Pizza Baking
Origins Of Gourmet Pizza
Gourmet pizza is a delicacy enjoyed by many nationwide. But how did pizza come about in the United States? Where did it originate? How did it grow so fast in popularity? Here is an inside look at pizza and its history.
Pizza started in Ancient Greece. It was created as a piece of bread topped with oils, rosemary, basil, sage and cheese. Then, around the 18th century, Italy started to add tomatoes, mozzarella and resembled a similar form to the modern pizza. However, pizza was not widely served in restaurants yet. Instead, outdoor street carts served up the food as a cheap alternative to eating out. You would buy pizza as a cheap snack to satisfy hunger while working, shopping, socializing and going about your business. It did not evolve into sit down pizzerias until the late turn of the century.
Italian immigrants brought pizza creations with them to the United States. They would sell pizzas in local groceries and bakeries. It was not until 1905 when the first pizzeria opened in New York by Gennaro Lombardi. Shortly thereafter, another New York pizza joint opened up featuring pizza baked in a coal-oven. It changed the flavor of the pizza, brought competition to this nouveau, delicious, mouth-watering, piping hot, melting cheese entrée. Thus, pizza restaurants started popping up all over town.
The pizza did not have much variety in the beginning. It started changing in correlation with people migrating to various parts of the country. By doing so, each region of America tweaked the pizza idea and made it his/her own. This was the birth of the various styles of pizza found around The States.
Chicago style pizza is named after the manner the crust forms on the sides of a deep-dish pan. It literally shapes around a pan providing that specific Chicago deep-dish style pizza taste, look, and design. There is also the infamous California pizza. A California pizza tends to utilize non-traditional ingredients and an abundance of fresh produce. Many California pizza style pizzas are served with Thai inspired flavors, bean sprouts, carrots, and barbecue chicken. It takes pizza to an entirely different level. The legendary Wolfgang Puck took this concept and ran with it launching the concept of gourmet pizza.
The gourmet pizza took the idea of the California pizza but turned it up a notch. The thought of mixing non-traditional ingredients, spices, toppings and cheeses put all together defined the gourmet pizza. For example, have you ever tasted a clam seafood lover’s dream pizza? It is something you may see on a gourmet pizza menu. In addition, how many times did you wish there was a pistachio pizza? I love pistachio but I am a terrible cook. So I could not configure how to use this on a pizza. However, there are gourmet pizza restaurants with it on the menu. I think it is simply brilliant. For I have no idea how to cook and this will resolve that issue real quick.
Gourmet pizza restaurants are increasing throughout the nation. There are Indian, Greek, Southwestern-American, Asian and Italian inspired gourmet pizzas found at a local gourmet pizza restaurant near you.
About the Author
Check out Phoenix pizza and a Scottsdale pizza restaurant today.
Homemade pizza baked on a baking stone; Special pizza making technique
|
|
Silpat Non-Stick Silicone Baking Liner, 11 5/8-Inch by 16 1/2-Inch $17.25 The nonstick baking pan liner is ideal for baking cookies and pastry. Made of fiberglass and silicone (SILPAT). Will fit inside a 13” x 18” sheet pan. Can be used at temperatures varying from 40 C. to 250 C. ( 40 F. to 482 F.) Dimensions: 11 5/8” x 16 1/2”…. |
|
|
Nordic Ware Bakers Half Sheet, 13 by 18 by 1 Inch $10.99 The Nordic Ware Bakers Half-Sheet, from the Natural Bakeware collection, is ideal for baking, roasting, toasting, and warming…. |
|
|
Sunbeam 5891 2-Pound Programmable Breadmaker, White $49.95 Jarden 5891 Bread Maker 5891 948… |
|
|
Video Bread Basics – Become an Avid Bread Baker $49.99 Bread baking has become a lost art. A generation or two ago your mother or grandmother made bread for the family. Today we just don’t know how anymore. In this video, reknown breakmaker Steve Ryan teaches you how to bake bread at home in your spare time at your own pace. This video will show you how to bake bread and encourage you to become an avid bread baker. It’s a visual step-by-step instructi… |
|
|
Nifty 3-in-1 Oven Baking Rack $24.99 Expand your ovens baking capacity and cut your baking time in half with this baking rack insert by Nifty Home Products. This rack insert easily fits into your oven to hold three trays at a time, allowing you to bake four trays of cookies or four frozen pizzas at once. The rack is made from chrome plated steel is strong enough to last a lifetime. When you have baked to your satisfaction, fold the e… |
|
|
Nifty Home Products Oven Companion 3-Tier Oven Rack $14.99 Cut your baking trips in half with this oven combination rack by Nifty Home Products. Its three-tier design allows you to stack three heavy casseroles into your oven with room to spare for a roasting rack. Its nickel-chrome plated is strong enough to last a lifetime, and the whole rack folds flat for easy storage…. |
|
|
Wallmonkeys Peel and Stick Wall Decals – Chef Baking Pizza – Removable Graphic WallMonkeys wall graphics are printed on the highest quality re-positionable, self-adhesive fabric paper. Each order is printed in-house and on-demand. WallMonkeys uses premium materials & state-of-the-art production technologies. Our white fabric material is superior to vinyl decals. You can literally see and feel the difference. Our wall graphics apply in minutes and won’t damage your paint or l… |
|
|
