Pinsa Romana A Roman Style Pizza

There’s pizza and then there’s Pinsa Romana. It’s all about the dough! The dough is full of flavor and the texture is light yet chewy. This culinary creation is a real game changer born from a traditional recipe for Roman-style pizza unlike our Perfect Pizza Crust based on the Neapolitan-style pizza. You can grill or oven bake this delicious dish and finish it with your favorite toppings. We even include a no-gluten variation.

Viva la differenza

So, what is the difference between pinsa and pizza?

First, there’s the distinctive shape – it’s oval rather than round. But it’s just not the visual difference that makes this product outstanding, there’s also the digestibility factor.

Pinsa vs. Pizza

How much better is it for you? Pinsa’s nutritional differences:

• 48% less sugar
• 85% less fat
• 100% less cholesterol
• 33% less KCal
• 75% hydration whereas traditional pizza has 50-60%.
• Presence of rice and soy flour means less gluten than the average pizza dough making it extremely digestible

Pinsa is convenient

You can make the base ahead of time. When you’re ready to eat, simply add toppings to it. Yes. It’s that simple. It only takes a matter of minutes. How great is that?

We’ve even had luck preparing the dough and freezing it before the first bake. The Pinsa Romana turned out perfectly. It was crisp on the outside and soft on the inside, exactly like we wanted.

Pinsa dough ingredients

The ingredients are simple as well as the procedure. No fancy twirling of the pinsa Romana dough like pizza. You just stretch it with your fingers.

• bread flour — we use King Arthur, which we believe is a high quality wheat which absorbs more water.
• white rice flour — gives the pinsa base a soft and crunchy texture.
• soy flour — replaces all animal fats and is gluten-free and replaces some of the regular flour.
• instant yeast — helps metabolize the starches and sugars in the flour, here is where you get the rise in the dough. (You can also use active dry yeast)
• filtered water – you want as pure of water as possible for taste and for the chemical action in the dough.
• fine sea salt — slowing yeast fermentation rate, strengthening the dough, enhancing the flavor of the final product. We use the fine sea salt because it mixes better.
• olive oil — it works to tenderize by coating some of the proteins that form gluten.

Pinsa making

All the preparation steps for making this dough is different from traditional Pizza making.

1. Creation of dough — the flour mix has 3 flours plus high hydration.
2. Forming of balls — they aren’t just rolled but the ends are brought together then pinched.
3. Stretching — using the fingertips the dough is shaped into a long oval.
4. Baking — the oval is twice baked. First you set the dough and then you put the toppings on the light crispy dough.

These steps basically changed and improved the Roman pizza. Today there are more than 5,000 Pinserias worldwide and they all strictly follow the dough making process.

Topping inspirations

Here you are only limited by your imagination. The toppings for pinse are endless.

1. Diavola — Tomato Sauce, Mozzarella, Bell Pepper, Spicy Salame, Black Olive, Red Onions, Fresh Basil, Pepper.
2. Margherita — Tomato Sauce , Mozzarella, Basil and Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
3. Parmigiana — Tomato Sauce, Mozzarella, Eggplant, Grana padano cheese and Basil.
4. Napoli — Tomato sauce, Mozzarella, Anchovies and Oregano.
5. Cotto & Funghi Pinsa — Tomato sauce, Mozzarella, Prosciutto Cotto, Mushroom and Parsley.
6. Marinara — Tomato Sauce, Garlic Oregano.
7. Dolce & Salato (sweet and salty) — Mozzarella, Pears, Gorgonzola Cheese, Honey and walnuts.
8. Montanara (named for the mountains around Naples) — Mozzarella, Pecorino, Guanciale, Mushroom, Truffle oil, Black pepper and parsley.
9. Quattro Formaggi — Mozzarella, White cheddar, Gorgonzola cheese, Grana padano, n’ duja and parsley.
10. Tropea (seaside resort in Calabria region)– Mozzarella, Anchovies, Zucchini, Red onion, Cherry Tomato, Caper and Extra Virgin Olive oil.
11. Cotto & Melanzane — Mozzarella, Grana padano, Prosciutto Cotto, Eggplant, and Red Onion.
12. Salame — Mozzarella, Mozzarella Di bufala, Arugula, Salame, Artichokes and Parsley.
13. Triple P — Mozzarella, Potato, Pesto, Pancetta and Cherry tomatoes.
14. Salmon Pinsa— Cream cheese, Stracciatella, Arugula, Smoked salmon, Cherry Tomato and Balsamic Vinegar.
15. Parma — Stracciatella ( a cheese from the Puglia region) Prosciutto di Parma, Mozzarella di bufala and Cherry tomatoes.
16. Mortazza (Roman term for mortadella)– Stracciatella, Mortadella, Ricotta cheese and Pistacchio.
17. Miele — Ricotta cream, Nuts, Honey, Fichi (figs) or seasonal fruit.

Chef tips

• If you’re unsure of your oven’s accurate temperature, get an oven thermometer. We have a brand new dual fuel stove/oven and the oven would signal that it had reach our desired temperature. It hadn’t. We ordered this thermometer and now whenever we bake we make sure that the temperature is accurate before we pop anything into the oven.
• When grilling the pinsa dough, make sure your toppings are at room temperature and you put the cheese on first. The pinsa is super hot to melt the cheese.
• Use rice flour for flouring the pinsa – it doesn’t stick and the dough doesn’t absorb it. This is also good for the gluten-free variation.
• Use parchment paper on the bottom of the pinsa, it makes lifting it with a peel or sliding it onto a cookie sheet easier.
• Substitute instant yeast for active dry yeast at 25%. For 1 teaspoon of active dry yeast use 3/4 teaspoon instant yeast.

Quattro Chiacchiere (a chat)

When I first read about this “new” and “exciting” pizza I was a bit skeptical. I mean, after all, we LOVE our pizza. How can you improve on perfection?

Corrado Di Marco did.

In 2001 Di Marco invented this delightful dish at his pizzeria La Pratolina. He named his creation pinsa from the Latin “to beat or press,” which refers to the shaping of the dough.

Besides changing the formula for the dough, he relies on a cold, slow rise. This results in a partial breakdown of the protein and starch in the dough, which promotes the wonderful texture and flavor.

We always make extra dough and freeze what we don’t use. Just thaw it out and let it come to room temperature. Oh! So! Good!

Am I tempting you to try it? I hope so. Once you try Pinsa Romana, I guarantee you’ll fall in love with the new Italian in town.

Tutti a tavolo è pronto!

Un caro saluto e alla prossima.

You may need…

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We had a bit of a problem finding soy flour – but it could be the times. We ended up ordering this soy flour online. Ordering on line saves us from driving from store to store.

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Pinsa Romana Dough Recipe

I’m not exaggerating when I say this dough is life changing — at least my opinion of pizza and how it should be. Once you taste the pinsa you’ll want to shout it from the roof tops exactly how delicious it is. Anyway, that’s how I feel – that’s why I’m so excited to share this recipe with you.

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