petrereads
A Pizz-a History
Pizza parlors are a quintessential part of any New York City borough. In fact, there are three hundred and sixty two parlors in Manhattan alone according to a man who ate a slice from every single one. Country- and worldwide, pizza is seen as an Italian dish that has been co-opted by many different cultures across the globe. The New York slice is nothing like the Chicago which is nothing like the Sicilian which is nothing like the Grandma slice. With such an expansive variety of choices, it can be difficult to narrow down the history of the pizza pie to just one culture without some research. The origins are truly Mediterranean, but the road is much bumpier from there. Pizza has evolved from a frugal utility food into a global powerhouse due to its convenience, flexibility, and pop culture presence.
In the beginning, there was bread. No, really. According to History.com’s recounting of tales, the first recorded instance of pizza referred to flatbreads cooked in Middle Eastern mud ovens. In Naples, centuries later, the pizza had evolved to include any toppings available. There was no sauce and cheese base. Instead, the pizza was a food used to make use of leftover vegetables and meats that didn’t have any coherent use. The pizza known to modern munchers is inspired by a Neapolitan pie crafted for the visiting Queen of Margherita in 1889. She was impressed by the tomato, mozzarella, and basil pizza so much that it became known as a Margherita pizza and eventually became the most common form of the food.
As Neapolitan Italians immigrated to the United States en masse in the beginning of the 20th century, the status of pizza began to change from a utilitarian farmer’s food to a new and exotic street food. Even within New York City there is a plethora of different shops and styles of pizza. The history of New York pizza is much more confusing and less concrete. According to a Munchies video about uncovering said history, Lombari’s Pizzeria opened in 1905 and was run by Genero Lombardi and Anthony Pero. After a short time, Pero broke off and founded his own place a few blocks away. After a few more years, John Sasso, another alleged original Lombardi’s worker, also branched off and opened John’s Pizza some distance away. This splintering of workers and opening of new shops happened at this pace for decades and these original pizza places are still standing in one way or another. With thousands of pizzerias in NYC alone, it’s easy to see how the slice evolved so quickly.
The question of cultural and course significance is easily explained by examining the roots of the food and the people who consume it. The earliest flatbreads were crafted by farmers who needed a way to carb load before a long day of work. Even when toppings were added, it was nothing exotic. Let’s use Naples as an example the same way that Mary Ann from Ciao Italia does. Neapolitan pizza uses type 00 flour, which is extremely white and of course local to Naples. San Marzano tomatoes, while now available in a can, are natively grown in the soil under Mt. Vesuvius in the Gulf of Naples. Fresh mozzarella, a cheese developed in Naples, is the preferred authentic topping. To finish it off, fresh basil is cracked over the top of the pie. All of these ingredients are local to the area where the dish was developed, constituting a real-world example of local eating. While we might not consider pizza to be a health-conscious food, it is definitely economically conscious; at least in its original form. Pizza could not be made without directly supporting local farming. In fact, if you ate pizza in eighteenth-century Naples, you probably were a farmer!
To be truthful, the pizza known to most Americans is not ‘authentic’ in the sense that only type 00 flour and volcanic tomatoes are used. What is present is the soul and culture of the original dish. What I mean by this is that while the New York pizza doesn’t get its tomatoes from volcanic soil, it embodies the spirit of a fast-paced, convenience-driven food that still has the ability to be served to a Queen. New York pizza chefs make use of the most popular and requested toppings because ultimately they need to make money. The natural extension to spiced sausages like pepperoni and vegetables like spinach are obvious culturally, but some things like buffalo chicken and bacon are entirely American concoctions. The change is driven largely by new generations taking over their parents’ shops. According to Frank Pinello, owner of the classic Best Pizza in New York, “As time went on, you know, their sons took over the pizzerias and I think people started realizing ‘oh, you know, we can just use shitty pepperoni and shitty mozzarella and make a whole lot more money’… It’s important to us here to use the best stuff that you possibly can and hope to make it up.”
Whether it plays off of an Old World agrarian nostalgia or not, good pizza is good pizza regardless of the form it takes. There is a reason that deep dish and Sicilian are both considered great slices countrywide. A pizza represents the culture that creates it, and though the roots are Italian, there is a very recent surge of crafting conscious pizza that pays homage to the original concept while still having a modern flavor profile. My recipe is an attempt to reconcile the cultural significance of the original Neapolitan pizza while still being palatable to chain pizza aficionados.
CRUST
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
3 cups all purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
SAUCE
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
¾ cups crushed san marzano tomatoes
½ teaspoon basil
½ teaspoon oregano
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
one crushed garlic clove
pinch of grated parmesan cheese to taste
TOP
4 ounces of shredded mild cheddar
4 ounces of shredded mozzarella
fresh basil leaves
- In a mixing bowl combine all crust ingredients except flour and mix until combined.
- Add flour to bowl and mix/knead until gooey and combined, adding water if necessary
- Drop dough goop onto floured surface and knead until the dough stiffens slightly and stops sticking to your hands. This should take about 10-12 minutes.
- Place dough in a greased/oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let the yeast rise for ~2hrs in a warm, not hot, environment.
- Add sauce ingredients to new mixing bowl and combine.
If you want to get especially fancy, you can let the tomatoes simmer on a stovetop
for a few minutes with the olive oil and basil to bring out some aromatic qualities of
the herb
Once your dough is done rising, you will have to form it into a pizza crust. Drop the ball onto a floured surface and flatten it with your hands. Hold the middle with one hand and gently tug the ‘crust’ outwards. Repeat this until the dough has loosened up slightly and has grown slightly in diameter. Pick up the dough by the ‘crust’ with both hands a few inches apart and gently and swiftly tug the crust sideways while letting gravity pull the center of the pizza downwards. Continue until the dough has reached your desired size/thinness.
At this point you can place your crust onto whatever implement you’re using to transfer it to the oven and add your sauce and toppings, except for the fresh basil.
Preheat a pizza stone, or alternatively a large baking sheet, in the oven at 500 degrees.
Just before placing your pizza onto your stone/sheet, sprinkle cornmeal on it to prevent sticking. Alternatively you can oil the stone/sheet but this will not have the same crunch as cornmeal.
Bake the pizza for 20 minutes at 425 degrees, or until the crust is brown on the top and
bottom, some charring is okay. Crack fresh basil leaves over the top and drop a few onto
the pizza before letting it rest for a minute and then enjoying.
References
Esposito, Mary Ann. “Making and Eating Authentic Neapolitan Pizza.” Ciao Italia. N.D. Web. 13 May 2017.
Munchies. “Munchies: Best Pizza.” Youtube, commentary by Frank Pinello, 11 January 2013. Web. 18 May 2017.
Munchies. “New York Slice: The Pizza Show.” Youtube, commentary by Frank Pinello, 2 Jan. 2017 Web. 17 May 2017.
Osterhout, Jacob E. “Man Eats Pizza from EVERY Joint in Manhattan.” NY Daily News.
Mort Zuckerman, 03 Jan. 2012 Web. 14 May 2017.
Turim, Gayle. “A Slice of History: Pizza Through the Ages.” Hungry History. History.com,
27 July 2012. Web. 12 May 2017.