Pizza, Pizza...Prepping for Rome 2

A Brief History of Pizza

The Pizza Tree

Pizza does not grow on trees. Its emergence as a food category occurred gradually over centuries with the fortuitous combination of water, salt, yeast, flour, tomatoes, cheese and other ingredients, each of which has its own complicated history. The very name “pizza” is suggestive concerning its origin, since the word comes from the Latin pinsere which means “squash,” “pound,” or “beat.” That is basically how unleavened bread was prepared on hot stones when Arab traders brought it to Sicily in the 12th century.

Cheese arose thousands of years ago with the practice of animal husbandry and milk storage in animal stomachs containing rennet that unexpectedly but serendipitously separated curds and whey. The domestication and cultivation of grains was likewise an early form of human activity. Flatbreads crowned with garlic, salt, lard and cheese were a first step on the road to pizza.

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Mastunicola

The first recorded Neapolitan pizza around 1600 was mastunicola cooked in a wood oven and seasoned with lard, basil and cheese like the one above. Olive oil gradually replaced lard and tomatoes finally arrived in Italy from Peru in the 16th century via Spain, thanks to Spanish Conquistador expeditions in South America.

Widespread adoption of tomatoes took some time since they were initially thought to be poisonous as a member of the nightshade family. Not only that, but tomato juice spilled over the pewter dishes of the wealthy, its acid leaching the plates and killing them. The downtrodden peasantry fared better with their clay and wooden dishes, if they could afford tomatoes. Consequently, it was only in 1692 that Antonio Latini made the first reference to tomato sauce in his cookbook Lo Scalco alla Moderna (The Modern Steward).

Although both water and yeast occur naturally and were used for leavening bread in ancient Egypt, Louis Pasteur scientifically demonstrated yeast’s role in bread leavening only in the mid-1800s. 

​The Pizza Family Tree

Many people have a vague familiarity with two main families of Italian pizza—Neapolitan and Roman. Understanding often dissipates, however, when it comes to identifying the main differentiating factors in ingredients, process, and results.

Traditional Neapolitan pizza is more strictly codified than Roman pizza so it forms an “archetype” with which Roman pizza can be compared. It has even achieved UNESCO recognition for its Intangible Cultural Heritage. The Neapolitan “accreditation” agency called Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana (AVPN) codifies rules regarding pizza ingredients and techniques (26 pages of them), offers training, and certifies members of Vera Pizza Napolitana (VPN).

All pizza consists of dough and toppings. Neapolitan pizza dough is “lean.” It includes only 4 ingredients: 00 (doppio zero, very fine grind on a 00-2 scale) semolina (durum) wheat flour, water (60-70% hydration), salt, and yeast (brewer’s, dry or sourdough). No fat or sugar. The 00 semolina (durum) wheat has a high protein content (11.5-13%) that encourages gluten development. Gluten is a protein network that underlies dough’s structure and texture (elasticity/extensibility) and it arises from the flour's protein content, hydration, temperature, and mixing/kneading dynamics. Yeast helps the dough rise and contributes flavor development. There is an inverse relationship between the amount of yeast used and the time and water/air temperature needed for fermentation. Kneading also shows an inverse relationship with fermentation time.

The process of mixing (by hand or mixer) and kneading dough is called impastimento and it creates structure, texture and flavor by encouraging gluten development. In sequence, salt and yeast are added to the water and the flour gradually introduced and kneaded, then rested and fermented for 12-24 hours.

Neapolitan pizza dough is stretched by hand into its final round shape with a small diameter (22-35cm) and a high, raised cornice/edge (cornicione) that results from pushing the air bubbles from the center to the perimeter. Tomato (fresh, crushed or pureed plum—not pre-cooked) is distributed on the flat surface inside the cornicione. Beyond tomato, specific toppings depend on the variety of pizza as explained below. Neapolitan pizza is cooked in wood-fired ovens with specified dimensions at very high temperatures (480C or 900F) for no longer than 90 seconds.

The result is a soft, fluffy, chewy/floppy pie center with blisters of scorched and crunchy crust on the perimeter. Individual pies are served for immediate, sit-down consumption. The classic Neapolitan pie comes in two versions that vary in their sauce: marinara and margherita. Chef Vincenzo Corrado described the first of these in 1773 in his book of haute cuisine titled Il Cuoco Galante (“The Galant Chef”). However, marinara sauce was first used on pasta and other foods. When topping pizza, it includes tomato (generally crushed, peeled San Marzano tomatoes), thinly sliced garlic, oregano and olive oil sprinkled over the top in a spiral movement resembling the number six (6). While the name marinara suggests that it contains seafood, actually it is a simple and thin sauce with nothing but tomato, olive oil, garlic and herbs. In days before refrigeration, it was an appropriate food for sailors (marinari) when they were out at sea or returning home from the sea. In Italy, it is commonly referred to simply as alla pomodoro (tomato sauce).