High Fiber Low Fat Baking: Tasty Nutritious Snacks $19.00 Turn your pizza, focaccia, bread, hamburger and hot dog buns, even muffins, into nutritious, delicious, high fiber, low fat snacks. Learn how to make a simple, versatile dough that incorporates whole wheat flour, or flax meal that is rich in soluble and insoluble fiber. Top your flax or whole wheat focaccia with savory, high fiber vegetables, herbs, and cold cuts and turn them into complete, nutri… |
|
|
Pizza & Focaccia at Home $14.95 Pizza and Focaccia like you’ve never had before…Hand tossed, streched, baked on parchment, in a pan, on a pizza stone from a peel or using screens – this video shows it all!Slow fermentation is my prefered way to produce pizza crust but if you want to be able to make your dough for pizza and focaccia the same day, the video presentation shows you that too.This product is manufactured on demand u… |
|
|
Pizza & Calzones $19.00 So many recipes and so many secret ingredients out there, yet we believe a good pizza is made from simple basic ingredients. This DVD does not contain any secrets, and the dough does not get tossed and flipped in the air, but it does teach you how to make pizza and calzones the right and authentic way. Learn the difference between Italian & American flour and how to get the most out of your home o… |
|
|
Pizza (Hardcover) $11.12 A full-color book with more than 50 photos showcases a variety of pizza recipes, including Whole-Wheat Pizza With Three-Cheese Toppings; Pizza With Gorgonzola & Pineapple; Cheese Pizza With Onion, Apple & Walnut and much more. |
|
|
Wood-fired Oven Cookbook (Hardcover) $9.18 Description not available. |
|
|
Grade 18/8 Stainless Steel 5-piece Bakeware Set $77.99 Stainless steel bakeware set is a great gift for anyone who loves to bakeEach item in specialty bakeware set is made of stainless steelFive-piece set includes pie plate, cookie sheet, jelly roll pan, cake pan and pizza pan |
|
|
The Artisan Bread Machine (Paperback) $16.31 Bread machines are once again gaining in popularity, and artisan bread is the hottest “new” bread.The latest bread machines allow even the most inexperienced home cook to successfully bake bread every time. Now a loaf of bread -… |
|
|
Pizza (Paperback) $12.11 A volume of ninety classic, international, and modern pizza recipes includes several for grilled and deep-dish pies, in a collection that features instructions for making three basic sauces and eight standard doughs, as well as tips for using store-bou… |
|
|
Multifunctional Convection Toaster/ Broiler Oven $92.99 Every kitchen benefits from a versatile toaster oven Toaster oven features convection, slow cook, broil, bake, roast, toast, defrost and keep warm settingsKitchen appliance can accommodate a 12-inch pizza |
|
|
Frigidaire Professional Convection Toaster Oven $149.99 This Frigidaire professional convection toaster oven features 8 preset cooking options and a pro-select LCD display. Included with this toaster oven is a bake pan, a pizza pan and an adjustable cooking rack. |
|
|
The Italian Baker (Hardcover) $22.87 This groundbreaking classic—now thoroughly updated for today’s modern kitchen—introduces the artisanal doughs and techniques used by generations of Italian village bakers.Carol Field spent two years traversing Italy to capture… |
|
|
Artisan Baking (Paperback) $15.3 A collection of bread recipes from the finest artisan bread bakers across America features dozens of delicious sourdoughs, pizzas, corn breads, and baguettes, in a cookbook that presents step-by-step instruction in professional bread-making techniques,… |
|
|
Essential Eating Sprouted Baking (Hardcover) $18.27 A guide to baking using flours that digest as vegetables offers recipes for breads, muffins, pancakes, pastas, and pizza. |
|
|
Pizza at Sally`s (Hardcover) $15.14 With vegetables from her own garden and other fresh ingredients, Sally mixes and bakes hot and bubbly pizzas for her customers to take home or eat in her pizzeria. |
|
|
Simple Vegetarian Pleasures (Paperback) $12.84 Quick, easy, and innovative vegetarian dishes, including Beer Pizza, Coconut Lime Rice, Tiny Eggplant Turnovers, and Baked Tofu with Mushrooms Hoisin. |
|
|
Sugar-Free Gluten-Free Baking and Desserts (Paperback) $9.82 Citing the myriad health drawbacks of wheat flour and refined sugars, a volume of sugar-free and gluten-free recipes features the uses of a range of natural substitute ingredients from quinoa and arrow root to agave and yacon. Original. |
|
|
American Pie (Hardcover) $18.29 A leading baker and culinary instructor follows the pizza trail from Italy to the United States, offering a series of delicious recipes for specialty pies from Geno, Florence, Rome, Naples, New York, Chicago, Phoenix, and other locales. 10,000 first pr… |
|
|
Sheerluck Holmes And The Hounds Of Baker Street $9.89 Sheerluck Holmes and his sidekick, Dr. Bob Watson, discover a mystery at Doylie`s Pizza Place and help the Veggies learn how to treat their friends. |
|
|
Gluten-Free Baking with the Culinary Institute of America (Paperback) $11.7 Many gluten-sensitive people have only dreamed of eating gooey cinnamon buns, crusty French bread, savory pizza, and smear-worthy bagels. But now, thanks to Chef Richard J. Coppedge Jr. of the Culinary Institute of America, everyone can indulge. He sho… |
|
|
Start Your Own Restaurant Business and More (Paperback) $13.43 Make Your Dreams of Owning a Profitable Eatery Come TrueAmericans spend nearly $600 billion a year eating out. As consumers are dining out or taking prepared food home with increased frequency, food-service operations are skyrocketing. Th… |
Tags: cooking, food, pizza, pizza baking, pizza baking stone, pizza baking temp, pizza baking temperature, pizza baking time, recipe, recipes