Easy Pizza Romana Recipe
This is the real pizza romana uniformly thin, cracker crispy, no puffy rim. Classic Roman dough with olive oil, rolled thin and baked to perfection.
Equipment
- Pizza steel or stone
- Rolling Pin
- Kitchen scale
- Pizza Peel
- Dough scraper
- Lidded proofing containers
- Kitchen shears
- Metal peel
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 500 grams Caputo 00 flour or 450 grams 00 plus 50 grams fine semolina for extra crunch 280 grams water at room temperature 10 grams fine sea salt 1 gram instant dry yeast (about a quarter teaspoon) 15 grams (1 tablespoon) extra virgin olive oil
For the Sauce
- 400 gram can whole San Marzano DOP tomatoes 1 teaspoon fine sea salt 1 small drizzle extra virgin olive oil Pinch of dried oregano
For the Toppings (Margherita, per pizza)
- 70 to 80 grams fior di latte torn and drained 20 minutes on paper towels 2 to 3 fresh basil leaves, added after the bake 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil, for finishing Small pinch of flaky sea salt
Instructions
Make the Dough
- Combine flour and water in a large bowl. Stir with your hand until no dry flour remains. Cover and rest 20 minutes (short autolyse).
- Add salt, yeast, and olive oil. Squeeze through the dough with your fingers until fully incorporated.
- Turn out onto a lightly floured counter. Knead for 8 to 10 minutes until smooth, elastic, and slightly tacky. The dough should be firmer than a Neapolitan dough.
- Place in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover and bulk ferment at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours.
- Divide into 2 balls of roughly 400 grams each. Shape into tight smooth balls by tucking the edges underneath.
- Place in lightly oiled lidded containers. Refrigerate 24 hours.
- Remove from the fridge 1 to 2 hours before baking.
Prepare the Sauce
- Crush the San Marzano tomatoes by hand in a bowl until you have a textured purée.
- Add salt, olive oil, and oregano. Stir and taste. The sauce should be bright, salty, and slightly acidic.
- Refrigerate until ready to use.
Roll and Assemble
- Tear the fior di latte into rough pieces and drain on paper towels for 20 minutes.
- Flour the work surface and a rolling pin generously.
- Press a dough ball flat with your palm in the center of the work surface. Begin rolling from the center outward with the rolling pin, rotating the dough a quarter turn between passes.
- Continue rolling until the dough is 2 to 3 millimeters thick, about 12 to 13 inches across, almost translucent when held to the light.
- If the dough resists, walk away for 10 minutes to let the gluten relax, then continue.
- Transfer to a well floured peel. Shake gently to confirm the dough is sliding freely.
- Spread 2 tablespoons of sauce in a thin even layer, reaching close to the edges with only a half inch border.
- Scatter the drained fior di latte in small loose pieces across the sauce.
- Brush the outer rim lightly with olive oil for extra color and crispness.
Bake to Crispy Perfection
- Preheat the pizza steel at 500 to 525 degrees Fahrenheit for at least 45 to 60 minutes.
- Slide the pizza onto the steel and bake for 10 to 14 minutes. Watch closely after minute 8.
- The pizza is done when the crust edges are deeply golden brown, the cheese is melted with golden blistered spots, and the bottom is crisp and evenly browned when lifted with a spatula.
- Pull the pizza onto a cutting board. Drizzle with olive oil. Tear basil over the top and add a pinch of flaky sea salt.
- Cut with kitchen shears or a sharp pizza wheel and serve immediately while the crust is at peak crispness.
Notes
- Brush the rim of the pizza lightly with olive oil before launching. This trick from a Roman pizzaiolo adds an extra layer of crispness and color to the edge during the longer bake. A small step that genuinely changes the finished pizza.
- Roll the dough genuinely thin. Most home cooks underroll because the dough feels fragile. Push past hesitation. 2 to 3 millimeters is correct, not 5 or 6.
- Use less cheese than feels right. The thin crust cannot support a heavy cheese layer. About 70 percent of what you would use on a Neapolitan of the same size is correct.
- Cut with kitchen shears, not a pizza wheel. The shears preserve the integrity of the thin crispy crust better and produce a cleaner finish.
- Bake one pizza at a time. Let the steel recover for 5 to 7 minutes between pizzas. A cool steel produces a soft bottom on a thin pizza, which defeats the entire purpose.