Pizza Marinara

Many years later, Neapolitan chef Raffaele Esposito purportedly named the Margherita pizza in 1889 in honor of Queen Margherita, leading to a royal endorsement that accelerated its widespread adoption in Italy and abroad. This pizza makes subtle artistic allusions both to the Italian national flag and to the queen herself. Its 3 colors (red, green and white) herald the tricolored Italian flag with the tomato, basil, and cheese (either cow’s milk fior-di-latte or buffalo mozzarella). In reference to the queen’s name (margherita is Italian for “daisy”), the mozzarella cheese rounds were arranged in a daisy pattern as seen below.

Pizza Margherita

Despite the persistence of these two ideal types of pizza, most pizzerias of Neapolitan persuasion push the envelope of toppings to include popular variations like cappriciosa, quattro stagione, calzone and others.

Roman Pizza

Roman pizza does not have strict prescriptions like Naples. That liberalism makes it harder to define, but somewhat easier to make and more prone to innovations. However, it does have hallmarks that constitute a commonality: Roman pizza is light, thin, crisp, and varied in its toppings. The dough is high-protein and includes oil as an ingredient that provides the elasticity to be stretched or rolled very thin. It is more hydrated (70-80%) than Neapolitan dough (therefore stickier) and long-fermented. When formed, it is thin. As seen above, it lacks the high outer cornice of Neapolitan pizza. Roman pizza can be rossa or bianca. The toppings are light on sauce and cheese, but varied in other ingredients that may include ham, egg, mushrooms, olives, zucchini flowers, and more. It is cooked longer at lower temperature (220C or 430F) in electric or gas ovens though nothing prevents wood-fired. The rigid platform is affectionately named “the crunchy one” (scrocchiarella) since it is crisp rather than chewy and allows portability and supports the toppings.

While Roman pizza is commonly fabricated into round individual pies (pizza tonda) for sit-down consumption in restaurants, other versions are widely made with longer-fermented, higher-hydration dough (75%+) in large rectangular sheet pans (in teglia) or on wooden paddles (alla pala) that are cooked in electric ovens and sold in bakeries or streetcorner shops. Toppings are varied. These can be re-heated and sold fast-food style for take-away by the slice (al taglio) at prices based on weight.

Having walked through the weeds of their construction, differences between Neapolitan and Roman pizza are perhaps best understood by the symbolism of their tools: the rolling pin (mattarello) in Rome, the long-handled pizza peel (palino) and the wood-fired oven in Naples. A round (tonda) Roman pizza is commonly made thin so it cooks crispy. A rolling pin makes this easier although it is not necessary or even desirable [rolling excessively can make tough dough by forcing out the air/gas]. 

Rolling Pin and Palino

A Neapolitan pizza, on the other hand, specifically eschews rolling pins and requires hand-stretching or tossing to preserve fermentation’s CO2 bubbles. This permits making it small and round (22-35 cm) with its distinctive soft and airy chew and signature cornicione. The Neapolitan pizzaiolo uses a long-handled pizza peel (palino) made of wood, aluminum or steel to insert, rotate and remove pies from the intense blast of a 900-degree wood-fired oven. The hair on his head would never survive the process without the distance provided by a long-handled pizza peel/paddle. The oven itself has a double-domed roof, refractive brick or cement walls, and precise measurements for the height of the dome, diameter of the base and dimensions of the entrance. It burns wood that is generally oak, ash, maple or beech. Fire management is a key job for the pizzaolo.

Forno à Legna

​Besides the two main families of pizza, Roman pizza in particular includes spinoffs and fusions of both ancient and modern heritage. Pinsa romana is a modern interpretation of an ancient variety that includes oval or rectangular shapes and uses varied flours (wheat, rice, soy, sourdough) for dough that is “pounded” or “stamped” (pinsere) like its flatbread forebears. Trapizzino is an inventive modern triangle of dough folded into a cone and filled with exotic toppings. Pizza bianca, as the name suggests, omits tomato from the topping. Pizza fritta is a historic Neapolitan deep-fried street-food. Sicilian pizza (sfincione) has thick, sponge-like crust with toppings of tomato, anchovy, and sheep cheese.

Conclusion

This multiplicity of pies often stimulates discussion about which is “best.” Of course, each type of pizza has many variations that depend on the pizzeria, its region and personnel. Personal tastes and preferences of the consumer also play a major role. Circumstances can shift the context of factors that weigh on appreciation. In such situations, most pleasure arises from enjoying the competition itself and sampling its offers.  Consequently, it is generally “best” to adopt the reliable Latin maxim: “de gustibus non disputandum est” (“there is no disputing taste”).