Temperature of a Pizza Oven

Pizza is a baked pie of Italian origin consisting of a shallow bread like crust covered with seasoned tomato sauce, cheese, and often other toppings, such as sausage or olives. Pizza has been popular in America since the 1950s. The explosion in the popularity of pizza after World War I made pizza much more popular in the US than in Naples, its city of origin. It's ironic that all the major pizza chains in the United States were founded in non Italian American communities such as Pizza Hut in Wichita, Kansas which opened in 1958 by Frank and Daniel Carney; Domino's Pizza, which opened in Ypsilanti, Michigan in 1960 by Jim and Tom Monaghan; Godfather's pizza, which opened in Omaha, Nebraska in 1973; Little Caesar's, which opened in Farmington Hills, Nebraska in 1959; and Shakey's, which opened in Burlingame, California in 1954. American pizza eventually grew to became a major food export to Europe, Asia, and Central and South America.

Pizza is baked at a higher temperature than other foods, such as a cake.

Here is the most popular plain tomato-cheese pizza recipe that is mostly used today in the US…

Ingredients:

• ½ recipe pizza dough (15 mL water, 1 mL sugar, 1 mL yeast, 1.5 kg bread flour, 1 L water at 50°C, 30 mL olive oil, 1 egg, 15 mL salt)
• 450 g ripe tomatoes with salt
• 10 mL tomato puree
• 8 fresh basil leaves, julienned
• 30 mL olive oil
• 10 mL mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 30 mL grated Parmesan cheese

Prepare the dough. Peel, seed, and dice the tomatoes. Place them in a colander and sprinkle with salt, let drain for half an hour. Place the tomatoes in a bowl with the tomato puree, basil, and olive oil. Preheat the oven to 250°C. Spoon the tomato sauce on top of the prepared dough, top with the mozzarella, and sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese. Bake on a pizza stone or cookie sheet for 12-15 minutes or until the edges are crispy. Serve immediately.

Sara Elzeftawy -- 2003

Editor's Supplement -- 2007