Pizza, a staple of Italian cuisine, has become one of the most recognizable and popular dishes worldwide. Its widespread adoption into other cuisines, replacing the local traditional dishes, is traced to the early 20th century.
Europe
Italy
Authentic Neapolitan pizzas (pizza napoletana) are typically made with tomatoes and mozzarella cheese. They can be made with 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 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 thick. The pizza must be baked for 60–90 seconds in a 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, pizza Margherita, made with tomato, sliced mozzarella, basil and extra-virgin olive oil, and pizza Margherita di bufala made with tomato, sliced buffalo mozzarella from Campania, basil and extra-virgin olive oil. The pizza napoletana is a Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (Specialità Tradizionale Garantita, STG) product in Europe.
Roman pizza, pizza in Lazio (Rome), as well as in many other parts of Italy, is available in two different styles. Take-away shops sell pizza rustica or pizza al taglio. This pizza is cooked in long, rectangular baking pans and relatively thick (1–2 cm). The pizza is often cooked in an electric oven. It is usually cut with scissors or a knife and sold by weight. In 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). Other types of Lazio-style pizza include: pizza romana (tomato, mozzarella, anchovies, oregano, oil) pizza viennese (tomato, mozzarella, German sausage, oregano, oil) pizza capricciosa (mozzarella, tomato, mushrooms, artichokes, cooked ham, olives, oil) pizza quattro formaggi ("four cheese pizza": tomatoes, and the cheeses mozzarella, stracchino, fontina and gorgonzola; sometimes ricotta is swapped for one of the latter three) pizza bianca ("white pizza": a type of bread topped with olive oil, salt and, occasionally herbs, such as rosemary sprigs) pizza e fichi (pizza with figs) pizza casalinga ("home-style pizza"): a thin layer of dough which is stretched into an oiled, square "Sicilian" pan, topped sparingly with shredded mozzarella, crushed uncooked canned tomatoes, chopped garlic and olive oil, and baked until the top bubbles and the bottom is crisp.
Pizza quattro stagioni is a popular style prepared with various ingredients in four sections, with each section representing a season of the year.
Pizza pugliese is prepared with tomato, mozzarella and onion.
Pizzetta is a small pizza that can range in size from around three inches in diameter to the size of a small personal-sized pizza. It may be served as an hors d'oeuvre.
Sicilian pizza is prepared in a manner originating in Sicily, Italy. Just in the US, the phrase Sicilian pizza is often synonymous with thick-crust or deep-dish pizza derived from the Sicilian Sfincione. In Sicily, there is a variety of pizza called Sfincione. It is believed that Sicilian pizza, Sfincione, or focaccia with toppings, was popular on the western portion of the island as far back as the 1860s.
Pisan pizza (pizza pisana) is a smaller and thicker pizza baked into metal plates and traditionally served with anchovies, capers and grated Grana Padano cheese. The slices are traditionally served folded with a slice of cecina, a chickpeas cake, as street food in Pisa, its province and the nearby provinces of Livorno and Lucca.