Why eating kosher pizza is good for you?

Yes, a kosher pizza is a dish, but if we enjoy it in the spirit of its originators, the Italians, then it is also a social choice, a style, a feeling. "Pizza and a movie", "a pizza with friends", "let's have a pizza": all of these expressions are synonymous with good humor and good company. With feeling comfortable.

Ok, there are certainly many who see it as a detriment to good dietary behavior, but if you love a good kosher pizza, you know in your guts that they must be wrong, because eating kosher pizza is good for you!

Admittedly in the appropriate quantity, but that applies to all foods since a healthy diet must necessarily be varied. So let us try to explain why an occasional kosher pizza - even once a week - is not a sin of gluttony and has no impact on your figure if that is what you're concerned about.

Why kosher pizza is good for your heart?

Now that we got rid of this unnecessary and unmotivated guilty feeling, we can enjoy various psychological and mood benefits by eating kosher pizza.

Consumed once a week at most, it represents a moment of leisure and conviviality. Even eaten alone, it is a positive symbol because it recalls relaxation and comfort. Its sight and smell immediately convey a feeling of contentment and ease. And this is not just us trying to rid ourselves of the guilt of enjoying a delicious kosher pizza occasionally, there are also scientific reasons to support it! If you don't like reading about science - even though it's about why it's perfectly fine to eat and enjoy kosher pizza - feel free to skip the following paragraph.

Kosher pizza contains complex carbohydrates and B vitamins that promote the production of neurotransmitters linked to well-being. These molecules are involved in the physical process that takes place in our body and that underlies our mood. Among the ingredients that can act on our psyche, in this case by energizing us, is an essential amino acid called tyrosine. It plays an important role in the production of dopamine and norepinephrine, both of which are neurotransmitters that can make us more energetic.

Another essential amino acid that kosher pizza provides us with is a precursor of serotonin, the happiness hormone. It is called tryptophan and is contained in both the dough and the topping, particularly in mozzarella or similar dairy products.

 

Consumed without giving in to excess - daily would admittedly be wrong - kosher pizza is thus anti-stress. And who doesn't need any aid - especially such a yummy one - in dealing with the daily stress of our lives?

Still with us? Great. Read on because you'll get more reasons to enjoy kosher pizza...

Why eating kosher pizza is good for your body in general

It is all very well to be in a good mood while eating kosher pizza, but what about your body? Perhaps because it is so mouthwatering, that this food brings with it some anxieties and fears, even rumors.

Unquestionably it is true that pizza is high in calories, so it should be alternated with other lighter foods. But, on the other hand, it offers some not inconsiderable benefits to those who know how to enjoy it with balance.

Let's examine which ones. The carbs that make dieters quiver are actually good, because they are complex carbohydrates. Compared to simple carbohydrates (cakes, cookies, fruit juices....), they are preferable because they release energy more slowly. This allows you to keep fit more easily and control your appetite because they satiate you for a longer period of time.

The fats found in pizza are also good! Because they are unsaturated fatty acids that have a positive impact on both cholesterol and circulation.

Depending on the filling, a pizza can also provide you with a lot of minerals and vitamins. Tomato and mozzarella are seldom absent, and we thus already get calcium, vitamin C, iron, vitamin D, E and K, and milk protein.

 

Kosher pizza: how many calories?

There is much pontificating about kosher pizza and its 'fattening' issue. But at the end of the day, if we don't extravagantly load on fillings, it contains the same calories, or slightly more, than a normally seasoned plate of pasta. There is no danger to our figure, therefore, indeed, to deny ourselves, it would be frustrating and useless for our silhouette.

Bagels Bar Coffee House , West Hendon, UK

 

You need more reasons to allow yourself to enjoy a kosher pizza? Here's 9 of them!

