking equipment for all NY pizzerias. Coincidentally that innovation became the catalyst that changed the pizza game forever. Gas brick ovens have a lower max temperature. They go up to 500 degrees F - 550 degrees F. This leads to longer bake times in the oven and that removes a lot of the moisture from the dough and sauce. This process gives slices of pizza a longer shelf life and they can now be reheated without compromising quality. All these conditions ushered the era of the “Slice Joint”.   

It’s in the way that you eat it - Pizza lore says that in the early 40’s NY pizzerias started selling half or quarter pizzas to customers who had “cash flow issues”. Even though there is no definite proof, most pizza historians have agreed that probably the first place to do this was Nunzio’s in Staten Island.

So, it seems that a big part of enjoying a NY style pizza is to grab a slice while on the go. The architecture of the slice evolves over the next few decades and becomes purposeful and accommodating to that specific use. The thin crust oversized slice is easy to eat and digest (thin crust and light amounts of sauce and cheese play their part), it can fold in half allowing it to be eaten one-handed, and the fold makes controlling the flow of oil running of the slice in any direction easy. That full fat shredded Mozzarella makes for a super tasty albeit greasy pie, but with that fat comes a lot of flavor! Unfortunately, in the 90’s cheap cheese and canned pizza sauce gave birth to the $1 slice and the rise of low quality, cheap pizza. This wave of mediocrity and over-saturation is seeing a correction in the past decades with chefs becoming creative in their ingredients and approach this pizza style with a more artisanal touch.

Besides the traditional toppings and ingredients, there are also staple pizza condiments that patrons use to garnish their slices. Typically those would be Parmesan, Chili Flakes, Oregano or Garlic Powder. Lately more gourmet and interesting finishes are showing up on various pizzerias ranging from Truffle Oil to Spicy Honey.

Fun facts about NY Pizza and the Anatomy of a Slice of NY Style Pizza at Sal’s:

Top Layer: Mix of shredded full fat and skim fat Mozzarella

Middle Layer: Pizza sauce made from uncooked San Marzano style tomatoes, with Pecorino Romano & Italian herbs

Bottom Layer: Thin crust that is crispy when fresh, with distinct brown color because of the low temp oven

anatomy of ny pizza

Sicilian Pizza: Italian or American?

 
sicilian cheese pizza sal's
 

We all know those delectable fluffy square pizzas that garnish many local pizzerias menus right now. This amazing treat has quite a history behind it and as with many things pizza, it may have originated in the Italian countryside but was perfected, to the iteration we all love and enjoy, in the streets of New York but the first generation of Italian immigrants in the early 20th century.

So, let’s dive deep (dish – sorry had to do it!) into what makes Sicilian pizza and all its versions so special!

Italian Sicilian Pizza

Made popular, in Palermo, in the mids-19th century Sicilian pizza is also known as sfincione (loose translation from Italian: thick sponge). This type of pizza along with its even older sister – the focaccia – were the only types of pizza consumed in Sicily until the 1860s.

Sfincione is traditionally made with a fluffy, spongy pan crust, very sparsely topped with a meatless tomato sauce, onions, breadcrumbs & local hard cheese made from goats or sheep milk and NOT mozzarella (made with cow or buffalo milk). Given the fact that Sicily is a large island that has a volcano (Etna) and a bunch of smaller mountains on it, there are not a lot of cows, or cow’s milk (and eventually… mozzarella) production on the island. You make do with what you got, right?

A vegetarian or rather meatless version of this treat is usually served on December 7 (which is the eve of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception), Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve, and Good Friday. It is also not very uncommon to find Sfincione in local bakeries, baked in the morning and then served throughout the day at room temperature, especially during the hottest months of the year.

American Sicilian Style Pizza

Sicilian-style pizza was introduced to the United States by Sicilian immigrants in the mid 20th century. Topping Sicilian pies with mozzarella most likely happened because most Italian bakeries and restaurants in New York City would have had access to good quality, low cost mozzarella. That was due to the boom of New York State's dairy cow industry in the late 1910’s. 

A couple of decades after that, the popularity of all Italian food exploded in the U.S. with pizza being at the forefront. By the end of WWII, and with a bunch of returning soldiers praising the taste of it, pizza had taken over the U.S and all the variations that we know and love right now start popping up. New York (Thin Crust Pizza), Long Island (Grandma Pie), Chicago (Deep Dish Pie) & Detroit (Pan Pizza) all developed their own style of pizza based on traditional Italian ways and recipes but always drawing inspiration from whatever ingredients and techniques were locally available and popular. It wouldn’t take long before the term pizza began to include any type of crust topped with sauce and cheese.

The Anatomy of Sal’s Sicilian Style Pizza

 
Sicilian pizza
 

Top Layer: Mix of shredded Mozzarella

Middle Layer: Pizza sauce with Italian herbs & parmesan

Bottom Layer: thick, fluffy & slightly spongy crust that is baked in a deep pan