Pizza Bianca Romana
Rome’s bakery flatbread: a slow-risen, bubbly dough baked with just olive oil and salt, crisp outside and chewy within.
Ingredients
- 500 g strong bread flour
- 400 ml cold water
- 3 g fast-action dried yeast (about 1 tsp)
- 12 g Salt
- 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 tsp flaky sea salt, to finish
- 1 sprig Rosemary (optional)
Method
- Mix the flour, yeast and most of the water into a shaggy dough and leave for 20 min. Add the salt, the last of the water and 1 tbsp of the oil and squeeze it through until absorbed.
- Over the next 1½ hours, do 3 sets of stretch-and-folds 30 minutes apart: lift one side of the dough, fold it over, turn the bowl and repeat 4 times.
- Cover and refrigerate for 18–24 hours, until bubbly and roughly doubled.
- Take it out 2 hours before baking. Oil a 30 × 40 cm tray with 2 tbsp of oil, tip in the dough and gently stretch it towards the corners with oiled fingertips. Rest for 30 min, then stretch it fully and dimple it all over.
- Heat the oven to 250°C (230°C fan, 480°F). Drizzle the rest of the oil over the dough, sprinkle with flaky salt and rosemary and bake on the bottom shelf for 15–20 min, until golden and blistered.
- Cool for a few minutes, then cut into strips.
Tips
- Romans split it and fill it with mortadella, or with figs and prosciutto in late summer.
Sources
Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:
Open Pizza Bianca Romana in Nouns Cooking