pizza bianca (the real Roman stuff!)

[Stan]

Fellow pizza makers,

Does anybody have a handle on pizza bianca, like you can buy in Roman bakeries? It comes in long rectangles and they slice it to order out of the oven. A few places in the US make it (Sullivan Street Bakery in NYC is the most prominent), but it's just not the same.

Do we have a handle on what kinds of flour Roman bakeries use? Is it VPN pizza flour or something else? This stuff is absolutely killer, and I've just GOT to figure it out.

Theories?
Stan

[Tscarborough]

Re: pizza bianca (the real Roman stuff!)

Pizzarium

[Stan]

Re: pizza bianca (the real Roman stuff!)

Close, but I'm thinking more like this:

Pizza Bianca from Forno Campo de Fiori, Rome, Italy | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

For my money, Forno at Campo de Fiori is as good as it's possible to get. I just need to know how to get it without flying to Rome!

Stan

[Tscarborough]

Re: pizza bianca (the real Roman stuff!)

Like these?

[Stan]

Re: pizza bianca (the real Roman stuff!)

Much closer.

I actually had some great success yesterday, so I'll post my results for the archive.

Pizza bianca alla romana

80% hydration (I used King Arthur AP)
2% sea salt
.2% yeast

Mix, 10 minute autolyse. Knead until it passes the windowpane test. Bulk rise until double then refrigerate overnight. Took out about 3 hours before baking, and fired the oven to pizza temps.

Once the chill is gone, dump the dough onto a well floured surface and cut into sections. Stretch into thin (.5 inch thick) rectangles. Oil the surface with extra virgin olive oil, and then heavily dimple it like you're making ciabatta. Let rest for 10 minutes, check to make sure you're not sticking to anything (copious amounts of flour may be necessary), then dimple again. Rest 10 more minutes and dimple again. Bake in a 550F oven with no steam for about 12 minutes until puffed and gold. Rest for a minute, brush with more olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt, cut and eat. Split for sandwiches. Reheats beautifully in a toaster oven.

Next time, I'll increase the hydration to 85% and will dimple much more heavily. It could have stood to be a little more wet, and I'm not afraid of wet doughs. YMMV.

Stan

[Tscarborough]

Re: pizza bianca (the real Roman stuff!)

Cool, I may try that this evening.

[CraneM]

Re: pizza bianca (the real Roman stuff!)

Looks delicious! I have never tasted this pizza yet, so I think I should try to cook it myself and add one more great recipe into my ever growing collection.