The Neapolitan Pizza Origin Story

It is possible to say that pizza is the Italian version of pita, an indispensable dish of Turkish cuisine. Although it is round, the pizza, which we know by cutting into a triangle and putting it in a square box, has countless different varieties today, but if we look at the past, the original is Napolitan pizza and it is actually a Neapolitan pizza. not rich in ingredients like different fast food brands do today, very few but each consists of carefully selected quality materials.

The Napolitan pizza recipe is actually very easy, but what makes this pizza and its types unique is the flour used, the ingredients placed on it, and the oven in which it is cooked. So much so that if you want to make Napolitan pizza in Italy, you must get authorization from a private establishment and agree to be inspected from time to time. The origin story is also very interesting. The history of Neapolitan pizza Let’s take a closer look at its prominent features.

In fact, there was no such thing as pizza until recently:

Even though it is introduced to the whole world as a traditional dish of Italy today, pizza is actually a dish that has emerged recently. In some works dated to 997 AD It is possible to come across the Italian word pizza, but this was not like the pizza we know. The Italians used to make a dough like lavash and put something on it and eat it.

The two main ingredients of pizza are tomatoes and cheese. As we have explained in our article here before, the tomato was recognized with the discovery of the American continent. The tomato, which first came to Europe in the 16th century, was considered poisonous for many years. It began to be consumed in the 18th century and the making of pizza as we know it started after this date. So the history of pizza is less than two centuries old.

A meal is held to honor the queen of Italy:

There are countless legends about the origin of pizza. It is even said to have been gifted by the gods in antiquity. but we told you, even tomatoes became edible in the 18th century. The most well-known and most logical of these stories is the legend that it was built in a small village in Italy to honor the queen.

According to the story, he lived in a small village in Naples, Italy, in 1889. There lived a baker named Raffaele Esposito. This man, whose wife’s name was Margherita, used to try new dishes for him. The name of the queen, the wife of the king of Italy in this period, was also Margherita. It is said that our master cooked it by putting basil, tomato and mozzarella on a dough, thus making a dish bearing the colors of the Italian flag and honoring the name Margherita.

So, are margarita pizza and Napolitan pizza the same thing?

The answer to this question is both yes and no. Originally called pizza Napoletana, in foreign language it is Neapolitan pizza. There are three different types of Napolitan pizza. It is possible to separate these three different types according to the materials used as follows;

• Neapolitan pizza made with tomatoes, basil, mozzarella, olive oil and some parmesan is called margarita pizza.
• Napolitan pizza made with tomatoes, thyme, garlic and olive oil is called marinara, and there is also a sauce with this name.
• Napolitan pizza made with tomatoes, thyme, garlic, olive oil and buffalo mozzarella is called margarita DOP.

When we look at all these minor differences, it is not actually a kind of Napolitan pizza, For Italians it means original pizza. we see that. However, these types and the materials used in them cannot be changed, and if they are changed, it is expected to be called with a different name.

In Italy, no one can make a Neapolitan pizza on their own:

Napolitan pizza is known as a Traditional Characteristics Guaranteed product in both the European Union and the United Kingdom, and its making It is recognized as a cultural heritage by UNESCO. Even more interestingly, there is an organization in Italy, Associazione Vera Pizza Napoletana, which has the authority under the Italian Standardization Organization. This establishment follows Neapolitan traditions and does not allow anyone who does not follow the rules to make Neapolitan pizza.

Neapolitan pizza has a special dough ingredient:

Neapolitan pizza dough according to standards controlled by Associazione Vera Pizza Napoletana flours obtained from type 0 and type 00 wheat It has to be done with one or a combination of both. This type of flour is finely ground, rich in protein and has much lower gluten than standard flour. A certain amount of water and salt is added to the dough, and either special Neapolitan yeast or brewer’s yeast is used for fermentation. The dough should be rolled out by hand to a maximum thickness of 3 mm and kneaded by hand. So the scenes we see in those movies are real.

Not every cheese or tomato is suitable for Neapolitan pizza:

Of course, it is not used everywhere, but literally in the original Neapolitan pizza, found in Naples. A type of tomato called Pomodorino Vesuviano, which grows near Mount Vesuvius, is used. San Marzanos type tomatoes are also accepted for different regions. The characteristic of this type is that it is sweeter than other tomatoes and has less acidic content.

Grated cheese is never used in the original Neapolitan pizza. Traditionally Produced from the milk of madas grown in the Mediterranean region. or mozzarella cheese made from cow’s milk, also called fior de latte. Mozzarella is never shredded or grated. Cut into thin slices and spread on the pizza.

Napolitan pizza has to be carefully cooked at a very high temperature:

Of course, the cooking procedure of the Neapolitan pizza, which is given such attention to its ingredients, is also very sensitive. It should be baked in a special brick oven at very high temperatures such as 420 – 480 degrees in 90 seconds at most. The dough will not be very crispy, it will keep its softness, but it will not be too soft. Associazione Vera Pizza Napoletana is extremely sensitive about this.

Considered as pizza with the original recipe From the origin story of the Neapolitan pizza and we talked about the official production features. As strange as it may sound, it is extremely important that such traditions are protected by rules. You can share your thoughts on the subject in the comments.