Pizza is the ultimate comfort food and has been loved by people around the world for decades, and this is for good reasons, it’s delicious, versatile and filling. To some people all pizzas are the same, while others prefer thicker crust to a thinner one. However, one method that has gained immense popularity around the world is stone-baking. We are not talking about frozen pizza you buy from the supermarket or the pizza you order from your local takeaway. So, what makes stone-baked pizza different from New York or Chicago style pizza? In this blog article, we will discuss what makes stone-baked pizza stand out including its interesting history and cooking method.
A Brief History Of Stone-Baked Pizza
The idea of stone-baking can be traced back to ancient Egypt and Greek times, where people would cook flatbreads on hot stones, creating an early form of what we now know today as pizza crust. While places like New York and Chicago are famous for their pizza, it is said that the first modern pizza originated from Naples, Italy during the 18th and early 19th century. When Italians immigrated to the US, they brought their pizza-making traditions with them and set up pizzerias and restaurants. As pizza gained popularity globally, other pizzerias and restaurants were inspired by Neapolitan traditions and recreated the stone-baking method.
Cooked To Perfection
Artisan stone-baked pizza is not cooked in your average conventional oven at home, it needs to be cooked in a specialised designed pizza oven. There are different types of pizza ovens on the market such as wood-fried, gas and multi-fuel. The pizza also needs to be cooked on a pizza stone which is a flat, round or square-shaped plate. It is different to a baking tray or a pizza tray because it is made from natural stone or ceramic material. When a pizza stone is placed in a preheated pizza oven, it works by distributing the heat evenly across the base of the pizza dough for the best cooking results.
Pizza stones are also porous, meaning it will absorb moisture from the pizza dough, resulting in a crispy crust and perfectly cooked toppings. The intense heat from the pizza stone can slightly char the bottom and edges of the crust. This char adds smokiness and depth, enhancing the flavour of both the crust and toppings. Artisan stone-baked pizza also has shorter cooking times of 10 to 12 minutes, due to its thinner base and the intense heat from the pizza stone, compared to ones cooked without a pizza stone in a conventional oven.
Come Along to One of Derbyshire’s Best Pizza Restaurants
At a first glance, artisan stone-baked pizza has a thinner and lighter base, compared to thick crust and deep-pan pizzas. In terms of toppings, they are quite versatile. For instance, here at the the Lodge Bar & Gastropub in the Littleover Lodge Hotel, our stone-baked pizza menu is full of choice including pepperoni, chicken tikka, mozzarella, sun-dried tomato, red onion, mint yoghurt sauce, spicy beef, jalapeño, fresh chillies and much more, as well as kids and vegetation options. To see our full menu, visit here. Our team of chefs have mastered the use of our authentic pizza oven and Neapolitan pizza-making traditions.
Come along to one of Derbyshore’s best pizza restaurants. Our pizza serving times are open every Wednesday to Friday from 5 to 9 pm and every Saturday from 12 to 10 pm. Want to book a table in our restaurant? Fill out our booking form or call us on 0133 251 0161 today.