It could be the world’s favourite snack or meal. Pizza is synonymous with both fast-food dining and more fancy locales. Its history is relatively recent, but popularity now gigantic.
The relatively-new world’s 50 Top Pizza rankings has brought pizza to a new stage, lauded for its artistic integrity and beauty on the plate. Here, we want to put a spotlight on the many types you can find in all corners of the world. Get snacking!
For the best spots in Hong Kong to enjoy a wealth of pizza of worldly variety, stay up to date with our pizza guide.
The different types of pizza found worldwide
1. Neapolitan pizza
Probably the most famous varieties of pizza and celebrated globally, the Neapolitan pizza has its modern origins in 1830 when Antica Pizzeria Port’Alba opened, cited as the world’s first pizza restaurant. A new pizza was created to celebrate the visit of Queen Margherita of Savoy at the restaurant, aptly named the Margarita. Neapolitan pizza is made with either San Marzano or Pomodorino del Piennolo del Vesuvius tomatoes and mozzarella cheese, set on a pizza dough base prepared perfectly imperfect.
2. Pinsa Romana pizza
A style of pizza radically different to its southern counterparts, Pinsa Romana pizza, or Roman pizza, features a thin and crispy crust cooked in a wood-fire oven for a short period. The dough is fermented for a longer time to provoke funkier flavours and rolled out with a rolling pin to give it that classic crunch. An assortment of salty and sweet toppings are found on Roman pizzas, with less cheese added than usual.
3. Sicilian pizza
Sicilian pizza is Italy’s original pan pizza recipe, where instead of the pizza forming into a circle or square, the dough is shaped within a sheet pan and baked directly in the oven. What results from this recipe is a bready texture to the pizza similar to focaccia with heavy dollops of acidic tomato sauce and Sicilian sheep’s milk cheese.
4. Pissaladière
A northern Italian and southern French version of pizza, pissaladière is a more tart-like pizza that transgresses the traditions of the tomato-cheesy bread recipe with a new interpretation. No cheese lies on this pizza, but a healthy topping of tomatoes, onion, black olives, and anchovies laid out in a lattice formation.
5. Stuffed crust pizza
Stuffed crust pizza saw its creation in 1995 with North American chain Pizza Hut’s Original Stuffed Crust Pizza launching onto the market. Where the crust of the pizza had seen little innovation prior in the U.S., beyond the wonders of sourdough experimentation, this recipe took the crust and packed it with mozzarella cheese for a hearty addition to the pie.
6. Chicago deep dish
What may alienate some but delight others is the highly controversial Chicago deep dish pizza. Some may say it is not a pizza at all, but in our books it counts. A Chicago deep dish is elongated vertically, featuring a multi-inch tall crust with a pool of Parmesan cheese topped with tomato sauce. The crust itself carries a sweeter flavour, tending more towards a pie crust than your typical pizza crust.
7. New York slice pizza
Born out of a need for convenience and portability, the New York slice pizza is a type of its own, befitting the identity of speedy and rushed New York City. The dough is simple and bready, often featuring tomato and mozzarella toppings with a hint of salt. You’ll know you’re eating a New York slice when it’s coloured orange than usual pies and it is greasy, but in a good way!
8. Detroit pan pizza
Detroit pan pizza is heavily influenced by the Sicilian style of pizzamaking, following similar sizing and proofing techniques. With this American style, the dough is double-proofed and stretched twice to make the crust extra fluffy, layered with toppings in a steel pan for cooking.
9. New Haven apizza
The New Haven apizza style borrows not of its upper-state New York cousin, but from Italian immigrants who settled in Connecticut in the early 1900s. The 100-year-old pizza recipe thins out a classic Neapolitan pizza to an almost cracker-like texture and width, charring the crust and bottom to well-done.
10. Kebab pizza
Said to be enjoyable only after hours following a night of hitting the bars, kebab pizza is a Swedish invention in the 1960s. It is a fusion of cultures with Italian and Middle Eastern immigrants in the country, bringing a tomatoey and cheesy pie to the table topped with tones of juicy kebab meat.
