Types of pizza
Authentic Neapolitan pizza ('a pizza Napoletana)
According to Associazione vera pizza napoletana, genuine Neapolitan pizza dough consists of flour, natural yeast or brewer's yeast, 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 an approved mixer. After the rising process the dough must be formed by hand without the help of a rolling pin or any other mechanical device. Baking the pizza must take place on the surface of a bell shaped, wood-fired, volcanic stone oven. The oven temperature is between 400°C and 450°C, and the pizza is cooked for approximately 2 minutes. It should be soft, well cooked, fragrant, and enclosed in a soft edge of crust.
The classic types and their respective toppings include:
* Marinara or Napoletana: tomato, olive oil, oregano, and garlic.
* Margherita: tomato, olive oil, fresh basil leaves, grated parmesan cheese, and fior-di-latte (mozzarella made from cow's milk) or mozzarella di bufala. Said to have been created by Raffaele Esposito in 1889, with the toppings in the colours of the tricolor flag of Italy, and named for the wife of King Umberto I of Italy, Queen Margherita of Savoy.
* Formaggio e Pomodoro: tomato, olive oil, and grated parmesan cheese. Basil leaves are optional.
Turnovers in the pizza family:
* Ripieno or Calzone: fior-di-latte or mozzarella di buffalo, sometimes also ricotta cheese, olive oil, and salami, other meat, vegetables, etc.
* Stromboli: mozzarella, meat, vegetables, etc.
Others
Pizza has become an international food since the toppings can be extensively varied to meet local variations in taste. These pizzas consist of the same basic design but include an exceptionally diverse choice of ingredients, such as anchovies, egg, pineapple, eggplant, lamb, couscous, chicken, fish and shellfish, meats done in ethnic styles such as Moroccan lamb, kebab or even chicken tikka masala, and non-traditional spices such as curry and Thai sweet chili. A "white pizza" (pizza bianca) uses no tomato sauce, often substituting pesto or dairy products such as sour cream. Pizzas with "non-traditional ingredients" are known in the United States as "gourmet pizza" or California-style. It is also simple to make pizzas without meat for vegetarians.
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