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The pinsa has taken Italy by storm in the past couple of decades. Many pizzerias offer pinsa as a pizza alternative and entire pinsa restaurants dedicated to its production (pinserias) are springing up everywhere. Excellent quality parbaked pinsa crusts can be found in supermarkets everywhere today and pinsa chefs are experimenting with a wide range of toppings for these addictive, light, airy crusts. My own husband claims pinsa is his new all-time favorite bread. I’ll admit it is pretty good, right up there with focaccia Genovese. Some experts say its origins date back to Roman, or even Etruscan times when simple flatbreads were made with ancient grains like spelt, barley and millet. Others contend this is a myth. One thing is certain however, modern day pinsa owes its fame and fortune to one ingenious pizza chef named Corrado di Marco who registered the trademark for Pinsa Romana in 2001. Marco developed and now markets pinsa worldwide using his proprietary blend of flour containing wheat, rice and soy as well as dehydrated sourdough. The rice and soy bring lightness to the dough for a crispy, airy crust with an even, open crumb. A long, slow cold fermentation, with times ranging from 18 to 72 hours makes this dough highly digestible and ensures proper gluten development. Marco also founded the Pinsa Romana Association which trains pinsa chefs and certifies pinsa restaurants worldwide.
You will need some of Marco’s pinsa flour for this recipe, or from one of the many other brands. You can also make a simile. I use 85% strong bread flour (13% protein, W290 or higher) 10% rice flour and 5% soy flour. If you are a sourdough baker, you can also add a tablespoon of dehydrated starter to the mix. If not you can choose flour with sourdough in it like the Caputo “aria”. Don’t worry too much though, you can also skip the sourdough entirely.
Pinsa can be topped simply with EVOO and salt and served as a “naked” flatbread like focaccia, or it can be garnished in a variety of ways and served as a meal. Ideally toppings are put on after the pinsa is baked. This is to prevent this light, airy dough from being weighed down too much in the oven so it can achieve the best rise and its signature crispy, light crust. Toppings for this style of pinsa include things like buffalo mozzarella, burrata, stracciatella, mortadella, prosciutto, pistachio, or creamy cheeses, arugula, etc. Alternatively, pinsa can be parbaked, topped with traditional pizza toppings and returned to the oven to bake again for a few minutes. You can also experiment with other ways to use this dough. I recently enjoyed a hamburger in an Italian pinseria where the bun was made from pinsa dough.
Notes on mixing:
- Considering this pinsa dough is made with 85% wheat flour and two other, non-gluten forming flours the hydration of the wheat flour in this recipe is very high. This is why it is important your wheat flour is strong, and the water is added very slowly.
- The water should be ice cold to avoid heating the dough too much over a long mix and to avoid the acidification of the dough over a long, cold fermentation of 24 to 72 hours.
- Fresh yeast is best as it better withstands cold water.
24 to 72 hours before you want to bake make a biga using:
300g pinsa flour (or mix your own using 255g strong bread flour, 30g rice flour, 15g soy flour, optional dehydrated sourdough)
160 g ice cold water
2g fresh yeast
Mix the ingredients until everything is combined then transfer to the refrigerator for 24 to 72hours.
The mix:
All the biga
80g ice cold water
9g EVOO
7g salt
2g diastatic malt powder (or 3g honey)
EVOO and rice flour to finish
Cut the biga into small pieces and add to the mixer with the salt, malt and half the water. Mix for 3 or 4 minutes then begin to add the remaining water very slowly over several more minutes until the dough comes together into a smooth, shiny ball that forms a strong gluten window when you stretch it. Add the oil in last. The dough will loosen a little. Continue to mix until it has been fully incorporated and the dough has bounced back. Be prepared for this mix to take between 10 and 15 minutes. Once the dough is ready, let it rest for 20 minutes then give it one series of stretch and folds and let it rest until doubled. Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces and shape into ovals. Transfer each one to an oiled container and let rest again until doubled, or if you plan to bake later transfer it to a lightly oiled sealed container and refrigerate for at least 24 hours. Meanwhile preheat your oven to 250C. Generously dust your work surface with rice flour. Transfer one piece of dough to the floured bench then turn it over so both sides are coated in a thin layer of rice flour. Seal the edges. Dimple the dough to stretch it out into an oval. Pick up the dough, give it a gentle shake to stretch it further and transfer it to a peel if you have a pizza stone or a 20×30 parchment lined baking sheet. Drizzle a little olive oil over top of the dough. At this point change your oven to the static upper grill setting. Bake on the middle rack for 5-7 minutes or until golden. Add any preferred toppings and serve. (see note above)
Parbake: If you want your pinsa to have traditional pizza toppings like melted cheese or other items baked on top it is best to parbake your pinsa (see note above) so this light crust has a chance to rise without any toppings weighing it down. Top with a drizzle of oil as described above then bake for 2-3 minutes or until the pinsa has stopped rising but the crust has not begun to color. At this point you have two choices. You can freeze the parbaked dough to use later or you can top it now and return it to the oven for 4 or 5 minutes or until the crust is golden brown, the cheese is melted and any other toppings are cooked.
Variation for a straight dough pinsa:
300g pinsa flour or mix your own using 255g strong bread flour, 30g rice flour, 15g soy flour
160g ice cold water
2g fresh yeast
2g diastatic malt powder (or 3g honey)
80g ice cold water
7g salt
9g oil
EVOO and rice flour to finish
Mix the first 4 ingredients until everything is combined then very slowly, over several minutes, add in the additional 80g of ice-cold water. Mix until the dough forms a smooth, shiny ball with a strong gluten window which will take about 10 minutes. Add the salt and continue to mix for a minute or two then add the oil in last, the dough will loosen a little. Continue to mix until the oil has been fully incorporated and the dough has bounced back. Once the dough is ready let it rest for 20 minutes then give it one series of stretch and folds.
Transfer it to the fridge for 24-72 hours. When you are ready to bake, dust your work surface generously with rice flour. Take out the dough and divide it into 2 equal pieces and shape into ovals. Transfer each one to an oiled container and let rest again until doubled. Follow the instructions above for shaping and baking.