Sardenaira

A cheese-free, focaccia-like Ligurian bread from Sanremo, usually topped with tomato, salted anchovies (originally sardines, hence the name), Taggiasca olives, garlic, and oregano, and said to be named after Genoese admiral Andrea Doria (1466-1560), whose favourite food it reportedly was. It predates the Neapolitan pizza tradition; some traditionalists make it without tomato.

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 — usually tomato, salted anchovy (originally sardine), Taggiasca olive, garlic, and oregano on a bread-like base
• Some traditionalists make it without tomato
• Dough and texture closer to Ligurian focaccia than to Neapolitan-descended pizza doughs

Hydration

65–75% (typically 70%)

Salt

2–2.5% (typically 2.2%)

Oil

5–10% (typically 7%)

Bulk fermentation

2–4 h (typically 3 h)

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 tomato, then garlic, salted anchovies (originally 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 tray bread from Sanremo, usually topped with tomato, salted anchovies, Taggiasca olives, garlic and oregano, and never with cheese; some traditionalists leave out the tomato.

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.