An ongoing experiment... very subject to change.
Last updated July 29, 2024.
Pinsa Romana has a crisp edge and a soft interior. It is more digestible than plain pizza because of the long fermentation time (24 to 48+ hours) and high hydration. It also has fewer calories and fat than a typical pizza since the dough contains soy flour and rice flour.
In Italy, they sell a flour mix specifically for Pinsa Romana. The recipe below uses bread flour, rice flour and soy flour. The crust is extremely light and crispy. As I noted above, this is an ongoing experiment to create a crust that just might give results for the artisan home baker similar to that with the special flour, all by hand.
While you can bake the Pinsa in a sheet pan, the intent is for it slid right onto a Baking Steel or stone in your oven. Even better if you have a brick oven.
The general ingredients were copied from our yeasted Pinsa Romana recipe.
Yield: Three (3) 330 gram Pinsas.
Ingredients:
400 grams King Arthur bread flour (80%)
75 grams rice flour (15%)
25 grams soy flour (5%)
5 grams diastatic malt
400 ml/grams warm water (80%)
60 grams of active sourdough starter
10 grams of salt (2%)
10 grams olive oil (2%)
Preparing the Dough (July 25 & 26 2024):
The Method:
This dough is very wet - about 95% hydration. When working with it, wet your hands to keep the dough from sticking to them.
Pour the warm water into a workbowl then add the sourdough starter culture. Mix in with a fork.
Add the olive oil and mix in.
Add the flour blend a little at a time then mix in.
Cover then aside for about an hour (autolyse)
Sprinkle the salt on top of the dough then mix in by hand
Cover then set aside for 20 minutes
Using a very rapid spiral motion (video forthcoming), fold the dough on itself for a minute or so.
Cover then set aside for 20 minutes.
Repeat the rapid folding for another minute.
Cover then set aside for 45 minutes.
Repeat the rapid folding.
Cover then set aside for 3-4 hours.
Refrigerate overnight.
Dividing the Dough:
Remove the container from the fridge 3-4 hours before baking.
Divide the dough into three pieces.
Form into oval balls.
Place the dough balls onto a lightly floured sheet pan, cover with plastic wrap and put back into the fridge. A bus tub or large Tupperware container is good, too.
Forming the Pinsa:
Remove the dough balls from the fridge about an hour before baking and let rest at room temperature.
Using a mound of rice flour on the counter, gently press your fingers into the dough to shape into an oval or rectangle.
Baking the Pinsa:
Preheat oven and Baking Steel to 500 degrees Fahrenheit.
Use one of the following methods to bake:
Prebake Method:
Bake with only a sprinkle of olive oil on top for 3-4 minutes.
Let rest outside of the oven until all the other ones are prebaked.
Put any toppings and finish baking using the broiler if you’d like, another 8-12 minutes
Straight Bake Method:
With toppings already on the Pinsa, bake for 12-15 minutes max. Watch.