History of the wood fired pizza
The history of wood-fired ovens dates back to 29,000 BC and were first found in Europe. There is evidence suggesting the use of Tandoor ovens in India during the period of 2,600 BC. Clay ovens were a common place in Middle Eastern region, commonly with the Babylonians, Egyptians and Israelites who used these ovens to bake flatbread. The Egyptians made use of the clay obtained from the river Nile to build clay ovens capable of withstanding extremely high temperatures. The bread made was not the fluffy bread we are used, but was merely a mixture formed from flour, salt and water. Initially, Egyptians were not aware of the action of yeast when producing flatbread. Natural yeast was discovered later by pure accident, and was subsequently used as a leaven for bread. It was later realised that the addition of yeast to bread made it tastier and more nutritious.
Long after the period of the Egyptians, Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD completely destroying all Roman civilization surrounding the volcano. In the 1880s archaeologists uncovered ruins and discovered bread ovens and bakeries all in perfect condition.The Roman Pompeii ovens comprised of a main door to the oven, a tall domed structure and a vent at the front to release smoke from the oven. These ovens were made of bricks and local stones. The strong association between these ancient bread ovens and modern day wood-fired pizza ovens is apparent.
The word ‘Pizza’ was initially documented in the year 976 in Gaeta. It was also found in several other parts of central and southern Italy. However there is no precise documentation on the history of pizza as a dish. From the dawn of the Neolithic age, foods resembling pizza have been made and numerous references have been found for the use of "additional ingredients to enhance the flavour of bread". A reference can also be found in Naples during the 16th century where Galette flat bread was called a pizza, it was considered to be a food of the poor that was sold on the street.
It is Raffaele Esposito from Naples, Italy that is considered to be the inventor of the modern-day pizza. He used tomatoes, basil and mozzarella cheese as toppings for his pizza, which was also a representation of the colours found on the Italian flag. The term, ‘Margherita pizza’ is used to describe a pizza comprising of only cheese, sauce and basil. But this particular pizza style is also referred to as Neapolitan as it is derived from the Naples region of Italy. Neapolitan also the describes the technique of using a very hot oven to bake pizza to obtain the best possible baking outcome.
