All About Pizza

An Overview of Pizza

Pizza is usually a round piece of bread covered in tomato sauce and cheese and other optional toppings. It originated as a part of Neapolitan cuisine, and now is extremely popular all over the world. The crust is usually plain but sometimes it is seasoned with butter, garlic or herbs even stuffed with cheese.

The world’s first true pizzeria was Antica Pizzeria Port Alba opened in Naples in 1830 and still serves pizza from the same pizzeria today. Marinara is the oldest type of pizza which has tomato, oregano, garlic, extra virgin olive oil and basil for toppings. It was named Marinara because it was the food that fisherman ate when they returned home from their fishing trips in the Bay of Naples.

The Margherita pizza introduced cheese to pizza. Raffaele Esposito baked three different pizza’s in 1889 for his visit to King Umberto I and Queen Margherita of Savoy. The Queen’s favorite pizza had the toppings of basil leaves, mozzarella and tomatoes which are the same colors that make up the Italian flag. In her honor they named the pizza the Margherita pizza.

The first official pizzeria in the United States is said to be in Little Italy, Manhattan New York, founded by Gennero Lombardi. He opened a grocery store in 1897 which later became the first pizzeria which was established in 1905 with a New York’s issuance of mercantile license. An employee of his began making pizza to sell at the store. The price for an entire was pizza was five cents, but many people could not afford to buy entire pizza, but they could say how much they could afford that is how sliced became available.

Pizza Types

The United States has developed a large number of regional forms of pizza many resembling the Italian original.
There are many different kinds of crust thin as in hand-tossed or thick as in a pizza pan or a very thick as in Chicago style pizza.
-Chicago style pizza contains a crust that is formed in a deep dish pan and the toppings are reversed they start with the cheese then the filling then the sauce.
-New York style pizza it is usually sold in thin oversized flexible slices. It is a hand tossed pizza with tomato sauce and cheese.
-California style pizza is called the gourmet pizza because of its non traditional toppings, chicken with peanut sauce, bean sprouts, and carrots.
-Hawaiian style pizza has ham and pineapples for a topping
-Grilled pizza this kind of pizza was invented in Providence Rhode Island, it is a thin crust that is cooked on a grill the toppings are place on the baked side after it has been flipped.
-Greek Pizza has a thick chewing crust and is baked in a pan. With olive oil is the common part of the toppings including feta cheese, olives and oregano.


Pizza Styles

Neapolitan Pizza dough consists of Italian wheat flour and Neapolitan yeast of brewer’s yeast, salt, water. Then the dough is kneaded by hand or by a mixer then the dough needs to rise. This type of dough is formed by hand not by rolling with a rolling pin. Then it is placed in a 485 degree stone oven with oak wood fire for 60-90 seconds. When cooked it should be soft and fragrant. The Neapolitan pizza has gained the status of “guaranteed traditional specialty” in Italy. There are three official variants:
-Pizza Marinara which consist of tomato, garlic oregano and oil
-Pizza Margherita: tomato, sliced mozzarella, basil and oil
-Pizza Margherita Extra: tomato, buffalo mozzarella, basil and oil.
Lazio (Rome) this pizza is cooked in a long rectangular baking pan, this dough is similar of an English muffin and cooked in an electric oven. When purchased it is both cut by scissors or a knife and priced by weight.
Pizza Romana (in Naples) has tomato, mozzarella anchovies, oregano and oil.
Sicilian style pizza has the toppings baked right into the crust. An authentic recipe does not use cheese or anchovies. In the United States has different varieties of this pizza it is made with a thick rectangular crust topped with tomato sauce and cheese.