The 4 Greatest Pizza Pans of 2024, Examined & Reviewed

Pizza could have originated in Italy, however in the US, it’s a hotly contested meals with many cities claiming to have the very best. Whereas loads of spots across the US have nailed the traditional Neapolitan-style pie, some areas have created their very own pizza types with distinctive variations on the crust, toppings, and baking fashion. Detroit’s signature pizza is a sq. or rectangle-shaped pie with crispy, tacky edges and a focaccia-like dough that’s chewy, but ethereal. Chicago is famed for its deep dish, an merchandise that veers extra towards savory pie or casserole than pizza (don’t hate me, Chicagoans!). Sicilian-style pizza hails from the island off the southern tip of Italy, however was delivered to the States by Sicilian immigrants, and plenty of eating places coast-to-coast have tailored it to the model you could find in America mostly at this time.

There is no want to purchase a aircraft ticket to expertise the magic of those varied pizza types. You should utilize cake pans or sheet pans to make sort-of profitable deep dish pizza at dwelling however why go for that when there are devoted pizza pans specifically made to your favourite sort? I examined eight of the very best Detroit-style, Chicago-style, and Sicilian-style pizza pans to see if any may assist make a pizza that will rival the professionals.

The Winners, at a Look

The darkish steel nonstick coating and sharp proper angles of the LLoydPans Detroit-style pan gave me a superbly crispy, golden brown crust that was even throughout the complete backside. The roomy measurement allowed the dough to unfold out to only the precise thickness and I used to be capable of pop the pizza out with out something getting caught to the edges.

This square-shaped pan has rolled edges that make it straightforward to show and elevate the pan, plus a superbly nonstick coating that produces a crisp, chewy crust. 

The Chicago-style deep dish pans from LloydPans have excessive, straight sides and a darkish coated exterior, which helps make that signature flaky, barely fried crust. I notably favored the additional tall sides, which allowed me to stack the pie thick with toppings, cheese, and sauce.

This enticing pan is product of high-quality French ceramic and has two handy handles for lifting a larger-than-average pie out of the oven. Whereas it’s not as deep as extra conventional Chicago-style pizza pans, it nonetheless produced a beautiful pie that had crisp, buttery edges and a uniformly golden-brown backside.

The Assessments

• Detroit-Fashion Pizza Take a look at: For the Detroit-style pans, I made Detroit-style pizza in every to see if I may obtain a crispy cheese edge alongside the facet of the pan, and totally cooked, chewy dough.
• Sicilian-Fashion Pizza Take a look at: To see how the Sicilian-Fashion pans may carry out with this fashion of pie, I made a Sicilian-style pizza in every and evaluated the pies for mushy, focaccia-like crust and crispy bottoms.
• Chicago-Fashion Pizza Take a look at: To see how the Chicago-style pans may carry out, I made a Chicago-style deep dish pizza in every and regarded for qualities like a barely fried crust, and a saucy, well-cooked inside and toppings.
• Cleanup/Efficiency: For every pan, I additionally thought of how straightforward or tough the pans have been to wash and if they’d any options that made efficiency or usability any simpler (or tougher). 

What We Discovered

Darkish Steel Carried out Extra Warmth

The darker steel pans performed warmth extra intensely, boosting the decrease temperature that deep dish pizzas bake at, in comparison with the ultra-hot temperatures New York- and Neapolitan-style pizzas want. Darker steel has greater thermal conductivity, particularly when it’s product of supplies like carbon metal or anodized aluminum (which all of the LloydPans are). These kinds of metals take in and distribute warmth shortly and evenly, making certain a uniformly baked crust. You may bear in mind out of your center faculty science class that dark-colored surfaces take in extra warmth than lighter or reflective surfaces, which is strictly what’s at work right here.

LloydPans Had been King

It got here as little shock that the LloydPans carried out exceptionally properly throughout testing throughout the board. This model of pans is specifically made for business pizza institutions and is a favourite of pizzaiolos each at dwelling and in eating places. I reached out to a couple skilled institutions searching for the secrets and techniques of the commerce.

