While certainly ancient, the earliest origins of pizza are not at all clear. One interesting legend tells that the Roman soldiers returning from
developed a dish called
.
Most sources, however, agree that an early form of pizza resembling what today is called
was eaten by many populations around the Mediterranean, e.g., by Greeks,
Egyptians etc.
These dishes of round pita-like, cooked bread with oil and spices on top are the ancestors of pizza, but are not properly speaking pizza. Tomato was then unknown. With the discovery of the New World, tomato made its way to Italy through Spain. It was considered a poisonous ornamental item and so in the first centuries of its import was not eaten.
The Neapolitan people seem to be the first to have wholeheartedly adopted tomato into their cuisine, so that in our day tomato is the most characteristic element of Neapolitan cuisine.
Over the centuries, a tradition of pizza was developed among the Neapolitan poor people. It is not surprising, then, that a modern pizza, that is, with
(a special and very good kind of mozzarella cheese) and tomato was made in 1871 in
Naples for Princess Margherita of Savoia by Raffaele Esposito. This patriotic pizza made with basil, tomato and mozzarella, in honour of the new green, white and red Italian flag, became the so called
and early 20th centuries.
This form of pizza was then popularized and adapted all around the world through waves of emigration from Naples in the late 19th

Pizza dough ingredients:
5 cups flour ,1/2 ounce (14g) active dry yeast - or one tablespoon
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 cups tap hot water (473ml)
Total weight of the finished dough comes to 43 oz (1.2kg) which is good amount for 7 thin pizza bases at 6 oz (170g) per each base and pizza, or for 3-4 of 12" to 16"
(305mm to 406mm) large pizzas with thick base. You can freeze or refrigerate unused dough in a plastic wrap.
Pizza toppings:
Mozzarella cheese or pizza cheese mix bag 1 lb (500g) amount
Tomato paste 5 oz (140g) for 2-3 pizza bases, you can buy tomato paste in different flavors e.g. Herbs & Garlic.
Fresh herbs, oregano, basil - chop these.
Vegetables - mainly tomato, onion.
Sun dried tomatoes in olive oil.
Olives
Mushrooms
Pineapple pieces
Artichokes
Capers

I.I.S. Carlo Urbani
Medtwinning Italy/Slovenia/Jordan
Culture box from Italy to Jordan
IIIrd form/A
School year 2007-2008
Coordinator: Prof. Noemi Lusi
Headmaster : D.S. Preside Prof. Paolo M. Reale
Sources: www.mondopizza.it-www.ristoranti-pizzeria.com/www.google.it

The bread base of the pizza (called the "crust" in the United States and Canada) may vary widely according to style: thin as in hand-tossed pizza or Roman pizza, thick as in pan pizza, or very thick as in Chicago-style pizza . It is traditionally plain, but may also be seasoned with butter , garlic , or herbs , or stuffed with cheese.
In restaurants, pizza can be baked in a gas 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.
In home-made pizza, there are many variations on the bread used for crust. In some countries, creations such as pita pizza, bagel pizza, matzo pizza, and tortilla pizza are popular, especially with children. In Japan, where full-size ovens are a rarity in the home, pizza toast is a popular version

Authentic Neapolitan Pizza Margherita, the base for most kinds of pizza.
Neapolitan Pizza Marinara.
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 .
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 mechanical device, and may be no more than 3 mm (1/8 in ) thick. The pizza must be baked for 60 –90 seconds in a 485 °C (905 °F) stone oven with an oak-wood fire.
When cooked, it should be crispy, tender and fragrant. Neapolitan pizza has gained the status of "guaranteed traditional specialty" in Italy. This admits only 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, buffalo mozzarella from Campania in fillets, basil and extra virgin olive oil.