What is professional Italian pizza like?

2022. 11. 28.

The origin of Italian pizza

Pizza was already widespread in the Mediterranean region in ancient times, in fact, thinner pies, stretched bread dough, with some kind of topping were eaten in all parts of Europe. For example, lángos was a similar dish for us, since at first the dough was not fried in fat, but was a simple bread pie. Of course, tomatoes only appeared on pizza after the discovery of America, we had to wait until the 17th century.

However, the history of Margherita pizza is really interesting. It was named after Margit of Savoy, Queen of Italy. It was made for him by an Italian chef. And the topping, since we are talking about the 19th century, is inspired by the Italian tricolor. That's why tomatoes, basil and mozzarella became the iconic toppings of the Margherita pizza. It is also important to know that the Margherita pizza is specifically Neapolitan pizza.

What should your dough be like?

It is important to point out that there is not only one type of Italian pizza dough. After all, not only the pasta, but also the pizza dough and even the toppings are made differently in each region. For example, the edges of Neapolitan pizza are thick, while the inside of the pizza is thin and often not crispy. And its rim softens from the many fermentations. Northern Italian pizza is thin and crispy, many people's favorite Italian pizza, yet they still think it originated in Naples. The confusion is caused by the fact that the origin of Italian pizza, Margit of Savoy's pizza, is from Naples. Naples is the home of Italian pizza, but most people associate Italian pizza with the crispy dough of the northern region. And the Sicilian pizza is fried in a pan, and the dough is risen and spongy. This type of pizza even absorbs oil from the pan, unlike other pizzas baked in a wood-burning oven.

Of course, today pizzas are baked in a pizza oven at a high temperature. For real Italian pizza, you may also need a pizza shovel. If you are making a professional pizza at home, you should bake it in a pizza tray.

Italian pizza dough requires only flour, water and salt, as well as sourdough or yeast. According to many pizza chefs, 00 flour should definitely be used for the dough, because it is much easier and more effective to work with it than with BL55 flour, which is the most common in our country. Olive oil is usually added to Neapolitan dough, but pizza dough from other regions is not necessarily made with oil. By the way, olive gives the dough a delicious taste and makes it easier to work with. Let the dough rise for at least 4 hours. These are the golden rules. The dough must be baked in a preheated oven set to maximum temperature.

Real Italian toppings

What is the topping on a real Italian pizza? Tomatoes are one of the most important bases for pizza toppings. Tomatoes should be prepared at home, passéed. You don't need to sprinkle too many things on top of the tomato sauce if you want to make a real Italian pizza. It can be mushrooms, arugula, Italian ham or even Italian salami, or even tuna. Basil, fresh basil is a very delicious pizza topping, complementing the flavors divinely. Some people make their pizza pop with a little mascarpone. The point is that the topping of the original Italian pizza does not consist of too many components. It is enough to place 2-4 types of toppings on a pizza.

Did we get you in the mood for homemade Italian pizza? Then make a good dough, using the flour we recommend, with a little olive oil, make a divine tomato topping, and head to the oven! The more you practice, the tastier it will be in the end!