Pizza, sometimes referred to as pizza pie, is a round and flat bread garnished with different toppings such as cheese, pepperoni, tomatoes, herbs and many others; with tomato sauce as the base.
It is baked in an oven, either an electric oven or a brick oven, and usually cut into several portions that are usually triangular in shape. Depending on which country you will be getting your pizza, you can several varieties of this dish.
How Big is a Pizza?
Pizza sizes may vary from country to country but basically they are divided into three sizes: small, medium and large. Sometimes, pizza diners or restaurants also offer an extra large size.
The small size is generally ten inches in diameter; the medium one is twelve inches and the large is fourteen inches. An extra large pizza can either be sixteen inches or eighteen inches.
The size also varies depending on the restaurant. In some restaurants, a large pizza is sixteen inches.
Pizza Variations
There are several types of pizzas, usually categorized by their toppings and thickness. For the crust, there is the thin crust which is your typical hand-tossed crust; and then there is the thicker crust which is called as a pan pizza.
For the traditional Italian-style pizza, you also have varieties: the Neapolitan and the Lazio. Neapolitan pizzas have the traditional ingredients of tomatoes and mozzarella cheese.
Authentic Neapolitan pizzas are made with San Marzano tomatoes and mozzarella di bufala Campana; mozzarella cheese made from milk extracted from water buffalos that are bred in Campania.
Neapolitan pizzas have several variations as well: Marinara, Margherita and Margherita Extra.
Pizza Marinara has tomatoes, oregano, garlic and EVO – Extra Virgin Oil; Margherita is made with tomatoes, mozzarella sliced into smaller portions, basil and EVO; while Margherita Extra has all the toppings used in Margherita except that mozzarella cheese here is added in fillets.
Crust for Neapolitan pizzas shouldn’t be more than three millimeters thick.
Lazio pizzas have two types: those baked in long and rectangle pans and those baked in the traditional round shape.
Those baked in long rectangular pans are called pizza al taglio and pizza rustica. These basically have a thick crust, about one to two inches thick. These are baked in electric-style ovens.
The round version is much like your Neapolitan pizzas except that the crust is thinner and crispier. These are baked in ovens that use firewood which adds to the one-of-a-kind flavor of the pizzas.
Pizza “flavors” for the Lazio variety include Romana, Viennese, Capricciosa, Quattro Stagioni, and Quattro Formagi; among several others.
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