Pizza Hut Original Pan Pizza Vs. Hand Tossed Pizza
Pizza lovers know that ordering the proper crust is crucial for the eating experience. Pizza Hut’s original pan pizza and hand-tossed pizza are two common crust choices.
One of my favorite things about Pizza Hut is that you can choose which type of crust you think goes best with the pizza sauce, cheese, and toppings you like.
While I am a fan of both, I also understand that there are differences between pan pizza and hand-tossed from Pizza Hut and this post is going to discuss them.
The wrong texture or taste on the crust can drastically change the pizza flavour and texture.
So let’s get into the details of how these two pizzas differ!
What Is Pizza Hut Original Pan Pizza?
The Pizza Hut original pan pizza is made with a slightly thick crust. It is topped with cheese, pizza sauce, and your choice of toppings.
The dough is pushed against the sides of the pan and then topped with cheese and pizza sauce.
The pan pizza is then baked in a pan, which creates the crispy exterior of the pizza crust and gives it a golden-brown color on the crust once it is cooked.
Soft and fluffy on the inside, the Pizza Hut pan pizza has perfectly melted cheese and sauce to compliment the soft interior of the crust.
Since the pizza pan has a thicker crust, it is the perfect choice for you if you love the texture that is bread-like on the inside that has a crispy texture on the outside.
What Is Pizza Hut Hand-Tossed Pizza?
The hand-tossed pizza from Pizza Hut is made with dough that is stretched and tossed by hand. It has a thinner crust when cooked compared to the original pan pizza.
It has a crispy crust that is thicker than New York-style pizza crust. The crispy texture makes it a favorite for most pizza lovers.
The crust of the hand-tossed pizza does not rise upward. Instead, it spreads slightly outwards when it is baked, creating a flat and thinner crust with a crispy texture.
Topped with cheese, sauce, and your favorite toppings, the hand-tossed pizza from Pizza Hut is a real snack you can enjoy if you love thin and crispy pizza crusts.
Differences Between Pizza Hut Pan Pizza Vs Hand-tossed Pizza
| Pizza Hut Original Pan Pizza | Pizza Hut Hand-tossed Pizza | |
| Dough Preparation | The dough is pressed onto a pan by hand and spread out to take the shape of the pan. | The dough is kneaded and tossed by hand to release air bubbles and make the dough thinner. |
| Ingredients On The Dough | Flour, yeast, water, salt, oil. | Flour, yeast, water, salt. |
| Where Are They Cooked | Deep pan or cast-iron skillet. | Pizza stone or pizza steel. |
| Size | Personal, large, and medium. | Medium and large. |
| Crust | Bread-like texture because of its thicker crust. | Has a crust similar to traditional pizza crust in terms of texture. |
| Cooking Time | 15 minutes | 10 minutes |
| Side Dishes | No side dishes | Salad and breadsticks |
Pizza Hut Pan Pizza Vs Hand-tossed Pizza
So the chart you see above is a mere comparison of the two pizzas from Pizza Hut. In this part of the post, we will look deeper into the pizzas and see how they truly differ.
Image credits- Flickr.com
Taste
The pan pizza has a slightly sweeter taste compared to the hand-tossed pizza from Pizza Hut. It can hardly be noticed, but there is a slight hint of sweetness on the pan pizza.
It can be because there is more bread or dough in the crust or the slight difference in the ingredients used on the crust and the pizzas sauce.
Hand-tossed pizza has excellent flavors, with the sauce almost seeping into the crust. Pan pizza, in my opinion, is slightly better with the balance of cheese, sauce, and crust flavors.
Crust
The crust of the hand-tossed pizza is flatter and crispier than the pan pizza from Pizza Hut. this is because of the tossing action that shapes the hand-tossed pizza crust.
It also uses fewer ingredients than pan pizza since the hand-tossed pizza only uses the basics: flour, yeast, salt, and water, while the pan pizza adds oil to the dough.
The pan pizza oil helps make its exterior crunchy while staying fluffy and chewy on the inside.
Sauce
The pan pizza uses a pizza sauce with a mixture of tomatoes, tomato sauce, and herbs, while the hand-tossed pizza uses tomatoes, olive oil, and herbs.
The additional tomato sauce on the pan pizza is what makes it a little sweeter than the pizza sauce of the hand-tossed pizza.
Cheese
Both the pan pizza and hand-tossed pizza from Pizza Hut use mozzarella cheese. However, the hand-tossed pizza mixes it with white cheddar for a sharper flavor.
