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roman pizza recipe
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Roman Pizza

Ready to try Roman street food from the comfort of your own home? This pizza recipe may require a bit more dough work, but trust me, the results are worth it! The cooking process is also much easier than Neopolitan pizza and best of all, you can make this with a regular oven. Pizza in pala is a thick and crunchy pizza that is one of the best pizzas you will ever try. All of the ingredients and the perfect dough will simply melt in your mouth.

Equipment

  • Plastic measuring containers (large)
  • Mixer (it is best if your mixer has a hook)
  • Glad Wrap
  • Metal mixing bowl
  • Labeling stickers
  • Marker
  • Scale
  • 2 Large rectangular shallow plastic container
  • Dough cutter
  • Wooden/metal peel or chopping board

Ingredients

Making the Biga

  • 1 kg Le 5 Stagioni Ciabatta Romana Flour 35 oz
  • 600 ml Water 2.5 cups
  • 7 grams Dry yeast 0.2 oz
  • EVOO

Making the Rinfresco

  • 1.5 g Dry yeast 0.1 oz
  • 25 g Salt 0.8 oz
  • 30 g EVOO 1 oz
  • 340 g Le 5 Stagioni Ciabatta Romana Flour 12 oz
  • 430 g Water 15 oz
  • Semolina Flour

Instructions

To make the Biga (pre-fermented dough)

  • Add the water and dry yeast to the mixer. Let it spin for around 30 seconds.
  • Slowly add the flour. Mix at the slowest speed for 8 minutes. The dough should start to form and look dense.
  • The final product should be a clean dough.
  • Add EVOO to the plastic container so the dough doesn’t stick.
  • Place the dough in the container and let it rest overnight. Cover the container with glad wrap.
  • Make sure the container is airtight. Write down the time on a sticker and put it at the volume where the dough currently is. Then you can see where the dough will end up tomorrow.
  • Put the biga in the refrigerator for 16-18 hours. Don’t let the dough sit for more than 18 hours, or it will become acidic.

To Prepare the Rinfresco

  • Check the biga to see if it has become too acidic. Make sure there is no burning sensation in the nostrils.
  • Place the biga in the mixing bowl and add the flour and yeast.
  • Set the mixer on slow speed for 8 minutes. The biga will absorb all the flour.
  • Slowly add half the amount of water. Try to add the water in the center of the dough so that all of the flour absorbs the water correctly.
  • Once the water has absorbed, bring up the speed of the mixer and slowly add in the rest of the water. Don’t let the dough collapse. The popping sound means that the dough is aerating and coming together.
  • Add the EVOO to the dough and then add the salt.
  • The dough should be very sticky.
  • Let the dough rest for 5 minutes in the bowl.
  • Take the dough out by using some water on your hands and cut the dough with your hands.
  • Let the dough rest in a cylinder and cover it in glad wrap. The dough should double in size.

To Form the Dough Balls

  • Add semolina into a rectangular plastic container and place it on a scale. Zero out the scale.
  • Take the dough out and cut it and weigh 400 g of dough and place it directly in the semolina.
  • Fold the dough until it becomes a ball.
  • Flip the dough over into the semolina so that it is completely covered in semolina.
  • Place a lid over the dough and let it rest until it doubles in size.

To Cook the Pizza

  • Make sure the oven temperature is at 295 degrees celsius or 563 degrees fahrenheit. You can also cook it in a woodfired pizza oven or just crank the oven up to as high as possible and use a pizza stone.
  • Dump the dough out from the container to a flat surfer that is covered in semolina.
  • Stretch the dough using your fingers. Try to get rid of any bubbles.
  • Move the dough onto your arm and slap off the excess flour. Flip the dough over and slap off the remaining flour.
  • Place the pizza on the peel and fix the shape.
  • Add EVOO to the dough and put it into the oven for about 15 minutes. Pre-bake the pizza and then add toppings of your choice.
  • Cut the pizza into slices. You can also cut the pizza open and add the toppings inside (almost like a panino)!

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