The Evolution of Pizza: From Ancient Flatbreads

Everybody knows what pizza is, a crispy flatbread with creamy tomato sauce, melty cheese. Have you ever wondered what pizza looked and tasted like when it was first invented?

The Ancient Beginnings

The story of pizza begins long before the first pizzeria opened its doors. Ancient civilizations made flatbreads topped with various ingredients. The Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans all had their versions of these early pizzas.

Greek Flatbreads

During 6th century BC (600-501BC) the Greeks would eat flatbread with cheese, herbs sometimes even garlic and onions. This familiar combination of toppings on flatbread was called "Plakus."

Homemade Plakus that I made and photographed.

I made homemade Plakus using pizza dough, garlic sauce, basil and mozzarella cheese. I started off by spreading out the dough in a circle (or as best I could). Next, I spread garlic sauce on the dough. I cut slices of mozzarella cheese and placed them on the dough. Finally, I added a few fresh basil leaves. I cooked the Plakus for 16 minutes and you can see my result in the picture above.

I liked the dough and the cheese, but the garlic sauce wasn't my favorite. It was sweeter then I thought it would be. While, I liked the Plakus, it wasn't as good as modern pizza with tomato sauce.

Roman Innovations

The Romans made pizza a little bit different then the Greeks, they kept the crunchy flatbread that we all know and love. Instead of Garlic and onions, they would add fruit, honey and a more spreadable cheese then normal.

The Birth of Modern Pizza

You may be wondering about Italy, I mean, Italy is famous for their breathtaking pizzas, and creating pizza. Italy created modern day pizza which you could find in your local pizza restaurant.

Margherita Pizza

In 1889, Queen Margherita visited Naples, Italy out of respect Raffaele Esposito made the first Margherita Pizza. A flatbread with tomato sauce and mozzarella and finally basil. That's how modern pizza was made. Margherita pizza is still a classic to this day.

The Rise of Pizzerias

Pizza began to become popular, the pizzerias would open in Naples, these delicious but simple, pizzerias began to attract tourists. The first pizzeria to ever open was Antica Pizzeria Port'Alba which opened in 1830 and is still in operation today!

Pizza Goes Global

Italian immigrants spread around the world and brought the love of pizza with them including to America.

A delicious modern day pepperoni pizza that I photographed.

I bought this pizza, from a local restaurant, Romana Pizzeria, in Danville. It was a thin crust pizza, with tomato sauce and a thin layer of mozzarella cheese and crunchy pepperoni! It was really good, but it was oily.

So.. which pizza is better?

We have tried all pizzas, from the root up until modern day pizza, but which one is better?

Pros and Cons

The pros and cons of each pizza!

Pros for modern day pizza: Super easy to eat and make, because there is s0 many pizza places, super convenient. Delicious!

Cons for modern pizza: Unhealthy, messy to eat, both dairy and gluten for people who can't have either.

Pros for ancient pizza: It's healthier then normal pizza. It's less oily. Its not messy to eat.

Cons for ancient pizza: Not the best tasting, harder to make and find.

The final answer

Now that we have talked about the pros and cons and tasted the pizzas, I can confidently report that modern day pizza is better. It tastes better, it's more convenient to make, and it's easier to find.

To sum this up: pizza isn't just a meal, it's a food that gets better with time!