The official italian pizza recipe: how to make it step by step

Pizza. The queen of Italian tables. Beloved by everyone, all over the world it is the undisputed symbol not only of cuisine, but perhaps of the entire concept of Italianness. It's no coincidence that it has its own world day. Anyway, what is the original Italian pizza recipe?   

Given that nothing can replace the experience of tasting an Italian pizza in Italy, and after all there are travellers who are willing to travel miles just for it, trying to reproduce it at home is not impossible and it's also fun.

So if you want to know the true and authentic italian pizza recipe, the one handed down through generations and its most important variants, we'll explain it to you. Let's go! 

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Here is the real Italian pizza recipe. This is the recipe for the authentic Margherita pizza, undoubtedly the most iconic and the one handed down in italian houses through the generations. We will find out how many other variants exist in Italy below!

Let's start with the ingredients for the dough:

- 300gr of flour 0

- 200gr manitoba flour

- 400g water

- 3 gr yeast (starter or beer)

- 1 spoon of Extra virgin olive oil

- salt

Ingredients for the dressing:

- Tomato sauce

- Fiordilatte cheese or mozzarella

- Fresh basil

- Extra virgin olive oil

Following the real italian pizza recipe is not difficult. Let's start making the dough: combine the flours and add the water a little at a time, kneading with your hands. Make the flour absorb the water entirely, and continue until you have a smooth dough. Now add the yeast with the help of a little water and keep on working with your hands. Be patient like a nonna and wait for the ingredients to mix really well.

About 5 minutes after adding the yeast, add the salt and extra virgin olive oil. When the dough is smooth and not sticky again, let it rest for at least 6 hours.

Once the dough has risen, you can divide it into smaller pieces and roll them out one at a time, finally dress it with tomato sauce and oil.

Now you can put the pizza in the oven at full power for about 10 minutes. Finally, add the mozzarella and the basil, and bake for another 5 minutes. The result will be a little different than that obtained with a wood-fired oven, but your home oven is an excellent substitute and you will still get to taste an authentic italian pizza.

If you are in Italy and you want to learn more about the true italian pizza, you can also join a short workshop.

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Traditional Italian pizza is not just Margherita. Actually, there are many types of pizza, all them are the real deal. The dough recipe is always the same, while for the seasoning there are many variations, some of which have become classics and are just as authentic as Margherita. The flavor always remains unique thanks to 100% Italian and easily available products. You can have fun making them all with your own hands.

The most famous pizzas besides the Margherita are: the Marinara with tomato sauce, garlic, oregano. The Quattro Stagioni again with tomato sauce, mushrooms, olives, ham, artichokes. The Capricciosa too has tomato on it, plus mozzarella, artichokes, mushrooms and olives. Last but not least, the Quattro Formaggi, made with 4 different types of cheese.

During your trip to Italy you will get to taste many other kinds of pizza: with vegetables, cheese, potatoes, sausage... but you certainly won't find pizza with pineapple!

The origins of pizza are very ancient and date back to over 3000 years ago! The first to knead were the Egyptians; thanks to the discovery of yeast, they began to prepare a sort of cake made with flour, honey and water. Even the Greeks prepared a similar mixture, adding onions and olives. In short, every people dressed the pizza with the basic ingredients that they had available. Being a poor food, pizza is still widespread throughout the Mediterranean basin.

But for the italian pizza recipe as we know it, we have to wait for the discovery of America and the importation of the tomato into Europe.

It was the city of Naples in the 16th century that introduced tomatoes into the diet, in fact until then they were considered poisonous and suitable only for fertilization. Poor Neapolitan families began to accompany dry bread with tomato, as it was a cheap lunch with easy-to-find ingredients. This made the fortune of the city, already famous for its excellent cuisine. Soon this combination of flavors also spread among the nobles and street vendors of fresh pizzas, just as we know them, sprang up around the city. The real italian pizza recipe as we know it is indeed based on the neapolitan tradition.

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