Italian pizza is familiar to everyone, but not everyone knows that there are several types; we will tell you about 12 types of freaking good pizza, and we are sure that you will find something in this list that will suit your taste!
Pizza is a popular dish worldwide, with its roots in Italy as far back as the 17th century. When the first pizza restaurant opened in downtown Naples, visitors were offered a menu of various pizzas. The original freaking good pizza recipes have survived to this day.
Pizza is considered a fast food in many countries, but in Italy, this is a traditional dish.
Types of pizza differ significantly, so if you’re thinking about making authentic Italian pizza, it’s a good idea to decide which version of this famous dish appeals to your taste the most. Yes, there are many traditional styles, and which one you choose depends on the pizza dough recipe, how it’s made, and the choice of other ingredients.
Nowadays, pizza is made in almost every restaurant. It is famous not only in Italy but also in other countries. Pizzeria customers are often asked to choose what products to put on their pizza. But this is more of an innovation than a tradition. Gourmets should definitely try the varieties that have been prepared by more than one generation of pizzaiolo.
What is “pizza”?
The history of pizza dates back to ancient times. The first types of this product were flatbreads with toppings.
Probably the predecessor of the pizza was focaccia, or flatbread, known to the Romans as panis focacius, to which a filling was added. The first modern pizza was made in Naples in the 18th century by adding tomatoes to focaccia.
The word pizza gained widespread popularity in Gaeta in 997 and began spreading throughout Central and Southern Italy over time.
Pizza became one of the most popular dishes in this country with the beginning of the mass emigration of Italians in the nineteenth century among Italian immigrants. During World War II, U.S. troops visited Italy, after which the popularity of pizza in the United States increased, and then it spread to various countries around the world.
So what is pizza, and how did it come about? Pizza-like food has been familiar to humankind since the Neolithic era, but modern pizza emerged from similar bread tortillas in Naples, in the 18th or early 19th century. These tortillas often had ingredients such as garlic, salt, lard, and cheese on them, and only later did they start adding tomatoes.
So, modern pizza is a dish made according to the following principles:
- made of dough based on flour, water, and yeast;
- various ingredients are placed on top of the rolled-out dough (the most classic elements are tomatoes and mozzarella);
- cook traditional pizza in a wood-fired oven. Although modern versions, of course, are also cooked in electric ovens.
It would seem simple. But is it really?
If you ask someone living in Rome what pizza tastes like in his city, he will describe it as crispy and thin, while a Neapolitan will talk about soft pizza, and for a Sicilian from Palermo, pizza will mostly be square, high, with lots of sauce.
Back in ancient Naples in 1552, Italians first tasted these delicious flatbreads. And in the late 19th century, pizza was recognized as Queen Margaret of Savoy’s crown dish.
The exquisite delicacy began to gain popularity in honor of such a great person. And to this day, it is considered a traditional dish, which is eaten in Italy on holidays and weekdays. This is where the fashion started – to open pizzerias, where you can order pizza with any toppings.
But let’s start with the basics – what kind of pizza is there?
Basically, pizza varies by the ingredients in the toppings – there are many variations. However, the dough, too, can be prepared in several ways. There are two most popular: thin and puffy. In the first case, you get a light crispy dough. In such a pizza, the central role goes to the toppings. The puffy base reveals all the flavorful subtleties of the dough, and you get freaking good pizza in harmony with the toppings. There are many fans of both base options, so choose at your discretion.
The most popular types of pizza
There are more than 100 variations of pizza at home right now. And professional pizzerias offer even more variations of this dish. For this reason, people are overwhelmed by such a wide range of choices. So let’s look at a few of the most popular types of freaking good pizza that you can make with your hands at home quickly and deliciously.
20. “Margarita”
A pizza “Margarita” is a classic option, as it includes a minimal set of ingredients: tomato sauce, mozzarella, and oregano. To taste, you can add tomatoes and olives, making the pastry more delicious and flavorful. In addition, this dish can be cooked on the puffy and thin dough – in both cases. It will turn out quite tasty and freaking good pizza.
19. Diablo’s Pizza
You can guess from the name that this pizza belongs to the category of spicy dishes. It is loved to cook in many countries worldwide. Usually, the spicy taste is provided by mixing a few smoked sausages, mozzarella, tomatoes, and spicy tomato sauce. You can add red peppers or jalapeño peppers to the mix to taste. Cook in the oven at 390°F for 17 minutes.
