In recent times, the trend has gotten everyone looking for classic, authentic Neapolitan pizza out in the market. Although our supreme meat lovers' pizza tastes good, it doesn't remind us of authentic Italian pizza. Thus, it's crucial to remember classic pizza such as sardine pizza. 

When pizza first came to Italy, it was termed peasant food. People from only the working class would devour the pizza. What's known to us as sardine pizza was someday a classic, authentic Neapolitan pizza. 

Thus, we're here to tell you why you must try sardine pizza to get the true taste of Italian cuisine. To feel the authentic flavors and to help you understand how to make sardine pizza easily at home, we've come to curate this article.

Without any further ado, let's start!

History of True Taste of Italian Cuisine 

Sardine pizza brings out the authenticity of Italian pizza like no other. When tomato sauce, sardine, and a fluffy 00 flour bread come together, it's a whole festival of flavors in the meal. Sardine pizza was usually served like Focaccia before, and now it's got its variant. 

The pizza originated in the province of Liguria. The main ingredients of sardine pizza are sardines, onion, and optional tomato sauce. The recipe goes back to the 1500s, so it's a heritage. 

Pissala, the local dialect meaning anchovy paste, is a common topping on this pizza. Desalinated sardines and anchovies are preferable. 6–7 weeks of maceration in butter and olive oil reduces the fishy flavor. Most folks get the shivers from seeing fried little fish on their pizza.

Andrea Doria, an admiral, and nobleman ruled Genoa, a close French ally in the 17th century. His favorite Ligurian meal, Pissaladiéra, he brought with him everywhere. In fact, some say this legendary pizza originated in France!

You can read more about the History of Authentic Neapolitan Pizza and What Makes It Unique right here! 

Sardine Pizza Recipe

Many people tend to ask, are sardines and anchovies the same? Or is sardine pizza and anchovies pizza the same thing? Well, they're pretty different from each other regarding taste.

Difference Between Sardine and Anchovy pizza

There are many different canned fish out there, even though they're small and oily. Each one has a different taste, look, and history.

Anchovies should not be used in place of sardines, and sardines should not be used in place of anchovies. The dish has a delicious saltiness that spreads through the whole meal when anchovies melt away. 

Sardines have a more meaty texture and a milder taste. The dense meat of a sardine won't break down like an anchovy fillet would break down, but it won't be the same way.

Hence, Sardines and Anchovies aren't the same, but you can substitute the recipe for each other. To know more about anchovies on pizza, click here.

Cooking Apparatus 

• A simple baking tray 
• Food processor
• A vessel for grinding
• A little bowl
• A big bowl
• Fork
• Typical cooking pan
• Oven in the kitchen
• Various kitchen spoons
• Roller in the kitchen
• Pastry sheet made of silicone

Ingredients For Sardine Pizza Pie

• 2 cup all-purpose flour (unbleached)
• 1 cup warm water (90-105 degrees Fahrenheit)
• 1 tsp. Baker's yeast 
• 5 tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp salt
• Cloves 2 (crushed)
• A sprinkle of fennel seeds (crushed)
• One tin Sardines with olive oil mashed into a mixing bowl
• 5-6 Anchovies de petite taille (canned)
• 1 pound onions
• 2-3 fresh thyme twigs
• Herbs, dried 
• Olives (pitted)

How to Make Sardine Pizza Dough

Combine your baker's yeast, warm water, and granulated sugar in a small bowl. Allow at least ten minutes for this to sit before using it to see if the yeast is active. 

In a larger mixing bowl, combine the flour and salt and use a kitchen spoon to break up any lumps in the flour. Once your yeast has been active, add one cup of water and one cup of flour.

Following that, the yeast and water mixture guarantees that the dough is adequately hydrated. Using 65 percent water as a starting point, you'll determine the percentage depending on the amount of flour you're using. This equates to about 1 cup water for every 2 cups of flour. 

Bear in mind that you must convert to hydration percentages when doing so. Three-quarters of a cup of water will account for around 65% of the total. The dough's consistency should be medium-sticky.

Combine these ingredients with five tablespoons of olive oil and knead for a few minutes to form a dough. After that, mix the ingredients with your hands. Add just enough flour to form a ball that can be formed by hand. 

This should be well blended to ensure that all of your dough reacts with the yeast. Cover the bowl with a towel and place it back in the refrigerator.

Place it in a warm (about 80F) location for an hour to let it solidify, then remove it.

In the end, you should be left with a classic Neapolitan crust that screams for sardines! Let's see how you can flawlessly execute a canned sardine pizza recipe for the sauce, toppings, and baking. 

If you're looking for a pizza crust that is pre-made and pre-sauced, order pizza Bien's Margherita Pizza from Italy. The pizza base is perfect to pair with sardines.

At Pizza Bien, you'll find authentic Neapolitan pizza that can never disappoint you! The authentic frozen pizza will help you find the best and most genuine taste of Italian cuisine. 

The Sauce

Use a mortar and pestle to crush the sardines, fennel seeds, and cloves. First, grind the cloves and fennel to powder. Then comes your anchovies and sardines. If you want a smooth, creamy paste, add olive oil before grinding.

You may add more olive oil to this mixture to make it easier to distribute over your dough. The best consistency is icing or heated paste. Save this for later.

The sauce should be a thick-thin consistency in a way it doesn't make the dough soggy. The sauce is healthy and contributes well to the overall nutrition of the pizza. Read more about Nutritional Value Of Pizza Will Make You Order an Extra One for Dinner right here. 

Toppings

The leftover anchovies from tin may be used as extra toppings. Anchovies may be salty or fishy, so choose mild ones. Heat 2 tablespoons of fresh melted butter in a separate dish to make the olive oil-stored ones less fishy.

Do this two to three days before you want to make your pizza and store it in the fridge. Keep in a cool place like the fridge to keep bacteria away. This is when you'll need a frying pan. 

In a medium-sized pan, cover the bottom and sides with olive oil. To add onion flavor to your pizza, caramelize the onions. This process takes 10 to 25 minutes.

A spaghetti fork works well to move the onions around while they brown. After cooking, remove the bay leaves and thyme from the onions so they don't wind up in the final onion mixture.

Baking your pizza

Preheat the oven to 425°F and prepare a baking sheet. Sprinkle a little flour on the bottom of the baking pan. Using this procedure will prevent your dough from sticking to the pan. 

Now that the dough is ready, roll it out on a floured work area. The dough should be at least half an inch thick. Place your baking tray over the dough and mark your cutting line.

Leftover pizza bits may be prepared. Insert your pastry sheet into your baking pan. Remove the silicone film on top. If so, your frying pan should be perfect. 

Spread the sardine and anchovy paste over the dough with a spoon. Finish with caramelized onions.

Add staggered rows of black olives on top. There will be just enough space between the olives for the anchovies. 

Microwave the butter while removing the anchovies from the freezer. This will enhance the buttery oil flavor of your anchovies. Your pizza is now ready to bake.

Bake your pizza for 9 minutes to get a nice crust. After 5 minutes, slice it into rectangles (the authentic way of cutting a sardine pizza)!

Conclusion

Serving the pizza is also a pretty big part of the presentation. Hence, serve on little plates with slices measuring 2 x 3 inches. 

This meal is intended to be served as a dinner starter. You may feed 4-5 people with up to two tiny portions. Slicing is done using pizza scissors or food shears for sardine pizza typically. 

Therefore, we hope now you know everything there is to know about sardine pizza! Till the next time, happy feasting and stay with Pizza Bien.

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