1. A tasty kosher pizza puts you in a good mood. If you are on a diet, for example, it is the ideal treat to indulge in from time to time. Or if you are stressed and if you feel a little nostalgic when you think about that wonderful journey you took through ‘Bella Italia’, a good kosher pizza is sure to put a smile on your face.
2. Tomato sauce is rich in lycopene. This is an antioxidant that fights free radicals and protects against heart disease. In addition, when eaten together with oil and cheese, other essential kosher pizza ingredients, lycopene is better absorbed by your body.
3. It promotes socializing. How can you resist the temptation of an evening with friends to celebrate an anniversary or just to relax after a week of work?
4. It is an inexpensive dish. Whether at home or in a restaurant, a kosher pizza will always 'respect' your wallet!
5. Pizza stimulates the imagination with its myriad ingredients. How many times have you been spoiled for choice when looking at the kosher pizza menu? Thanks to the wealth of toppings, pizza satisfies every dietary need and even the most complicated tastes.
6. It is no coincidence that "pizza" is the most famous Italian word in the world. Whether traveling for business or pleasure, pizza is a certainty. Because wherever you will be you should be able to enjoy one, perhaps topped with foods typical of the country you will be in, but still just as irresistible.
7. If you don't have time to go out, you can always order a kosher pizza in from a restaurant, and it will be as good as freshly baked! This way you won't even have to go through the trouble of cleaning the kitchen, you'll just cut it with a knife and eat it with your hands, slice by slice...
8. Adults like it a lot but it is also among the favorite foods of children, even the pickiest ones, when it comes to sitting at the family dinner table.
9. It is perfect love! Pizza loves us and we love kosher pizza! Forever.

Casa Bianca, Cannes, France

How to prepare a very tasty kosher pizza at home

Pizza Margherita a classic that doesn't need much explanation...we all know what a kosher pizza Margherita looks like and we all, at least once, have ordered it at a pizzeria. But have you ever tried your hand at preparing it at home?

This recipe is really simple but like all simple recipes there are some tricks to follow if you want to get a perfect result and one of them is definitely to choose very good quality ingredients in order to make your kosher pizza Margherita worthy of a pizzeria but in your regular home oven:

• Preparation time: 30 minutes
• Rest time: 3 hours
• Baking time: 15 minutes
• Difficulty level: low
• Cost: economic
• Portions: 2 kosher pizzas

Ingredients

• 300 g pizza flour
• 200 g 00 flour
• 300 ml water
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1.5 dried brewer's yeast

Seasoning

• 400 ml tomato puree
• 400 g of Mozzarella
• basil
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt

Preparation

1. Place the two types of flour in a large bowl and mix them together.
2. Add the dry brewer's yeast.
3. Make a hole in the center of the powders and add the room-temperature water, stirring with a spoon then add the salt and oil then knead vigorously with your hands for at least 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic.
4. Cover the dough and let it rest for about 2 hours, away from drafts, preferably in the oven (off) with the light on until it has doubled in volume.
5. Take the dough again and place it on a lightly floured work surface.
6. Divide the dough into two parts, into two balls, and let rise another 20 minutes.
7. Take the dough again and WITHOUT kneading it but just crushing it with your hands place it in two round baking pans or in a large rectangular baking dish (the oven drip pan will also do)
8. Sprinkle the surface of the two pizzas with the pulp or tomato puree and bake the base for your kosher pizza Margherita in a preheated static oven at 250° Celsius, which converts to 482° Fahrenheit, for about 8 minutes.
9. Remove the base for your kosher pizza Margherita from the oven and place the chopped mozzarella, fresh basil, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, and a pinch of salt on top.
10. Bake the pizza again for another 7 or 8 minutes so that the mozzarella cheese melts completely, and the dough is thoroughly cooked.
11. Take your kosher pizza Margherita out of the oven, serve immediately and enjoy!

Who invented pizza and thus also the kosher pizza?

Despite this notoriety, however, the history of pizza is extremely multifaceted and, even today, it is difficult to determine who invented the pizza. Let us, therefore, try to illustrate where the art of pizza originated, so that when you share a kosher pizza with family and friends, you can tell them where the Italian pizza-making tradition originated.

If we pause for a moment, the idea of kosher pizza is extremely simple: a disc of dough made from flour, water, and yeast, on top of which various ingredients can be placed, before or after baking.

If we imagine it this way, the history of pizza can already be dated back to 3,000 B.C., when, according to some findings in Sardinia, the use of yeast was already known.

For that matter, even in ancient Greece they made discs of bread called ‘plakous’. Even the Persians baked a bread with a flattened shape, using shields for baking. Even in ancient Egypt, then, they were already familiar with the use of yeast.

