Today we will talk about one of the most famous Italian dishes in the world, which many define, not without reason, a kind of “fast food Italian style.”
The pizza has a simple preparation but a long history, and many are the types that we find on our tables: the most famous of which are the Roman pizza (Pizza Romana) and Neapolitan pizza (Pizza Verace Napoletana).
Rome or Naples: which came first?
The pizza is extremely simple food, for the preparation of its dough, are needed very few ingredients: flour, water, yeast, and salt.
Usually, when it comes to pizza, people immediately think of Naples, where in fact was born the classic round pizza that we all know.
Of course the pizza, over the years, has evolved into many regional variations, most notably the equally famous Roman pizza. As always in these cases, it is an open question: Which is the best pizza?
Obviously there is no better or worse since both represent the excellence of Italian pizza makers, and as always it depends on personal taste, as it should be. Today I will explain the main differences between Romana and Napoletana pizza, leaving you the hard task to taste and decide.
Pizza Romana: how is it made?
Is a round pizza, popular especially in central Italy, which has these following features:
- has a very thin and crispy texture (often called “scrocchiarella”).
- has a low and extremely brittle edge
- its dough is made of wheat flour, water, yeast, salt and olive oil (or seeds to make even more crispy pizza), in such proportions as to make it very consistent
- the disc of the Roman pizza, precisely because of the consistency of its mixture, is usually spread with a rolling pin
- its cooking is longer than that of Naples, just to allow the oven to dry it and make it more crispy
According to the classic recipe, the traditional Roman pizza should be topped with tomato, mozzarella, anchovies desalted, shredded basil, pecorino cheese, and pepper.
To make the Roman pizza also often uses fresh vegetables, put raw before baking the dough.
Of course, as for the Neapolitan pizza, the variations are endless.
Pizza Napoletana: how is it made?
The Neapolitan pizza looks like a round pizza with these features:
- has a very soft texture (is composed on average of 70% water)
- has an edge (called “cornice”) high and fluffy thanks to the air that is incorporated in it during the processing of the dough.
- its classic dough does not include any kind of added fat (only water, flour, yeast, and salt)
- is baked exclusively in a wood-fired oven at high temperature and for a short time (50-90 sec), so that the mixture remains very soft
According to the more narrow tradition, the real Neapolitan pizza is only of two types:
- Pizza Marinara: topped with tomato, garlic, oregano, extra virgin olive oil
- Pizza Margherita with tomato, mozzarella cut into strips, buffalo mozzarella cubes, basil, and extra virgin olive oil.
Do you eat local? Do you like pizza? Which is your favorite ethnic food? Share your experience with a comment below!
