Pizza

Article by jekky

History br Main article History of pizza br The Ancient Greeks covered their bread with oils herbs and cheese The Romans developed placenta a sheet of flour topped with cheese and honey and flavored with bay leaves Modern pizza originated in Italy as the Neapolitan pie with tomato In 1889 cheese was added br King Ferdinand I 17511825 is said to have disguised himself as a commoner and in clandestine fashion visited a poor neighborhood in Naples One story has it that he wanted to sink his teeth into a food that the queen had banned from the royal courtizza br Base and baking methods br Pizzas in a traditional wood fired brick oven br The bottom base of the pizza called the crust in the United States and Canada may vary widely according to stylehin as in hand tossed pizza or Roman pizza or thick as in pan pizza or Chicago style pizza It is traditionally plain but may also be seasoned with butter garlic or herbs or stuffed with cheese br In restaurants pizza can be baked in an oven with stone bricks above the heat source an electric deck oven a conveyor belt oven or in the case of more expensive restaurants a wood or coal fired brick oven On deck ovens the pizza can be slid into the oven on a long paddle called a peel and baked directly on the hot bricks or baked on a screen a round metal grate typically aluminum When making pizza at home it can be baked on a pizza stone in a regular oven to imitate the effect of a brick oven Another option is grilled pizza in which the crust is baked directly on a barbecue grill Greek pizza like Chicago style pizza is baked in a pan rather than directly on the bricks of the pizza oven br Pizza types br Authentic Neapolitan pizza margherita the base for most kinds of pizza br Neapolitan pizza marinara br Pizza al taglio in Rome br Neapolitan pizza pizza napoletana Authentic Neapolitan pizzas are made with local ingredients like San Marzano tomatoes which grow on the volcanic plains to the south of Mount Vesuvius and Mozzarella di Bufala Campana made with the milk from water buffalo raised in the marshlands of Campania and Lazio in a semi wild state this mozzarella is protected with its own European protected designation of origin According to the rules proposed by the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana the genuine Neapolitan pizza dough consists of Italian wheat flour type 0 or 00 or a mixture of both natural Neapolitan yeast or brewer s yeast salt and water For proper results strong flour with high protein content as used for bread making rather than cakes must be used The dough must be kneaded by hand or with a low speed mixer After the rising process the dough must be formed by hand without the help of a rolling pin or other machine and may be no more than 3 160 mm 160 in thick The pizza must be baked for 6090 seconds in a 485 160 C 905 160 F stone oven with an oak wood fire When cooked it should be crispy tender and fragrant There are three official variants pizza marinara which is made with tomato garlic oregano and extra virgin olive oil although most Neapolitan pizzerias also add basil to the marinara pizza Margherita made with tomato sliced mozzarella basil and extra virgin olive oil and pizza Margherita extra made with tomato mozzarella from Campania in fillets basil and extra virgin olive oil br The pizza napoletana is a Traditional Speciality Guaranteed Specialit Tradizionale Garantita STG product in Italy br Lazio style Pizza in Lazio Rome as well as in many other parts of Italy is available in two different styles 1 Take away shops sell pizza rustica or pizza al taglio This pizza is cooked in long rectangular baking pans and relatively thick 12 160 cm The crust is similar to that of an English muffin and the pizza is often cooked in an electric oven It is usually cut with scissors or a knife and sold by weight 2 In pizza restaurants pizzerias pizza is served in a dish in its traditional round shape It has a thin crisp base quite different from the thicker and softer Neapolitan style base It is usually cooked in a wood fired oven giving the pizza its unique flavor and texture In Rome a pizza napoletana is topped with tomato mozzarella anchovies and oil thus what in Naples is called pizza romana in Rome is called pizza napoletana br Types of Lazio style pizza include br Pizza romana in Naples tomato mozzarella anchovies oregano oil br Pizza viennese tomato mozzarella German sausage oregano oil br Pizza capricciosa capricious pizza mozzarella tomato mushrooms artichokes cooked ham olives oil in Rome prosciutto raw ham is used and half a hard boiled egg is added br Pizza quattro stagioni four seasons pizza same ingredients for the capricciosa but ingredients not mixed br Pizza quattro formaggi four cheese pizza tomatoes mozzarella stracchino fontina gorgonzola sometimes ricotta can be swapped for one of the last three br Sicilian style pizza has its toppings baked directly into the crust An authentic recipe uses neither cheese