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Pizza Hut changed its Original Pan Pizza recipe

Pizza Hut is giving pizza fans a crispier crust with a new cooking process.
Getty Images stock/Pizza Hut
/ Source: TODAY

Over the last three years, Pizza Hut's culinary engineers have been working in test kitchens to craft a revamped recipe for its Original Pan Pizza.

According to the chain, its OG pie first debuted in the 1980s and it's pretty much been the exact same ever since. This week, Pizza Hut announced that it's now rolling out a new (and allegedly improved) pan pizza that incorporates a different type of cheese and a new baking process meant to enhance the crust's flavor.

The Original Pan Pizza is a little extra cheesy, a little extra saucy and a little extra OG.
The Original Pan Pizza is a little extra cheesy, a little extra saucy and a little extra OG.Pizza Hut

"We’re now using a part-skim mozzarella cheese," Pizza Hut's senior director of culinary innovation and strategy Penny Shaheen told TODAY Food. Previously, the chain had been using a whole-milk mozzarella, which is usually pricier and richer in flavor.

The part-skim cheese, however, will now be piled on a little heavier in the middle of the pizza to make each slice gooey and cheesy. Since perfecting pizza is a science, the ratio of cheese to sauce is key, so the chain is also adding more sauce to its pan pizzas.

But the ingredients aren't the only parts of the pizza-making process that Pizza Hut altered.

The pan itself also got a facelift and was redesigned to make the crust become more golden-brown and buttery as it cooks in the oven.

Shaheen called it "state-of-the-art pan technology."

The revamped pan pizza is now available nationwide.

And while the chain isn't dishing out free pies like it did for the Super Bowl (sigh), the revamped pan pizza is now available nationwide — a large, two-topping pie will set you back $8.