All of the best pizzas have four essential ingredients that make up the deliciousness; the dough, the sauce, the cheese, and the toppings. There are endless possibilities to create tasty pizza combinations from classic pizzas like the pepperoni pizza and the margherita pizza to unique pizzas like the peanut butter and jelly pizza or the loaded baked potato pizza. Depending on the region, there can be certain standards for the dough or the sauce that make up the style of the pizza like New York Style and Chicago Style. Pizza is such a versatile food that there’s something for everyone to love.

The Dough

Traditional pizza dough consists of water, flour, yeast, olive oil, salt and sugar. Although there are alternative options like whole wheat, sourdough, and gluten free. The dough can be thin and crispy for thin crust pizza or thick and fluffy for deep dish. It serves as the foundation of the pizza for all the other ingredients to sit upon and melt into. Without the dough, there is no pizza.

The Sauce

There are many different types of sauces one can put on a pizza. Of course there’s the red sauce, marinara, but there’s also pesto, alfredo, buffalo, barbeque and other interesting choices for sauce. You can also mix two or three sauces together. Pesto and marinara pair very nicely together for a classic tasting pizza. There are many different recipes for traditional red sauce. Some are sweet, some are spicy, and some are overloaded with garlic. The sauce seems to be the ingredient of a pizza that people fight over the most because the taste of the sauce drastically affects the taste of the whole pizza.

The Cheese

Who doesn’t love cheese? It’s the heart of all comfort food. The go to cheese for pizza is typically mozzarella. However, you can add all kinds of cheese to your pizza to make it even more delicious. Try adding some ricotta or smoked gouda and of course don’t forget to top of your pizza with some parmesan! There’s nothing better than digging into a pizza and pulling apart a nice cheesy slice.

The Toppings

The toppings are the fun part of a pizza. These are the finishing touches to perfect your creation. You can choose meat, veggies, fruits, herbs, and nuts. There are numerous toppings you can throw onto your pizza that will pair with the cheese, sauce, and dough. If it tastes good to you that’s all that matters!