The Romans, too, and perhaps more than others, began using flours made from various grains to bake discs of dough in the domestic hearth. To the question of where the kosher pizza originated, as we can see, it is not possible to give an unambiguous answer. Rather, one can only recount the steps taken to approach its preparation.

Napoli? Or even older?

The history of pizza is very, very long, so it is not so easy to trace it back to its inventor. In fact, it would probably be more correct to talk about inventors, because there are so many people who have contributed to its birth and evolution.

It is, in fact, a product that was made somewhat throughout the Mediterranean basin, with some variation depending on location, and historical period.

Not only in prehistoric times, and more precisely in the Neolithic period, when the use of polished stone and the practice of farming became widespread, but also in the time of the Egyptians and Greeks. They used to prepare disks of dough that were baked in the oven, although at that time yeast was not yet used.

Although it was prepared just about everywhere, however, the evolution of this baked product took place mainly in Italy, which is why it is considered a symbol of that country. Who does not know kosher pizza topped with tomato, mozzarella, and basil? Although it took place in Italy, the birth of pizza has crossed all borders, becoming a reference for almost all peoples, united at least in the kitchen!

The first recipe for pizza as we know it today, originated in Campania, at the foot of Vesuvius, and more precisely in Naples.

A treatise dedicated to the culinary art, printed in the capital of Campania in 1858, described, for the first time, in great detail the way the authentic Neapolitan pizza, known today as pizza vera or verace, was prepared in those years. The dough was rolled out with the hands to give it the well-known disc shape, was seasoned with olive oil or lard, and then baked in a wood-fired oven.

At a time when the city was still the capital of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, Francesco De Bourcard in his book "Usi e costumi di Napoli e contorni descritti e dipinti" went so far as to mention a sort of rudimentary recipe for pizza Margherita, prepared with mozzarella and basil. Tomatoes were not yet one of the typical toppings, for a kosher pizza; so much so, that in the description of the ingredients we read the words "quel che vi viene in testa" (what comes to mind) to indicate pizza toppings.

Towards the end of the nineteenth century, kosher pizza with tomato and mozzarella cheese crossed the ocean and arrived in America, thanks to Italians who emigrated to New York. However, it will not be until the 1960s that a great increase in the popularity of this delicious food will take place, and it will become really famous all over the world. Today we find kosher pizza recipes in its most extravagant versions, such as the properly American version of pineapple pizza, and the frozen kosher pizza that is now easily found in all supermarkets refrigerated counters that can become even tastier with extra tomato sauce.

Why, despite our easy recipe, you'll probably still enjoy your kosher pizza even more in a pizzeria

The short answer is that kosher pizza baked in a wood-fired oven is always better!

It's all about the heat!

A wood-fired oven can reach really high temperatures that cannot be matched by other types of ovens: kosher pizza makers' ovens easily reach 400° C (752 °F).

Thanks to the temperatures reached, cooking times are shortened considerably, and a kosher pizza can bake in as little as 60 seconds: thanks to the extremely high heat with which it comes into contact, the dough immediately forms a crispy crust on the edges and base (that "burnt" crust we like so much):

The tall kosher pizza (Neapolitan style) will turn out crispy on the outside and soft and fragrant inside, a result that is virtually impossible with other types of ovens. Thin kosher pizza (Roman style), on the other hand, will turn out extremely crispy or, rather, "scrocchiarella," as they say in Rome.
This alone would be enough to explain why a kosher pizza baked in a wood-fired oven is better, but it doesn't end there...

Mozzarella, Prestwich, UK

Wood: a real pizza seasoning!

Have you ever wondered why a kosher pizza baked in a wood-fired oven tastes completely different? Wood is an organic material (not like an inert coil of the electric oven), and as it burns it releases multiple aromas, which "permeate" the dough, helping to give it a whole other flavor.

It's a bit like when we barbecue at home and notice the abysmal difference between cooking meat with simple charcoal (certainly more practical) or with wood (more complicated to use, but which gives the dishes a whole other flavor).

Of course, the taste also changes depending on the type of wood used, and the kosher pizza maker's skill lies precisely in choosing the right wood.

Assuming we needed to, have we managed to convince you that wood-fired baking is better? Of course, such an oven at home is impossible to have, but there are many restaurants that churn out any amazing kosher pizza thanks to it...