herbs and seasonings such as basil, oregano, and garlic
vegetables such as bell peppers, green peppers, asparagus, eggplant, broccoli, spinach, olives, onions, and artichokes
meat or fish products such as sausage, (especially pepperoni or salami), ham, bacon, ground beef, anchovies, chicken, and shrimp
Other common toppings include mushrooms and pineapple.
The word "pizza" is from the Italian word pizza (IPA: /pittsa/), with plural form pizze. The term was originally used to refer to a range of dough-based dishes, and is thought to be derived from pinza ç Latin pincere "to mash up"
In recent years, pizza has become an international food and the toppings can be extensively varied to meet local variations in taste. These pizzas consist of the same basic design but include an exceptionally diverse choice of ingredients, such as anchovies, egg, pineapple, coconut, sauerkraut, eggplant, lamb, couscous, chicken, fish, and shellfish, meats done in ethnic styles such as Moroccan lamb, kebab or even chicken tikka masala, and non-traditional spices such as curry and Thai sweet chili. Pizzas can also be made without meat for vegetarians, and without cheese for vegans. Breakfast pizzas are topped with ingredients such as scrambled eggs. "Supreme" pizzas typically include a thick layer of many different toppings.
Italian pizzas:
Neapolitan pizza (pizza Napoletana). According to the rules proposed by the Associazione vera pizza napoletana and other sources quoted by the BBC,[8] and the legal EU document with the Vera Pizza Napoletana Specification in translation, the genuine Neapolitan pizza dough consists of Italian wheat flour (type 0 and/or 00), natural Neapolitan yeast or brewer's yeast, and water. For proper results, strong flour with high protein content (as used for bread-making rather than cakes) must be used. The dough must be kneaded by hand or with an approved mixer that moves in a clockwise direction. After the rising process, the dough must be formed by the right hand and the first two fingers of the left without the help of a rolling pin or other mechanical device, and may be no more than 3 mm (1/8 in) thick. The pizza must be baked for 60–90 seconds in a 485 °C (905 °F) stone oven with an oak-wood fire. When cooked, it should be soft and fragrant. Neapolitan pizza has also gained in Italy the status of "guaranteed traditional speciality". This admits only three official variants:
Pizza marinara: with tomato, garlic, oregano and oil;
Pizza Margherita: tomato, mozzarella in listels, basil and oil;
Veneto style: Pizza in Veneto (Venice, Padova) is very thin (0.5 cm), crispy in the outer ring but soft, almost flimsy, in the inner portion. Little sauce is used, and a popular topping is strips of Prosciutto. Lazio style: Pizza in Lazio (Rome), as well as in many other parts of Italy is available in 2 different "flavours": 1) In take-away shops so-called "Pizza Rustica" or "Pizza a Taglio". Pizza is cooked in long, rectangular baking pans and relatively thick (1-2 cm). The crust similar to that of an English muffin and mostly cooked in an electric oven. When purchased, it is usually cut with scissors or knife and priced by weight. 2) In Pizza Restaurants (Pizzerie), where it is served in a dish in its traditional round shape, it features a very thin crust compared to Neapolitan recipe. It is mostly cooked in a wood-fired oven which gives pizza its unique flavour and taste. In Rome a "Pizza Napoletana" is topped with tomato, mozzarella, anchovies and oil (thus, what in Naples is called "Pizza Romana", in Rome is called "Pizza Napoletana"). Strangely enough, there is no such "Pizza Napoletana" in Naples and no "Pizza Romana" in Rome.
Pizza Romana (in Naples): tomato, mozzarella, anchovies, oregano, oil;
Pizza Viennese: tomato, mozzarella, German sausage, oregano, oil;
Pizza with Ham and Mushrooms: tomato, mozzarella, ham, mushrooms;
Pizza Capricciosa ("Caprice Pizza"): mozzarella, tomato, mushrooms, artichokes, cooked ham, olives, oil (in Rome raw ham is used and half hard-boiled egg is added ;
Pizza Quattro Stagioni ("Four Seasons Pizza"): same ingredients for the Capricciosa, but ingredients not mixed;
Four Cheeses Pizza: tomato, mozzarella, other cheeses;
Sicilian-style pizza has its toppings baked directly into the crust. An authentic recipe uses neither cheese nor anchovies. Sicilian Pizza in the United States is typically a different variety of product made with a thick crust characterized by a rectangular shape and topped with tomato sauce and cheese (and optional toppings). Pizza Hut's Sicilian Pizza, introduced in 1994, is not an authentic example of the style as only garlic, basil, and oregano are mixed into the crust.
White pizza (pizza bianca) uses no tomato sauce, often substituting pesto or dairy products such as sour cream. Most commonly, the toppings consist only of mozzarella and ricotta cheese. In Rome, the term pizza bianca refers to a type of bread topped only with olive oil.
"Cecina" or "Chickpea Pizza". A Tuscan regional dish made from cecina, or chickpea flour, water, salt and olive oil. Also called Socca in the Provence region of France. Often baked in a brick oven, and typically weighed and sold by the slice.
