National Pizza Day
The National Pizza Day or Pizza Pie Day takes place on February 9th in the USA. There are several other unofficial holidays related to pizza - including National Cheese Pizza Day on September 5th, National Sausage Pizza Day on October 11th, and National Everything Pizza Day on November 12th.
Pizza is so popular (according to pizza.com) that it even has its own month. October is National Pizza Month in the USA. In America, 94% of people regularly eat pizza. Here are some curious and historical pizza facts:
- Pepperoni is considered the most popular pizza in the United States. After all, pepperoni pizza accounts for 36% of the total annual orders.
- Pizza is one of the most popular dishes in the USA. According to recent estimates, Americans consume an average of about 10 kg of pizza per person per year.
- About three billion pizzas are sold annually in the United States.
- The first pizzeria in the United States opened in 1905 under the name Gennaro Lombardi in New York.
Since today was the last day before our vacation and it happened to be National Pizza Day, that was also the topic in today's English lesson. We tried making mini pizzas = Piccolinis. The homemade dough along with homemade pizza sauce formed the base. We used a drinking glass to cut out the shape, topped them with ham, sweetcorn, and pizza cheese, and then our Piccolinis were ready for the oven.
Result: Super tasty. Everyone liked it.
And for those who might want to try this themselves today, you can find our dough recipe attached below. So, enjoy your meal and have a great National Pizza Day, everyone!
Pizza Dough with Oil
- 350 g flour
- 200 g lukewarm water
- 1 package dry yeast
- 25 g olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 pinch of sugar
Preparation
- Mix all ingredients and process into a dough - using dough hooks on a mixer.
- Knead well - possibly knead again by hand.
- Cover the dough (with a dish towel) and let it rise in a warm place (approx. 40 - 60 min). The volume should significantly increase.
- Roll out the dough and place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or two round, greased pizza pans, and let it rise briefly again.
- Top the dough as desired and bake in a preheated oven.
Temperature:
Approx. 225 - 230 degrees Celsius (depending on the oven)
Top and bottom heat
Bottom rack in the oven
Time:
Approx. 20 - 30 minutes (depending on the oven)
We made our Piccolinis from this dough recipe, topped with ham, corn kernels, and cheese. But what would our perfect pizza actually look like? You can see that in the pictures attached below.
With National Pizza Day and the book "Pete the Cat - The Perfect Pizza Party", we complete the circle of books we've read in the first term about Pete the Cat. In the second term, we're starting the reading focus in the form of self-directed work.
If you'd like to read the story of the "Perfect Pizza Party" yourself for closure, you'll find two hyperlinks attached below; one for the "Read with Me Book Version" and another short video about the toppings for a perfect pizza party. Enjoy reading and listening and stay tuned for our next culinary-literary adventure.