“Lloyd pizza pans are the very best for all panned pizzas. They make pans designed for nearly each fashion, and I wouldn’t use something however Lloyd. Their high quality and consistency throughout completely different pizza types are unmatched,” says Alex Koons, proprietor of Scorching Tongue Pizza in Los Angeles and host of the pizza podcast Pie 2 Pie. “These pans don’t should be seasoned, and so they’re American-made, which is a plus. In addition they have glorious customer support, and residential patrons can simply buy their pans by way of Amazon for comfort.”

Tall Sides Had been (Clearly!) Greatest

A number of the pans I examined had reasonably tall sides, which resulted in lackluster pizzas. Virtually the entire profitable pans have been a formidable 2.5 inches tall. The exception was the Emile Henry ceramic pan, which was a modest 1.25 inches. It made the reduce due to its heavy weight and darkish shade that retained warmth properly, and the useful carrying handles.

The Standards: What to Search for in a Pizza Pan

The finer factors of what makes a great deep dish pizza pan will differ barely fashion to fashion, however all of them needs to be product of darkish steel to encourage most crust growth. For pizzas that depend on olive oil or one other form of fats to crisp the dough, the darker steel helps take in and switch warmth evenly. A nonstick coating will enable you get tacky, crispy edges with out inflicting you to wrestle to take away a slice—and it eliminates the necessity for scrubbing, too. For Chicago-style deep dish pans, search for ones which are not less than 2.5 inches tall with straight sides to get that true thick pie texture. Sicilian- and Detroit-style pizzas needs to be made in rectangular or sq. pans, not less than eight by 10 inches to make a decently sized pie.

Our Favourite Deep Dish Pizza Pans

What we favored: When the pizza first got here out of the oven, it was instantly obvious that the perimeters had achieved that completely crisp and brown texture so liked in Detroit-style pizza. A fast swipe with an offset spatula launched the crust with ease and I used to be capable of switch the pizza to the slicing board in a single complete piece. Even in spots the place cheese pooled and burned off the crust within the corners, the cheese nonetheless didn’t follow the super-slick floor of this pan. A peek on the backside confirmed that the pan had transferred warmth properly, resulting in golden brown swirls of extra-crisp crust. 

In case you’re anxious about shopping for a single-use kitchen device, don’t be. This pan may pull double-duty to make issues like sheet cake or dinner rolls. 

What we didn’t like: The nonstick coating could possibly be liable to scratching over time if uncovered to steel utensils, so keep away from slicing slices whereas the pie remains to be within the pan. It’s not dishwasher-safe, so that you’ll have to provide it a little bit of a scrub to get it clear once more (although I solely wanted to wipe it out with a paper towel). 

Key Specs

• Materials: Coated aluminum
• Peak: 2.5 inches
• Sizes: 8 x 10 inches, 10 x 14 inches
• Care: Hand-wash solely

What we favored: Sicilian pans could be sq. or rectangular, however the one I most well-liked was the sq. LloydPans Sicilian-style pan. Like the opposite LloydPans, this one has a nonstick darkish steel coating that contributes to a crispy baked crust with a chewy inside. It baked up evenly, with out sizzling spots or burned areas. The pan’s rolled edges gave extra buy to have the ability to seize and switch it with a thick oven mitt. It has greater sides than the Winco Sicilian-style pan I examined, so there was much more room to seize with out dipping my towel in boiling-hot oil. 

What we didn’t like: It’s a hand-wash-only merchandise, so chances are you’ll want to provide it a light-weight scrub. Nothing caught to the pan I examined, together with cheese, so I simply wiped up extra oil and it was pretty much as good as new.

Key Specs

• Materials: Coated aluminum
• Peak: 2.5 inches
• Measurement: 12 x 12 inches
• Care: Hand-wash solely

What we favored: Accessible in all kinds of sizes, the LloydPans Chicago-style deep dish pans are a number of the finest choices available on the market for making one of these pizza at dwelling. They’ve excessive, deep sides—greater than you’ll get from a typical cake pan. The eight-inch pan created an ideal Chicago-style pie for 2, with a number of layers of cheese, sauce, and pepperoni. After baking, the inside was sizzling and the toppings have been properly cooked, with the crust fried to a light-weight crisp and golden brown. 

