pizza quattro formaggi — Italy

Pizza quattro formaggi, or four-cheese pizza, is defined by its topping of four different cheeses spread across the dough, usually melted together so that each slice carries a mix of textures and flavours, from mild and stretchy to sharp and crumbly. The pizza is reported throughout Italy and is a common fixture on pizzeria menus well beyond the country, appearing on both casual and more elaborate restaurant menus as a standard option alongside other classic toppings. To prepare it, a round of pizza dough is stretched thin and topped either with a light layer of tomato sauce or left plain as a white (bianca) base. The four cheeses are then added, either blended together over the whole surface or arranged in separate quarters so each section shows a single cheese, before the pizza goes into a hot oven and bakes quickly until the cheese bubbles and browns in spots and the crust turns crisp. The choice of cheeses is where most variation appears: mozzarella is nearly always included for its stretch, and is commonly paired with combinations such as gorgonzola for sharpness, fontina or taleggio for creaminess, and grated parmesan or provolone for a firmer, more savoury note. Some pizzerias keep a tomato base under the cheese, others prefer none at all, and the decision to blend the cheeses or keep them in separate quarters changes both the look of the finished pizza and how the flavours are experienced slice by slice.