Pizza is one of the most popular and most-eaten foods in the world. For those who are unfamiliar with what a pizza looks like, it is generally a round, flat piece of bread that is topped with pizza sauce, cheese, usually mozzarella, and various toppings. These toppings range by region, but the most common ingredients are pepperoni, sausage, Roma tomatoes, olives, mushrooms, and onions. The pizza is believed to have originated from Naples in Italy's Campania region but has spread to other parts of the world. In the United States, several chains have opened, including Pizza Hut, California Pizza Kitchen, and Roundtable Pizza. While these pizzas are one of the most sought after foods in America, the pizza connoisseur knows, however, that pizza goes far beyond slapping a piece of dough and slathering it with toppings. There are many who have not had the delightful experience of tasting an authentic pizza with excellent quality ingredients. Using only the fresh and finest ingredients that arena's derived from a can, a package or pulled out of your freezer are the first step. The second step is to cook the pizza in a wood fired pizza oven.

Wood-fired ovens have been used for centuries, dating back to ancient Rome, where excavations have unearthed brick ovens. They have also been found all throughout Europe, not differing from the models found in Rome. A brick oven can vary in size and shape, but each is similar. Stone, slabs of wood, or layers of tough terracotta bricks can be used to make the base of the oven. An igloo-shaped cover with one small opening on its side, typically made of clay bricks or other material, is placed over the base. A common method of piecing the two pieces together was to cover it in mud, which acts as a sealant and seeps in any cracks. Some ovens also placed a funnel on top of the igloo-shaped cover so the smoke can travel out of the oven.

Cooking in wood-fired oven is very much like cooking meats and vegetables on a barbecue. The end result is a fantastic meal with flavors that cannot be mimicked with other techniques. Cooking a pizza in a modern contraption at a local pizzeria or in your oven at home can usually take several minutes, but in a wood-fired oven, the pizza can be done in as little as a minute. Because of the intense heat from the fire's flames, the pizza must be turned 180 degrees to ensure that the pizza cooks as evenly as possible.

If you have never had authentic pizza, either take a trip out to Italy or visit a local pizzeria that is not a chain. You will be pleasantly surprised and possibly hooked!

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