Candela Pizza Recipe
Pizza History
It would be difficult to find a more storied fare than pizza. Though it has enjoyed a lengthy reputation as our favorite informal dinner, you may be surprised to find the origins of pizza aren't American at all. In fact, the earliest known record of the pizza pie date all the way back to 6th Century B.C., where soldiers of the Persian Empire baked circles of dough upon their shields and then covered the dough with cheese.
When pizza, or tomato pies as they were initially known, arrived in the United States in 1903, it did not seize the country's collective appetite as quickly as one might think. It wasn't until after World War II when many soldiers returned from their stations in Italy that pizza began to resound in America. These brave patriots came back to the States with an unquenchable craving for this new Italian delicacy they experienced in Italy, which supplied enough demand for an influx of pizza shops. As pizza garnered praise across the country, chains such as Pizza Hut™ opened in the early 1950s, officially commencing America's obsession with Italy's favorite export.
The Candela Basic Pizza Recipe
An oft-overlooked aspect of pizza is how it is created. The preparation stage of crafting a pizza, such as operating a clean workplace and using the choicest ingredients, is integral to the quality of the pie. To better understand America's most beloved food, Pete Candela presents his step-by-step instructions on how to make a pizza the Candela way:
- Get a ball of dough and dip into flour
- Shake off excess flour and knead dough ball into a small circle
- Stretch dough circle in a circular motion to create the shape of the pie and guide your index finger to create the crust
- Once shape is in place, add sauce, then cheese, then any toppings you wish
- Place in an oven for 5-7 minutes
- Take out of the oven, making sure the crust is a golden brown and the cheese has melted
Enjoy! Perfecting the art of pizza making is like perfecting a musical instrument. It takes years of discipline and practice to perfect and create a style that sets them apart from the rest. At Candela, Pete and Frank use the decades of intimate family experience coupled with authentic Italian ingredients that create the Princeton area's most enduring pizza pie. Come into Candela Lawn Park or Candela Quakerbridge and taste the tradition that's only possible when "There's Always A Candela In The Kitchen™!"
