The term "pizza" was first recorded in the 10th century in a Latin manuscript from the Southern Italian town of Gaeta in Lazio, on the border with Campania. 

Modern pizza was invented in Naples, and the dish and its variants have since become popular in many countries. It has become one of the most popular foods in the world and a common fast food item in Europe, the Americas and Australasia; available at pizzerias (restaurants specializing in pizza), restaurants offering Mediterranean cuisine, via pizza delivery, and as street food. 

Various food companies sell ready-baked pizzas, which may be frozen, in grocery stores, to be reheated in a home oven. 

Foods similar to pizza have been made since the Neolithic Age. Records of people adding other ingredients to bread to make it more flavorful can be found throughout ancient history. 

A precursor of pizza was probably the focaccia, a flatbread known to the Romans as panis focacius, to which toppings were then added. In the 6th century BC, the Persian soldiers of the Achaemenid Empire during the rule of Darius the Great baked flatbreads with cheese and dates on top of their battle shields and the ancient Greeks supplemented their bread with oils, herbs, and cheese. 

An early reference to a pizza-like food occurs in the Aeneid, when Celaeno, queen of the Harpies, foretells that the Trojans would not find peace until they are forced by hunger to eat their tables (Book III). In Book VII, Aeneas and his men are served a meal that includes round cakes (like pita bread) topped with cooked vegetables. When they eat the bread, they realize that these are the "tables" prophesied by Celaeno. The first mention of the word "pizza" comes from a notarial document written in Latin and dating to May 997 AD from Gaeta, demanding a payment of "twelve pizzas, a pork shoulder, and a pork kidney on Christmas Day, and 12 pizzas and a couple of chickens on Easter Day."

Modern pizza evolved from similar flatbread dishes in Naples, Italy, in the 18th or early 19th century. Before that time, flatbread was often topped with ingredients such as garlic, salt, lard, and cheese. It is uncertain when tomatoes were first added and there are many conflicting claims. Until about 1830, pizza was sold from open-air stands and out of pizza bakeries.

In the United States, calzones are typically made from pizza dough and stuffed with meats, cheeses, and vegetables.

Traditional calzone dough, consisting of flour, yeast, olive oil, water, and salt, is kneaded and rolled into medium-sized disks. Each is then filled with cheeses such as ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, provolone, and other traditional vegetables or meats. The dough is then folded in half over the filling and sealed with an egg mixture in a half-moon shape, or is sometimes shaped into a ball by pinching and sealing all the edges at the top. It is then either baked or fried.

In some areas, just before serving, they are topped with marinara or other traditional sauce, or with a mixture of garlic, olive oil, and parsley.

Pizza sauce can be used raw or cooked, and both approaches have their benefits: 

Raw

Using uncooked pizza sauce can result in a pizza with a fresher, more zesty tomato flavor. Some say that cooking the sauce can make it taste more like pasta sauce. 

Cooked

Cooking the sauce can make the pizza taste more flavorful. It can also help create a crispier crust for thin-crust pizzas. However, overcooking the sauce can make it too thick and cause it to lose its fresh taste. 

The secret to great dough isn’t kneading or throwing . . .It’s good old-fashioned H20. 

Pizza dough made at home should be 50 percent water. Pizza needs to cook longer in a home oven, which means the dough needs to be more hydrated.

But don’t let it to get soggy . . .It’s important to spread the dough very well and very evenly. If possible, cook the dough on a pizza stone—not on a tray. If you don’t have a pizza stone, use parchment paper atop a baking tray that’s been pre-heated in the oven for an hour.

The inaugural episode of 'The Pizza Show' kicks off in Brooklyn. Our host Frank Pinello, a born and bred Brooklynite, remembers the importance of his neighborhood pizzeria growing up. We start at Roberta's in Bushwick, a pizzeria that has truly changed an entire neighborhood. Then we spend some time with Mark Iacono, owner of Lucali in Carroll Gardens, who built his restaurant by hand and is working tirelessly to preserve the tradition of his neighborhood through pizza. And what would any pizza show be without visiting the king: Dom DeMarco of Di Fara in Midwood? Dom is a legend, and even when great pizzaiolos visit him, like Frank and Mark, they can end up questioning their own pies. 

Ethan does a deep dive on various types of flours and compares their pizza dough quality in this incredible informational video.

The Pizza Show has finally made it to Naples, the birthplace of pizza. Our host Frank Pinello embarks on the ultimate Neapolitan pizza journey, visiting some of the most famous pizzerias in the world and hanging out with some of the best pizzaiolos in the business. 

From deep dish to tavern style thin, there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to Chicago pizza. Frank is here to show us the ins and outs of Chicago pizza and introduce us to the people who help make it what it is today. 

Ever wonder what it's like to work a shift at a high-traffic pizzeria in New York City? Step behind the counter with Brad Leone as he's given a crash course in everything from mixing mountains of dough to prepping pies for the oven by Nino Coniglio, owner of Williamsburg Pizza. 

There was a time when pizza lovers topped their pizzas with the basic ingredients, like pepperoni, mushrooms, black olives, and proteins like chicken and beef. However, pizza joints today have taken pizza toppings to another level.

Toppings like pineapple, barbecue sauce, clams, kale, avocados, and even corn have been put on the top of pizzas, and while some hardcore pizza fans have taken a liking to these toppings, there are others who find them blasphemous.

Fearless baker Erin McDowell is back to explain all things yeast. In this episode of "Bake It Up a Notch," Erin will show you how to make an easy lean bread (ciabatta) and a more complex enriched bread (salted butter brioche). This baking tutorial also includes explanations of different types of yeast (and when to use them), preferments, baker's percentage, how to adjust your rise times and the visual cues for proofing a yeasted recipe. Happy baking! 

Food52's Resident Baking BFF, Erin Jeanne McDowell, tackles six of the best pies she knows. From deep dish to pan pizzas and the classic "plain," Erin bakes a half dozen pizzas using slow-rise doughs and techniques that make pizza at home easy and delicious.