St. Louis-Style Pizza, What It Is and How to Make It at Home

Published: 2026-04-25 | 9

St. Louis-style is the pizza that people from St. Louis defend with their lives and everyone else tries once and hates. I'm from Dallas, no horse in this race. But I made one last week and posted it, and honestly? Done right, it's legitimately great. Here's what it actually is, how to make it, and why it's worth trying even if you're not from Missouri.

What makes pizza "St. Louis-style"

Four specific characteristics that all have to be there:

• Cracker-thin crust, UNLEAVENED (no yeast, not even a pinch)
• Provel cheese, a processed white cheese blend unique to St. Louis (more on this below)
• Slightly sweet tomato sauce, oregano-heavy, with sugar added
• Cut into 2-3 inch squares, the "party cut"

Imo's Pizza is the most famous chain. Milo's and St. Louis Pizza are other locals. The style is regional almost to the point of being zip-code-specific, St. Louis Provel cheese is barely sold outside Missouri.

What is Provel cheese?

Provel is a white processed cheese blend of cheddar, Swiss, and provolone, invented in St. Louis in the 1940s. It's the single thing that makes St. Louis pizza distinctive, and it's the thing most non-St. Louis people find weird.

Why: Provel has a very low melting point, a slightly sharp flavor, and doesn't stretch like mozzarella. When it melts on a pizza, it becomes almost buttery and pools into the sauce rather than stretching in strings. It's genuinely different from any other pizza cheese.

Where to get it outside St. Louis:

• Costanzo's, ships Provel directly, the most accessible option
• Imo's Pizza website, sells frozen pies nationally + Provel by the pound
• Substitute blend (if you can't get Provel): 50% low-moisture mozz + 25% white cheddar + 25% provolone. Not identical but captures the spirit.

The unleavened crust recipe

This is the wild part. St. Louis crust uses NO yeast. The dough is essentially a savory cracker that gets rolled paper-thin and baked at high heat. Makes 1 × 14-inch pizza.

• 175g all-purpose flour
• 90g cold water
• 1 tablespoon corn oil (or vegetable oil)
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder (the one chemical leavener, gives it slight lift)

Method

• Whisk dry ingredients
• Add water and oil, mix until a stiff dough forms
• Knead 2 minutes, the dough should be smooth but not tacky
• Cover and rest 15 minutes (relaxes gluten for rolling)
• Roll with a rolling pin as thin as possible, aim for 1/16 inch (paper-thin)
• Transfer to an oiled pizza screen or perforated pan

The sweet St. Louis sauce

This is the other differentiator. St. Louis sauce is noticeably sweet, heavy with oregano, and cooked to a thick paste consistency.

• 1 can (14 oz) tomato sauce (not puree, not crushed, SAUCE)
• 2 tablespoons sugar (yes, that much, it's a defining feature)
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Sauté garlic in oil 1 minute, add tomato sauce + sugar + herbs + salt, simmer 15 minutes until thick. Cool before using. Makes enough for 2-3 pizzas.

Assembly + bake

• Oven: 475°F, preheated 30 minutes
• Thin layer of sauce to the very edge of the rolled dough
• Shredded Provel to the edge (4-5 oz per 14-inch pizza)
• Optional toppings: sausage, pepperoni, onion, mushroom
• Bake 10-12 minutes until crust is deep golden and cheese is fully melted and slightly bubbled
• Let rest 1 minute, cut into 2-3 inch squares

Why it's divisive

Three reasons St. Louis pizza divides people:

• The cheese is weird if you didn't grow up with it. Provel's buttery pooling texture is completely unlike mozzarella. If you expect a pizza to stretch when you lift a slice, a Provel pizza is jarring.
• The sauce is sweet. Most pizza traditions go for acidity and bright tomato. St. Louis sauce is sweet. That's polarizing.
• The crust is a cracker. No chew, no cornicione, no stretch. People expecting bread-adjacent crust are confused.

But, when you stop comparing it to other pizza styles and just evaluate it as its own thing, it's really good. The thin crust + buttery cheese + sweet-oregano sauce combination hits a specific flavor note no other pizza does. It's its own food.

Frequently asked

Where can I buy Provel cheese?

Costanzo's sells Provel online and ships nationally. Imo's Pizza website also sells it. Outside St. Louis, grocery stores almost never carry it, you'll need to order direct.

What can I substitute for Provel cheese?

50% low-moisture mozz + 25% white cheddar + 25% provolone is the closest blend. Won't be identical but captures the right buttery-pooling character.

Why is there no yeast in St. Louis pizza dough?

It's the defining characteristic of the style. Baking powder provides slight lift but the crust is meant to be cracker-thin and unleavened. If you add yeast, you're not making St. Louis-style anymore.

Is St. Louis pizza the same as tavern-style?

Similar, both are thin, cracker-crust, square-cut. Main differences: St. Louis uses Provel (not mozzarella), has a noticeably sweet sauce, and uses an unleavened dough. Tavern-style uses standard yeasted dough and mozzarella.

Is Imo's Pizza good?

If you're from St. Louis, yes. If you're not, it depends whether you can get past the Provel. Most non-locals try it expecting NY-style and are disappointed. Try it on its own terms and it's legitimately great.