Sardenaira

A cheese-free, focaccia-like Ligurian bread topped with anchovies (or historically sardines, hence the name), olives, garlic, and oregano, said to be named after Genoese admiral Andrea Doria (1466-1560), whose favourite food it reportedly was. It predates the Neapolitan pizza tradition and, notably, predates tomato's introduction to Europe — traditionalist versions omit tomato entirely.

Disputed: Some Italian culinary sources classify sardenaira as a focaccia rather than a pizza, since it shares more dough and construction characteristics with Ligurian focaccia than with Neapolitan-descended pizza traditions; it is included here as a related flatbread tradition rather than asserted as an undisputed pizza style. The related Niçoise pissaladière is treated as a distinct, separate French dish rather than a variant of this entry.

• No cheese at all — defined by anchovy (or historically sardine), olive, garlic, and oregano toppings on a bread-like base
• Traditionalist versions omit tomato entirely, predating its introduction to Europe
• Dough and texture closer to Ligurian focaccia than to Neapolitan-descended pizza doughs

Hydration

65-75 percent of flour weight (typically 70 percent of flour weight)

Salt

2-2.5 percent of flour weight (typically 2.2 percent of flour weight)

Oil

5-10 percent of flour weight (typically 7 percent of flour weight)

Bulk fermentation

2-4 hours (typically 3 hours)

Mixing: Hand or machine mixed to a soft, wet, extensible dough

Kneading: Brief kneading, similar to focaccia dough

Shaping: Pressed by hand (dimpled, focaccia-style) into an oiled round or rectangular pan

Expected crumb: Open and airy, similar to Ligurian focaccia

Tolerance: A wet, forgiving focaccia-style dough

Calculate this dough with the dough calculator →

• Type 00 flourCommonly usedLimited evidence

  A finely milled Italian flour consistent with this dish's Ligurian focaccia-adjacent dough, giving a soft, extensible crumb.

1. Press and dimple the dough into a well-oiled pan
2. Top with garlic, anchovies (or historically sardines), and olives
3. Finish with oregano and a generous drizzle of olive oil
4. Bake

Traditional method: Deck or domestic oven, moderate-high heat, similar to focaccia baking

• Hand stretchingNormally requiredLimited evidence

  Produces the characteristic dimpled, focaccia-like surface that holds the olive oil topping.

A salty, savoury, anchovy-and-olive-forward flavour over a soft, oil-rich, focaccia-like base — no cheese to soften the flavour

Cut into squares or wedges, often served at room temperature

Cut into squares or wedges · A few pieces per person, often as a snack or starter

Derived from this style’s own structural ingredient data — see the construction order & topping load guide for why order varies by style.

1. Sauce: No sauce (bianca style)
2. Primary topping: Anchovies, Kalamata olives
3. Fresh herbs: Oregano (dried)

• Sardenaira — Liguria's cheese-free anchovy and olive flatbread

  A focaccia-like Ligurian tray bread with no cheese at all, and traditionally no tomato either — a genuinely different build from every other guide on this site, all of which use at least one of cheese or tomato sauce.

Fully native to a standard domestic oven and tray, following the same approach as baking focaccia

• Adding a cheese layer, which removes the defining cheese-free character of this style

Pissaladière (Nice, France): A closely related Niçoise dish sharing the same onion/anchovy/olive lineage, but treated as a distinct French tradition rather than a variant of this Ligurian entry.