Altoona-style Pizza
Characteristics and preparation
Crust
The crust is made of a Sicilian-style pizza dough, giving the pie a thick and soft crust. Instead of the larger pie-like wedges typical of many pizza styles, Altoona Hotel pizza is typically cut into squares.
Cheese
While originally topped with Velveeta, Altoona-style pizza is popularly topped with yellow processed cheese known as American cheese. The yellow squares of American cheese are a staple of this dish, used instead of the mozzarella or provolone common to other styles of pizza.
Toppings
The traditional toppings included on a slice of Altoona-style pizza are a sliced green bell pepper and cooked deli style salami with peppercorns, notable for being underneath the pizza's cheese topping.
History
Altoona-style pizza originated at the Altoona Hotel, which was noted as serving "a unique pizza" in 1996 by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Following the destruction of the hotel in 2013 by fire, other local restaurants began serving Altoona-style pizza.
See also
References
- ^ Deto, Ryan. "Altoona Hotel Pizza: The slice with yellow cheese from Central Pa. you've never heard of". Pittsburgh City Paper. Archived from the original on 2021-05-26. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
- ^ Tracy, Jordan (2020-05-05). "Jordan Does It All Wrong!! Will the real Altoona Pizza please stand up?". WTAJ. Archived from the original on 2021-05-25. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
- ^ DiFilippo, Bill (2020-05-08). "Here's How To Make The Wonderfully Bizarre 'Altoona Style' Pizza". UPROXX. Archived from the original on 2021-05-25. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
- ^ "Hotel blaze hits home". Altoona Mirror. Archived from the original on 2021-05-25. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
- ^ Robicelli, Allison (6 May 2020). ""Altoona-style pizza" baffles the nation—including Altoona itself". The Takeout. Archived from the original on 2021-05-27. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
- ^ "Altoona Hotel pizza". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 1996-10-13. p. 78. Archived from the original on 2021-05-25. Retrieved 2021-05-25.