Frederic Melton
Cheese pizza is a beloved dish for many, but what exactly does it contain? The classic cheese pizza is made with a combination of dough, tomato sauce, and cheese. While the dough is typically made from warm water, sugar, flour, olive oil, and salt, the sauce is a mix of crushed tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, balsamic vinegar, and seasonings. The cheese is where the variety comes in—while mozzarella is the most popular choice globally, other types like provolone, cheddar, and parmesan are also commonly used. The type of cheese can vary depending on the desired taste and texture, with options ranging from soft and mild to sharp and nutty.
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What You'll Learn
Pizza dough
A lean dough is typically used for pizza, meaning it does not contain eggs or butter. However, olive oil may be added for flavour and to create a softer texture. The dough is typically mixed by hand or with a stand mixer, and then kneaded and left to rise before being shaped into a circle and baked.
Some recipes call for the addition of sugar, yeast, and garlic or onion powder to the dough. The amount of yeast and the temperature of the water can affect how the dough rises, with warmer water (around 40-46°C) being ideal for activating the yeast.
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Tomato sauce
A classic cheese pizza is made with dough, cheese, and tomato sauce. The tomato sauce is a key component, providing a tangy and savoury base for the cheese to melt into.
A simple tomato sauce can be made by stirring together crushed tomatoes, olive oil, grated garlic, balsamic vinegar, and seasonings. This combination creates a fresh and tasty sauce with a rich flavour profile. The sauce can be made even more savoury with the addition of grated parmesan cheese, which also acts as a barrier to protect the pizza dough from becoming soggy.
The sauce is spread onto the dough, leaving a border around the edge, before being topped with cheese and baked. It is important not to overload the pizza with sauce, as this can make the pizza soggy. The sauce can also be used as a base for other toppings, such as artichokes, ham, mushrooms, and olives.
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Cheese types
Mozzarella is the most popular cheese used on pizzas globally, although interestingly, in the United States, only 30% of pizza cheese used is actual mozzarella. Mozzarella is a rich source of protein and calcium and is loved for its gooey, stretchy texture. It is also a very versatile cheese, pairing well with spicy toppings like sausage or hot peppers, but also working well with gentler flavours like mushrooms and bell peppers.
Mozzarella is often paired with other cheeses to create a unique flavour profile and texture. For example, cheddar may be mixed with mozzarella to preserve chewiness. Cheddar has a sharp, nutty, rich flavour and holds up well when it cools, remaining soft and pliable.
Another popular cheese to pair with mozzarella is provolone, which is the second most popular pizza cheese globally. Provolone has a classic, run-of-the-mill pizzeria pizza flavour. It is also used as a flavourant in the processed pizza cheese, Provel.
Other cheeses that are used on pizzas include Parmesan, which can be added to the top of a pizza, and typically does not melt well when cooked. It can be paired with richer, creamier cheeses like mozzarella, gouda, or Swiss cheese. Grated parmesan can also act as a barrier, protecting the crust from the sauce.
Some other cheeses that can be used on pizzas include ricotta, emmental, pecorino romano, goat cheese, burrata, gouda, fontina, asiago, muenster, Swiss raclette, and Wisconsin brick cheese.
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Oven setup
To make a classic cheese pizza, you'll need to crank up your oven to get that perfect char. The setup of your oven makes a huge difference to the final product.
Firstly, preheat your oven for 1 hour with a pizza stone, baking steel, or a sturdy, upside-down baking sheet on the upper third rack. If you're making pizza at home regularly, a pizza stone or baking steel is a great investment.
When it comes to temperature, position an oven rack in the lower third and preheat the oven to 475°F. This will help create a super crispy base.
Once your oven is preheated, transfer your assembled pizza to a non-stick baking sheet. It's important to note that you should not assemble the pizza until right before it goes into the oven.
Now, place the baking sheet with the pizza into the oven and bake for 12 to 14 minutes, or until the crust is browned and the cheese is bubbling and beginning to brown.
Finally, let the pizza cool before slicing. This is an important step as it gives the cheese time to firm up. If you cut it too soon, the cheese will melt and stick the slices back together.
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Pizza history
Pizza is a food with a long and fascinating history. The story of pizza begins in ancient times, with various cultures producing flatbreads with toppings. The ancient Greeks, for example, made a flatbread called plakous, which was flavoured with toppings such as herbs, onion, cheese, and garlic. The Romans had a similar dish called panis focacius, or focaccia, to which toppings were added.
In the 6th century BCE, Persian soldiers serving under Darius the Great baked flatbreads with cheese and dates on top of their battle shields. An early reference to a pizza-like food also occurs in Virgil's 19 BCE epic, the Aeneid.
However, the modern pizza evolved from similar flatbread dishes in Naples, Italy, between the 16th and mid-18th centuries. The word "pizza" was first documented in 997 CE in Gaeta and then in other parts of central and southern Italy. In the late 18th century, it was common for the poor of Naples to add tomato to their yeast-based flatbread, thus creating the first pizzas. By 1807, 54 pizzerias existed in Naples, and the number increased to 120 in the second half of the 19th century.
Pizza began to gain popularity in the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries due to the large wave of Italian immigrants who brought their culinary traditions with them. The first pizzeria in the United States was established in New York City's Little Italy in 1905. From there, pizza spread across the country, with pizzerias opening in cities like Trenton, New Haven, Boston, Chicago, and St. Louis.
Over time, different styles of pizza have emerged, such as New York-style pizza, which typically includes sugar and olive oil in the crust, and Chicago-style deep-dish pizza. Detroit-style pizza, which originated in 1946, is characterised by its rectangular shape and spongy focaccia base.
Today, pizza is enjoyed worldwide, with global pizza toppings reflecting local tastes, such as Gouda cheese in Curaçao and hard-boiled eggs in Brazil.
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Frequently asked questions
A cheese pizza typically contains dough, tomato sauce, and cheese. The dough is made from warm water, sugar, flour, olive oil, and salt. The tomato sauce is made from crushed tomatoes, olive oil, grated garlic, balsamic vinegar, and seasonings. The cheese used is usually mozzarella, but other cheeses such as cheddar, provolone, and parmesan are also popular.
Fresh milk mozzarella is the most popular cheese for pizza due to its signature cheese pull and gooey texture. However, other cheeses such as smoked gouda, provolone, fontina, asiago, and parmesan can also be good alternatives.
To make a cheese pizza, start by kneading the dough and stretching it into a circle. Then, spread the tomato sauce onto the dough, leaving a border around the edge. Sprinkle the cheese on top of the sauce and bake the pizza in the oven until the crust is browned and the cheese is bubbling.
It typically takes around 12 to 14 minutes to bake a cheese pizza in the oven. However, the preparation time will vary depending on the recipe and the method used to make the dough.
