When it comes to pizza, there are standards-you have a basic slice with cheese and pepperoni. Toronto-style pizza is very similar to New York style. In the beginning, many pizza places in Toronto were owned by Vietnamese migrants who had adopted a style of slathering the pizza with garlic and herb oil at the end. They also use a similar style of pepperoni. Nowadays, at 6ix Pizzas, we decided to make it not only flavourful but also halal.
The dough is the foundation of pizza, and we love our pizza dough. To achieve the level of dough we have today, we looked at our goal from multiple angles: ease of use, airiness, lightness, how would it hold up to the ingredients and toppings we wanted to put on our slices, how well would it heat, how would it chew when eaten cold? We took these considerations seriously because they had to be the basis for supporting our vision.
We’ve always thought of dough as a blank canvas for bringing to life the concepts we have come up with. Take Classic Meat Lovers, for example, a favourite pizza not only for its taste, texture and layering but also for its overall appearance. The colours and depth are put into it. From the rich mixture of meats to the cheese that pulls everything together, there is a reason this pizza is one of our top sellers.
In terms of taste, New York-style pizza is usually more acidic because of the water used to make the dough. The flour used in Toronto-style pizza has a higher protein content, giving the pizza a chewier texture. The sauce is also sweeter and not as acidic.
The crust is the main difference between Toronto-style pizza and New York-style pizza. Toronto-style pizza has a thick crust that is soft and fluffy; meanwhile, New York-style pizza has a thin crust that is crispy and chewy.
What makes our 6ix Pizza so special? We went back to the basics- quality ingredients, fresh toppings, and a dough that is made from scratch. We use 00 flour, a type of Italian flour that is milled very finely. This gives our pizza a light, airy texture.
When we set out to create this Meat Lovers Pizza, we thought: there had better be all kinds of meat in every bite. The weight of the toppings would have upset the balance in the ratio of crust to toppings, resulting in sub-optimal flavour.
Pizza is an international language. Everyone is familiar with the concept of what it is. Because of that, it can become a pretty subjective food group – people will argue about what pizza is. 6ix Pizzas is not New York or Neapolitan, and that’s fine. We understand that we’re trying to do something unique. There may not be the right language to explain the experience because the pizza experience is largely mixed with traditional notions. But that doesn’t stop us from creating a real Toronto pizza that allows us to pay homage to our childhood experiences and tastes that we think to represent Toronto.