18. Hawaiian pizza
Hawaiian pizza has received conflicting reviews from people because of one ingredient – pineapples. Many people don’t understand how this fruit can be eaten as a pizza. Nevertheless, this dish has a large number of followers. To make this freaking good pizza, you need to take pineapples, chicken fillet (which can be replaced by ham), mozzarella, and tomato sauce. It is worth noting: the taste will vary depending on the ratio of ingredients.
17. “Caprichosa”
This is a type freaking good pizza with mushrooms that is quite hearty and caloric. This is because of the large number of diverse but high-calorie ingredients. Thus, “Capricchosa” includes ham, tomato sauce, artichokes, mozzarella, olives, and mushrooms (preferably take mushrooms). In addition, some pizza makers add a hard-boiled egg to the mix, so be sure to try adding that ingredient.
16. Neapolitan pizza
This pizza has one interesting feature – you have to cook it precisely in a wood-fired oven. Of course, you can also bake in the oven, but the taste will be completely different. Therefore, if you have the opportunity, try cooking pizza Neapolitan style on the wood fire. This freaking good pizza includes tomatoes, mozzarella, anchovies, basil, and Parmesan. To taste, you can add some meat, such as chicken or ham.
15. Pizza with seafood
Be sure to try cooking this version of the pizza. You can use any seafood, but mussels, squid, and tuna are incredibly delicious. In addition to seafood, you can add mozzarella, tomatoes, capers, and some butter. Bake this freaking good pizza in the oven at 390°F for 20 minutes.
14. 4 Meats Pizza
The name speaks for itself – this dish uses four types of meat: chicken, bacon, salami, and ham. Some pizza makers experiment with taste and change the classic meat ingredients. For example, they change salami for sausage, and minced meat can be used at home. A mandatory component, in addition to meat, is mozzarella. To taste, you can add tomato sauce, which makes this freaking good pizza more intense.
13. Vegetable pizza
If you are a vegetarian, vegetable pizzas have been developed for you. Their composition can be absolutely any, as this pastry from Italy leaves much room for experimentation. A classic vegetarian pizza recipe is the following set of ingredients: mushrooms, olives, tomatoes, bell peppers, Crimean onions, and obligatory tomato sauce.
12. Tuna pizza
This Italian pizza recipe was indirectly discussed in the article above – in the block about baked seafood. Here we would like to mention another recipe with seafood. Only in this case, just one seafood is used – tuna. The other ingredients of this freaking good pizza include tomato sauce, olives, and mozzarella. The dish must be cooked in the oven at 390°F for 20 minutes.
11. Four Seasons Pizza
This pizza uses ingredients that characterize the four main seasons. Therefore, the prepared base of dough should be divided into four equal sectors:
- Winter – mushrooms;
- Spring – artichokes;
- Summersweet peppers;
- Autumn – tomatoes.
You can add a few more ingredients to each sector, such as meats. You can even mix pizza with “4 types of meat” and “4 seasons” – it will be delicious. Each sector can be garnished with its own sauce to taste: mayonnaise, sour cream, tomato, and cheese. Of course, a dish is hardly considered a pizza if it does not contain mozzarella.
10. “BBQ Chicken.”
This is a very unusual recipe that requires special ingredients. If the following pizza ingredients are unavailable in your city, they can always be ordered online. The ingredients in this bake include onions (preferably pickled), BBQ sauce, chicken filet, bacon, mozzarella, and olives at your discretion. All ingredients should be baked in the oven for 20 minutes and preheated to 390°F.
9. “Sicilian”
This is a classic Italian pizza recipe whose list of ingredients includes anchovies, pecorino cheese, tomatoes, mozzarella, and ricotta cheese. However, this pizza version has one feature – the dough must be thin and necessarily square. Of course, the shape of the dough only significantly affects the taste. But such a filling with puff pastry may not go well, so it is better to use a thin pastry.
8. Four Cheese Pizza
The peculiarity of this pizza is that it uses four kinds of cheese, which perfectly complement each other:
- Dor Blue;
- Mozzarella;
- Parmesan;
- Emmental;
You can only buy these cheeses in some stores, so residents of small towns will have to order them online. For a change, you can add a little tomato or sour cream sauce, making the pizza tastier and more flavorful.
