Is a cheeseless Pizza truly a Pizza?

[Formalhaut]

It's still pizza without sauce and/or cheese. Basically if you oven cook some dough in a dish and put at least one topping on it it's a pizza.

If you put ketchup on a pizza you deserve to taken out the back and put down.

THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO DO THAT????

Ewwwww gross. THERE'S ALREADY TOMATO ON THE PIZZA (if it has a tomato base, obviously).

[Ayen]

That was mainly in response to Mirage's hypothetical. At least, I'm assuming it's only a hypothetical and people don't really do it to retain what little faith I have in the human race.

[Mirage]

it was hypothetical.ketchup on a pizza is the dumbest trout ever.

In my hypothetical case it was however the only thing on the "pizza" at all (except the fact that it was obviously not really a pizza)

i disagree though. it is not pizza just because it is dough in a dish with *anything* on top.

[Pheesh]

I actually have to make an amendment, because pizza doesn't have to be cooked in a dish, I've actually even cooked pizza without a dish. I was thinking about it more (what makes pizza a pizza) and I would say that there are a few different criteria.

1. Oven baked. No one is eating raw bread dough, so there is no such thing as an uncooked pizza, and you can not develop a crust without an oven.

2. Dough. Pizza dough differs from bread dough traditionally in its ingredients. Where this part gets tricky is with some pizza having a non traditional dough either for convenience or to be different (sourdough is a somewhat common pizza base). So I would add in that the shaping of the dough is key. After proofing, the dough of a pizza is shaped into that tradition pizza base shape, which will remove most of the fluffiness of the dough, this is what really separates pizza from bread. Also there's a bunch of differences in the fermentation process of pizza dough that you wouldn't do with traditional bread.

3. Toppings. I've never seen a pizza without a topping, a pizza without a topping is a flatbread basically. I've seen them with minimal toppings (oil, seasoning and herbs) but at that point you're really pushing the boundaries of where flatbread stops and pizza begins (traditionally they're made with a slightly different dough, but not always). Flatbread becomes pizza when you add a sauce and/or cheese. While some flatbreads still feature cheese melted on top which makes defining them tricky, I would say if it's got cheese on it it's more pizza that flatbread.

That's the best and most simple way I would be able to describe what defines a pizza. Also, before anyone mentions it, dessert pizzas do not count in the same way a gummi pizza wouldn't count.

[Bubba]

That's a nice summation, Pheesh.

So can anyone tell me what pizza bread is? Is that a pizza?

[Pheesh]

Is that just one of those regular buns that has sauce and cheese on it? It's not a pizza, it's just a piece of bread that has pizza toppings on it. It would fit into the same category as a pizza scroll I guess.

[Bubba]

Is that just one of those regular buns that has sauce and cheese on it? It's not a pizza, it's just a piece of bread that has pizza toppings on it. It would fit into the same category as a pizza scroll I guess.

What the hell is a pizza scroll?! Man, I always thought pizza was reasonably uncomplicated.

Actually, hasn't Pizza Scrolls Online just been released for PS4 and Xbox One?

[Night Fury]

Scrolls are very Aussie. They're rolled up breads with fillings inside. You can get them sweet or savoury!

[Loony BoB]

Pheesh is the most correct person in this thread regarding what is and is not a pizza.

[Bubba]

Pheesh is the most correct person in this thread regarding what is and is not a pizza.

I thought this too. Now you've agreed with him though BoB, I have completely changed my mind.

[~*~Celes~*~]

I love cheese pizza

[Sephiroth]

I have learned from Midgar that every round object is a pizza.