Pizza Bianca Romana

Name: Pizza Bianca Romana
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Laziale
Ingredients: 500 g strong bread flour; 400 ml cold water; 4 g Fresh yeast; 12 g Fine sea salt; 35 ml Extra virgin olive oil; 5 g barley malt syrup; 30 g fine semolina; 5 g flaky sea salt

Crisp on the bottom and pillowy inside, this classic Roman bakery flatbread is dimpled by hand and seasoned simply with olive oil and salt.

🇮🇹Italy· Lazio

Prep: 30 min
Cook: 15 min
Total: 45 min
Servings: 4
Difficulty: Medium
Calories: 360 kcal

Ingredients

0 of 8 gathered

Servings

500 g strong bread flour — type 0 or high-protein wheat flour
400 ml cold water — approx 80 percent hydration
4 g Fresh yeast — crumbled
12 g Fine sea salt — for the dough
35 ml Extra virgin olive oil — divided between dough and topping
5 g barley malt syrup — or clear honey
30 g fine semolina — for dusting the work surface
5 g flaky sea salt — for finishing

Equipment

•Large mixing bowl
•Baking steel or heavy baking sheet
•Parchment paper
•Pastry brush

Nutrition

Per serving, approximate

Calories: 360 kcal
fat: 8 g
carbs: 62 g
fibre: 3 g
protein: 9 g
calories: 360 kcal

Instructions

1
Dissolve the yeast and malt syrup in the cold water in a large bowl.
2
Add the flour and mix until a sticky, wet dough forms without dry patches.
3
Rest the dough covered for twenty minutes, then mix in the fine salt and twenty millilitres of olive oil.
4
Perform three sets of stretch-and-folds in the bowl every twenty minutes until the dough turns smooth and elastic.
5
Cover the bowl tightly and refrigerate for sixteen to twenty-four hours to develop flavour and texture.
6
Tip the cold dough onto a worktop generously dusted with semolina.
7
Gently fold the dough into a loose rectangle and let it rest for forty-five minutes at room temperature.
8
Preheat the oven with a baking steel or heavy baking sheet to 250 degrees C.
9
Transfer the dough to parchment, pressing deeply with oiled fingertips to create large, uneven bubbles.
10
Drizzle the top with the remaining olive oil and scatter with flaky sea salt.
11
Slide the dough onto the hot steel and bake for twelve to fifteen minutes until golden, blistered, and crisp.

Chef's tips

Use a high-protein flour with strong gluten strength to hold the high water content. Be extremely gentle when dimpling the dough so you preserve the fermented air pockets rather than deflating them.

Ingredient substitutions

fresh yeast → 1.5 g instant dry yeast
barley malt syrup → 5 g runny honey or a pinch of caster sugar

Storage

Store in a brown paper bag at room temperature for up to twenty-four hours.

Reheating

Reheat on a hot baking tray in an oven preheated to 200 degrees C for three to four minutes until crisp.

Common mistakes to avoid

•Using a rolling pin, which knocks out the air bubbles and results in a dense texture.
•Baking at too low a temperature, which leaves the crust pale rather than crisp and blistered.
•Using low-protein all-purpose flour that cannot absorb eighty percent water.

Serving suggestions

Slice horizontally while warm and stuff generously with mortadella.Serve cut into squares as an accompaniment to cured meats and pecorino romano.Enjoy fresh and plain as a classic Roman mid-morning bakery snack.