7. “Calzone”
This is a special kind of pizza that is very different from the other options. If you pick on the words, it is actually a pie, as it is cooked closed. First, you need to roll out the dough, place the toppings on top: oregano, mushrooms, ricotta, parmesan, mozzarella, and ham – then cover the top with a second layer of dough. After that, you need to bake the pizza “Calzone” in the oven for 25 minutes at 390°F.
6. “Focaccia”
“Focaccia” is the easiest pizza recipe in this article. The fact is that the entire topping consists of olive oil, salt, and dried oregano. The result is a delicious dough flatbread with a light and pleasant oregano-flavored filling. Bake it in the oven at 390°F for 15 minutes. If you like fried dough, you can increase the cooking time to 20 minutes.
5. Dessert
Dessert pizzas include sweet recipes for this dish. You can add cottage cheese, granulated sugar, vanilla sugar, honey, powdered sugar, vanillin, cinnamon, strawberries, blueberries, chocolate shavings, and so on to the toppings. It’s worth noting: the ingredients listed here are not for one pizza but a general list. Make your own dessert recipes from this set of ingredients.
4. National
National pizza recipes include variations that are specific to a particular country. Of course, most cooking methods are taken from Italy.
3. Pizza in a pan (Pizza al tegamino)
And what about the north of Italy? Here, too, there are their own styles of pizza. For example, Turin has a special kind of pizza baked in a small pan. The dough for such pizza goes through a double fermentation, after which it is placed in a small skillet, which, in turn, is set in a wood or electric oven. Since the skillet is pre-greased with olive oil, the finished pizza is similar to a Neapolitan pizza but with a slight frying effect. You can find this pizza only in Turin and some other cities in Piedmont.
2. Meter Pizza (Pizza al metro or Pizza alla Palla)
This pizza is somewhat similar to sliced pizza, but unlike the latter, it is cooked directly in the oven, not on the pan, and is usually intended for a large group of people. It can reach one meter in length, hence the name. Calling it a different style of meter pizza may be difficult, but it certainly attracts attention to the originality of the performance! As a rule, these pizzas are quite crispy, about 1 cm thick.
1. Pizza Gourmet
We are used to perceiving pizza as something discreet, suitable for any “gastronomic situation,” consisting of ingredients of high quality, but at the same time loved by all, and quite affordable. However, we perceive the pizza gourmet in a very different way.
Gourmet pizza is served in restaurants of the highest level. It is made with mother’s yeast and often with flour other than soft wheat. The ingredients used for toppings are unusual for pizza, such as beans, lemon, figs, and game. The dough is very light, and the pizza is served sliced.
Fascinating facts about pizza
Today we will tell you some fascinating facts about pizza.
1. The term “pizza” originated in 997 B.C.
Yes, not only do we love to eat good food, but also our ancestors. The term “pizza” has been around for over a thousand years. The first mention of the dish was found on the south coast of Italy in 997. We can infer that pizza is one of Italy’s oldest foods.
2. TPizza’s significance was first noted by Alexandre Dumas, the author of “The Three Musketeers.”
Alexandre Dumas was a big fan of pizza and was the first to pay attention to this dish. The author of the famous “Three Musketeers” was always a fan of pizza, even though it was previously considered food for the poor.
Alexander made the decision to take a little vacation in 1835. The writer discovered upon arriving in Naples that low-income residents only consume watermelon during the summer. In the cold season in Naples, it was customary to cook just pizza. The famous writer rated it “10” out of “10”.
3. The Hawaiian pizza was invented by a Greek while staying in Canada.
Hawaiian pizza saw the world in 1962. By this time, the meal was well-known throughout the world, and new kinds and versions with various toppings started to appear. Sam Panopoulos founded a pizza parlor in Canada and is credited with creating Hawaiian pizza. Also interesting is the fact that Italians do not like this dish variation, and it is almost impossible to buy the Hawaiian variation in Italy.
Did we manage to mention all the styles? Probably not. But at least now you have a list of pizzas that you will definitely want to try!
The best kinds of this delicacy can be tasted at any pizzeria, or you can order over the phone for dinner. Housewives can cook their own puffy pizza on a plain puff pastry or a lumpy dough with the addition of any toppings of their choice.
0 Comments