nor anchovies Sicilian pizza in the United States is typically a different variety of product made with a thick crust characterized by a rectangular shape and topped with tomato sauce cheese and optional toppings Pizza Hut s Sicilian Pizza introduced in 1994 is not an authentic example of the style as only garlic basil and oregano are mixed into the crust br White pizza pizza bianca omits the tomato sauce often substituting pesto or dairy products such as sour cream Most commonly especially on the East coast of the United States the toppings consist only of mozzarella and ricotta cheese drizzled with olive oil and spices like fresh basil and garlic In Rome the term pizza bianca refers to a type of bread topped with olive oil salt and occasionally rosemary sprigs It is also a Roman style to bottom the white pizza with figs the result being known as pizza e fichi pizza with figs br Ripieno or calzone is a turnover style pizza filled with several ingredients such as ricotta salami and mozzarella and folded over to form a half circle before being baked In Italian calzone literally means large sock while the word ripieno actually means just filling and does not by itself imply a form of pizza br Non Italian types of pizza br In the 20th century pizza has become an international food with widely varying toppings These pizzas consist of the same basic design but include an exceptionally diverse choice of ingredients br Pizza in Australia br The usual Italian varieties are available but there is also the Australian or australiana which has the usual tomato sauce base and mozzarella cheese with bacon and egg seen as quintessentially Australian breakfast fare Prawns are also sometimes used on this style of pizza br In the 1980s Australian pizza shops and restaurants began selling gourmet pizzas pizzas with upmarket ingredients such as salmon dill bocconcini tiger prawns and such unconventional toppings as kangaroo emu and crocodile Wood fired pizzas cooked in a ceramic oven heated by wood fuel are also popular br Pizza in Brazil br Pizza was brought by Italian immigrants to that country So Paulo calling itself The Pizza Capital of the World has 6000 pizza establishments and 1 4 million pizzas are consumed daily It is said that the first Brazilian pizzas were baked in the Brs district of So Paulo in the early part of the 20th century Until the 1950s they were only found in the Italian communities Since then pizza became increasingly popular among the rest of the population The most traditional pizzerias are still found in the Italian neighborhoods such as Bexiga and Bela Vista Both Napolitan thick crust and Roman thin crust varieties are currently being appreciated in Brazil salted versions with tomato juice and mozzarela as a base and the other ingredients defining the flavor or the sweet ones like banana chocolate or pineapple toppings being offered at the end of meal like a dessert There is a Pizza Day July 10 in So Paulo that marks the final day of an annual competition among pizzaiolos Such event helps lever up even more the pizza market in So Paulo and the rest of Brazil br Pizza in India br Pizza is a emerging fast food in Indian urban areas With the arrival of branded pizza such as Dominos and Pizza Hut in early to mid 1990s it has reached almost all major cities in India by 2010 br Pizza outlets serve pizzas with several India based toppings like Tandoori Chicken and Paneer Indian pizzas are generally made more spicy compared to their western counterparts to suit Indian taste citation needed Along with Indian variations more conventional pizzas are also eaten Pizzas available in India range from localized basic variants available in neighborhood bakeries to gourmet pizzas with exotic and imported ingredients available at specialty Italian restaurants br Pizza in Pakistan br Pizza was introduced in Pakistan in 1993 citation needed Manzar Riaz from Lahore is credited with introducing it to Pakistan when he opened up the country s first pizza outlet citation needed Pizza Hut opened its outlets in Pakistan in 1993 Unlike in India where the pizza has become widely popular the pizza in Pakistan is only popular and well known only in the provinces of Punjab Sindh and Kashmir Pizza is still virtually unknown in the provinces of North West Frontier Province and Baluchistan br United States styles and specialties br Main article Pizza in the United States br Due to the wide influence of Italian and Greek immigrants in American culture the US has developed regional forms of pizza some bearing only a casual resemblance to the Italian original Both thick and thin crust are popular br Cooked from frozen pizza topped with cheese and tomato sauce br Frozen and ready to bake pizzas br Pizza is available frozen Food technologists have developed ways to overcome challenges such as preventing the sauce from combining with the dough and producing a crust that can be frozen and reheated without becoming rigid Modified corn starch is