The cheese on the hand-tossed pizza is layered on top of the pizza sauce, so when it melts, there is a “sheet” of cheese.
Instead of putting the cheese on top, the pan pizza, on the other hand, has it in the middle between the crust and the sauce that mixes well with the fluffy crust.
Toppings
The toppings will depend on the type of pizza you order. You can get a specialty pizza, supreme pizza, or ‘lovers’ pizza with set toppings.
Under specialty pizza, you can choose a super supreme pizza with a pan pizza crust that has nine different toppings.
You can also get these specialty pizzas with a hand-tossed crust. You can choose from different toppings like ham, pepperoni, Italian sausage, mushrooms, pineapples, black olives, and more.
If you want to make your pizza, whether pan pizza or hand-tossed crust, you will start with one topping only, and each different topping you add will cost extra.
Price
As we have mentioned above, you will usually get only one topping on the hand-tossed, and pan pizza from Pizza Hut and every additional topping has a charge.
There is a promo for the large pan pizza where you can get up to three toppings for only $10. I think this one is a steal and I actually always go for it when I order pan pizza.
The price of a personal pan pizza from Pizza Hut is $4.79, $11.99 for medium, and $14.99 for large pan pizzas.
As for the hand-tossed pizza, you can get a medium for $11.99 and a large hand-tossed pizza for $14.99.
The prices mentioned above are for the regular cheese pizza with no extra toppings. For each topping you add, the fee is between $2 and $3.
Calories In Each Pizza Slice
A pan pizza from Pizza Hut has more calories than a hand-tossed pizza. A large cheese pan pizza contains 350 calories in each slice.
A hand-tossed pizza with the same size and cheese topping contains only 300 calories on each slice.
The difference comes mainly from the crust. Almost 40% of the total calories in the pan pizza and 48% of the hand-tossed pizza come from the dough.
Since the pan pizza has more dough, it makes sense that it has more calories than the hand-tossed pizza.
Which Pizza Is Healthier?
While the pan pizza has 14 grams of protein on each slice of the large cheese pan pizza from Pizza Hut and the hand-tossed pizza only has 13 grams, the hand-tossed pizza is still healthier.
There are fewer calories in the hand-tossed pizza and it also has fewer saturated fats. The hand-tossed pizza only has 6 grams of saturated fat per slice while the pan pizza has 7 grams.
The pan pizza also has a higher sodium content of 750mg per slice compared to the hand-tossed pizza which only has 660mg per slice.
So based on the nutritional facts, the hand-tossed pizza is healthier than the pan pizza from Pizza Hut.
Which Is Better – Pizza Hut Original Pan Pizza Or The Hand-tossed Pizza?
I say the pan pizza is better than the hand-tossed pizza since it can carry more of my favorite toppings like pepperoni and sausage due to its thicker and sturdy crust.
This depends on your personal preference. If you like a crispier and thinner crust, then the hand-tossed pizza is for you, but pan pizza is there to the rescue if you like chewier crusts.
Flavorwise, I did say that I prefer the pan pizza because of the well-balanced flavors between the sauce and cheese that compliments the chewiness of the inside of its crust.
However, hand-tossed pizza from Pizza Hut is also a banger regarding flavor. I like its subtle hints of savoriness, and I especially like the texture of the crust.
If you want something healthier or if you are watching your calorie intake, then the hand-tossed pizza is for you.
For somebody like me that does not follow any specific diet, I say the pan pizza is better than the hand-tossed pizza.
Which Pizza Hut Crust Is Best?
The best Pizza Hut crust will, of course, depend on what you are looking for and what your preferences are. You can choose between pan crust, hand-tossed crust, stuffed crust, and thin crust.
What I like about Pizza Hut is that they have a variety of pizza crusts that you and I can choose from. However, I already have my favorite pizza crust in the original Pan Pizza crust.
I say pan pizza crust is the best because while it is chewy and fluffy on the inside, it also has enough crunch and crispiness on the outside.
The combination of textures, from the crispy exterior to the chewy interior, is perfectly complemented by the cheese and pizza sauce flavors.
The pan pizza crust is also the best from Pizza Hut because it has a buttery flavor from the oil on the pan that it is cooked in.
It almost fries the pizza crust, so the golden-brown crust also develops that unique buttery flavor when cooked.
If you are undecided yet and you want to know more about the different crusts to choose from Pizza Hut, you can check this out.
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