You can find pizza nearly everywhere in the country, but it’s not all created equal. You’ve got New York-style with its thin crispy crust and Chicago-style in all its deep-dish glory — and then you’ve got Giordano’s pizza. This deep-dish pie isn’t a pizza — it’s an experience. However, many people find themselves baffled by the 45 minutes spent waiting for these iconic pizzas. Why does Giordano’s pizza take so long, and is it worth the wait?
Six People, 10 Steps
You can go to any pizza joint in the country and have some half-trained chef throw cheese on dough and run it through the oven. Giordano’s is something special. It takes a team of six people to put together one of these iconic pies. Let’s take a closer look at the 10 steps that go into creating a deep-dish pizza.
1. Dough
The dough is the foundation of any pizza, but when you order Giordano’s deep-dish pizza, it also becomes the walls and roof. It’s rolled and hand-tossed to perfection every single day. If you’re craving a pizza but can’t make it to the shop, we’ve even got a recipe for your homemade pizza dough.
2. Press
Step two requires lots of butter. The skilled pizza chefs butter up our famous deep dish pan and carefully press that hand-tossed dough into every nook and cranny. There’s nothing worse than a leaky deep-dish pizza, after all, so we make sure all the edges are perfectly sealed.
3. Ingredients
Now the fun begins. Step three is to layer your chosen ingredients into the pan. It ends up creating something akin to a pizza souffle, which packs unrivaled flavor into every bite.
4. Cheese
Next, we add two heaping handfuls of freshly shredded mozzarella on top of all your layers. Our signature cheese comes from Wisconson cheesemakers and uses milk from local dairy farms. It is also freshly shredded every morning. We don’t use that bagged stuff that’s coated in plant cellulose to keep it from sticking together.
5. Layers
With everything assembled, there’s just one step left — to put another layer of that hand-tossed pizza dough on top to lock in all that deliciousness.
6. Seal
Next, we crimp the edges of the pizza to prevent leaks and seal in flavor. It might remind you of your grandma’s homemade pie, but there’s nothing that compares to Giordano’s pizza.
7. Sauce
The last step before putting this beautiful pie in the oven is to top it with our signature sauce, which we prepare in house fresh every day. We only use tomatoes grown in the Mendocino County area of Northern California, which is known for producing some of the best in the world.
8. Bake
Now that we’ve put everything together, it’s time to move the pizza to our custom rotating oven, where we’ll bake it to golden-brown perfection. This is the step that takes the most time, but all good things do, so we ask that you’re patient while your pizza cooks.
9. Slice
Once the pizza comes out of the oven, it’s time to slice and serve. We’re happy to slice the pizza up into individual servings so everyone in your party can enjoy the fresh-baked flavors of a deep-dish pizza.
10. Enjoy
Step 10 is simple — enjoy your Giordano’s pizza. Share it with your friends or devour it yourself — and repeat often.
How Long Does It Take to Make Giordano’s Deep-Dish Pizza?
Are the long wait times for our iconic pizzas worth it? Our answer is yes, but we might be a little biased. Don’t take our word for it, though — try it for yourself! From start to finish, our deep-dish pie is a process we put great care into — and we promise it’s worth the wait.