What we didn’t like: Like all LloydPans, it’s not dishwasher-safe, however that wasn’t a difficulty. The pizzas of each sizes I examined popped out of the pan with out sticking.

Key Specs

• Materials: Coated aluminum
• Peak: 2.5 inches
• Sizes (Width): 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 inches
• Care: Hand-wash-only

What we favored: Not like some other pan I examined, the Emile Henry has handy handles that assist with maneuvering it out and in of the oven. This got here in useful as a result of appreciable heft that the fabric added to the general weight. The pizza had a well-baked crust that browned uniformly throughout the underside. Eradicating the pizza as a complete was inconceivable as a result of weight of the pie and its filling, however I may reduce a slice and take away it with out problem.

It’s a beautiful pan that may switch seamlessly from oven to desk. I may see all kinds of meals made on this pan, from pies and tarts to baked rice dishes or casseroles. For these wanting extra of a multitasker, this may be an important choice.

What we didn’t like: Chicago deep dish purists will say that this pan just isn’t deep sufficient to provide true deep dish pizza. At simply 1.625 inches tall, the ultimate thickness of the pizza was extra like a tart than a thick pie, so I couldn’t get a number of layers of cheese, toppings, and sauce. It’s additionally a a lot heavier pan than the others I examined and required two fingers to place in and pull out of the oven. 

Key Specs

• Materials: Ceramic
• Peak: 1.625 inches
• Measurement: 12 inches
• Care: Dishwasher-safe

The Competitors

• Winco Rectangular Sicilian Pizza Pan: This pan arrived dented, however even with that it didn’t strike me as a lot completely different than a nonstick coated rimmed baking sheet and I think you can get practically an identical leads to a kind of with out shopping for one thing completely new. Additionally, it performed a bit an excessive amount of warmth and scorched the underside earlier than the highest may totally bake.
• Ooni Detroit-Fashion Pizza Pan: Whereas we favored the lid that comes with this pan, which might turn out to be useful when proofing, it’s too small to make Detroit–fashion pizza. Our normal batch of Detroit-style pizza was method too huge for this pan, resulting in a crust that was nearly two inches excessive. It’s price noting that Ooni does make a bigger measurement of this pan that I didn’t take a look at.

FAQs

What’s Detroit-style pizza?

Made well-known in Motor Metropolis within the Nineteen Forties, Detroit-style pizza is a crispy pan pizza with a dough that fries in olive oil in a steel pan, not not like focaccia. Historically, the toppings go proper on prime of the dough, adopted by cheese, after which a layer of sauce spooned on prime. The cheese caramelizes alongside the perimeters, making a crispy, tacky crust. 

What’s Chicago-style pizza?

Chicago-style pizza is the fashion most individuals consider once they hear the time period “deep dish.” The pizza bakes in a deep, spherical pan with straight sides, permitting for alternating layers of cheese, toppings, and a chunky tomato sauce. The crust is buttery and flaky, extra like pie crust than focaccia, and the pizza is baked at a decrease temperature for an extended period of time to ensure that the thick inside of the pie totally bakes. The construction typically makes it a knife-and-fork form of deal. 

What’s Sicilian pizza?

Hailing from Sicily, one of these pizza makes use of a yeast-risen dough just like focaccia however thinner than your common Detroit-style pizza and thicker than Neapolitan-style pizza. It bakes on a rimmed baking sheet (or a pan of comparable form and measurement) and infrequently has the tomato sauce on prime of the cheese, doubtlessly adopted by sprinkles of breadcrumbs or floor onerous cheese.

Why We’re the Consultants

• Taylor Murray has been working in meals and meals media for over 10 years, together with in award-winning eating places like Eleven Madison Park. She has written extensively for Critical Eats (together with critiques of carbon metal pans and carving boards).
• Taylor examined eight deep dish pizza pans, utilizing every to make the kind of pizza they’re designed for. Throughout testing, she evaluated every pan’s efficiency, usability, and design.
• Taylor spoke to Alex Koons, proprietor of Scorching Tongue Pizza in Los Angeles and host of the pizza podcast Pie 2 Pie to get some skilled, inside details about pan pizzas.