The most accurate and complete PIZZA RECIPE on the net. How to make a true Pizza Napoletana by Jeff Varasano, Voted Atlanta's Best Pizza, Located at 2171 Peachtree Rd.
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Modern Greek pitta bread and the Apulia and Calabrian (then Byzantine Italy) pitta,[8] a round flat bread baked in the oven at high temperature sometimes with toppings. The word pitta can in turn be traced to either Ancient Greek πικτή (pikte), "fermented pastry", which in Latin became "picta", or Ancient Greek πίσσα (pissa, Attic πίττα, pitta), "pitch",[9][1. The Etymological Dictionary of the Italian Language explains it as coming from dialectal pinza "clamp", as in modern Italian pinze "pliers, pincers, tongs, forceps". Their origin is from Latinpinsere "to pound, stamp".[1.
The Lombardic word bizzo or pizzo meaning "mouthful" (related to the English words "bit" and "bite"), which was brought to Italy in the middle of the 6th century AD by the invading Lombards.[1][1. History. Foods similar to pizza have been made since the neolithic age. Records of people adding other ingredients to bread to make it more flavorful can be found throughout ancient history. The ancient Greeks supplemented their bread with oils, herbs and cheese, or hops, [1. BC, the soldiers in Persian King Darius I's armies baked flatbreads with cheese and dates on top of their battle shields.[1.
An early reference to a pizza- like food occurs in the Aeneid, when Celaeno, queen of the Harpies, foretells that the Trojans would not find peace until they are forced by hunger to eat their tables (Book III). In Book VII, Aeneas and his men are served a meal that includes round cakes (like pita bread) topped with cooked vegetables. When they eat the bread, they realize that these are the "tables" prophesied by Celaeno.[1. Modern pizza evolved from similar flatbread dishes in Naples, Italy in the 1. Jeyoun is considered to be the earliest form of modern pizza, which is very similar to contemporary Neapolitan pizza but with hops added as a supplementary ingredient in the dough.[1. Prior to that time, flatbread was often topped with ingredients such as garlic, salt, lard, cheese, and basil. It is uncertain when tomatoes were first added and there are many conflicting claims.[1.
Until about 1. 83. A popular contemporary legend holds that the archetypal pizza, pizza Margherita, was invented in 1. Royal Palace of Capodimonte commissioned the Neapolitan pizzaiolo (pizza maker) Raffaele Esposito to create a pizza in honor of the visiting Queen Margherita. Of the three different pizzas he created, the Queen strongly preferred a pizza swathed in the colors of the Italian flag: red (tomato), green (basil), and white (mozzarella). Supposedly, this kind of pizza was then named after the Queen,[2. Pizza was brought to the United States with Italian immigrants in the late nineteenth century,[2. Italian immigrants concentrated.
The country's first pizzeria, Lombardi's, opened in 1. Following World War II, veterans returning from the Italian Campaign after being introduced to Italy's native cuisine proved a ready market for pizza in particular.[2. Since then pizza consumption has exploded in the U. S.[2. 5]Pizza chains such as Domino's, Pizza Hut, and Papa John's, pizzas from take and bake pizzerias, and chilled or frozen pizzas from supermarkets make pizza readily available nationwide. It is so ubiquitous, thirteen percent of the U. S. population consumes pizza on any given day.[2. Preparation. Pizza is prepared fresh, frozen, and as portion- size slices or pieces.
Methods have been developed 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. There are frozen pizzas with raw ingredients and self- rising crusts. Another form of uncooked pizza is available from take and bake pizzerias. This pizza is assembled in the store, then sold to customers to bake in their own ovens. Some grocery stores sell fresh dough along with sauce and basic ingredients, to complete at home before baking in an oven.
Pizza preparation. A wrapped, mass- produced frozen pizza cooked at home. Pizza dough being kneaded. After this, it is typically left undisturbed and allowed time to proof.
Traditional pizza dough being tossed. Various toppings being placed on pan pizzas. An uncooked Neapolitan pizza on a metal peel, ready for the oven.
Cooking. 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, 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). Prior to use, a peel may be sprinkled with cornmeal to allow pizza to easily slide onto and off of it.[2. When made at home, it can be baked on a pizza stone in a regular oven to reproduce 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. When it comes to preparation, the dough and ingredients can be combined on any kind of table.
With mass production of pizzas the process can be completely automated. Most restaurants still use standard and purpose built pizza preparation tables. Pizzerias nowadays can even opt for hi tech pizza preparation tables that combine mass production elements with traditional techniques.[2. Pizza cooking. Pizzas bake in a traditional wood- fired brick oven. A pizza baked in a wood- fired oven, being removed with a wooden peel. A cooked pizza served at a New York pizzeria.
Crust. A pizza just removed from an oven, with a close- up view of the cornicione (the outer edge)The bottom of the pizza, called the "crust", may vary widely according to style—thin as in a typical hand- tossed Neapolitan pizza, or thick as in a deep- dish Chicago- style. It is traditionally plain, but may also be seasoned with garlic or herbs, or stuffed with cheese. The outer edge of the pizza is sometimes referred to as the cornicione.[2. Often pizza dough contains sugar, both to help its yeast rise and enhance browning of the crust.[3. Dipping sauce specifically for pizza was invented by American pizza chain Papa John's Pizza in 1. Cheese. Mozzarella is commonly used on pizza, with the highest quality buffalo mozzarella produced in the surroundings of Naples.[3.
Today, other cheeses have been used as pizza ingredients, including provolone, pecorino romano, ricotta, and scamorza.