There’s no doubt that pizza is one of the mainstays of the Mediterranean diet, a symbol of Italianness enjoyed in all four corners of the world. At the very thought of it, our mind’s eye summons up a round disk, with a border of puffy dough, topped with the colours of the Italian flag, the red of the tomato, the white of the mozzarella, and the green of the basil. But this “classic” is not the only version of pizza. In this article we talk about another highly popular and versatile variation, which can be served with countless toppings, Roman-style tray-bake pizza. We will talk a little about this wonderful dish’s history and offer you a recipe using GustoFibra N°4 flour, from the GranEssere line, that makes for a tasty, high-quality crisp and golden, wet dough, Roman-style tray-bake pizza.
The story of Roman-style tray-bake pizza
Thanks to its versatility tray-bake pizza, or pizza by the slice, has always been one of the most popular of street foods. This type of pizza, which can be topped in the most varied of ways, can in fact be re-heated without compromising its goodness. Thanks to its shape and the consistency of its slices it can easily be eaten without cutlery. These characteristics have helped its spread all over the world, but it is in Rome that the most delicious variation originates. This Roman-style tray-bake pizza could simplistically be defined as a wet dough pizza.
It is always difficult to trace the history of a baked product, which often evolves thanks to small improvements made by professionals as they try their hand at making it. In the case of Roman-style tray-bake pizza, it is interesting to note some incredible similarities with another great classic of Italian baking, Ciabatta bread. In fact, these two products have surprising things in common:
- Roman-style tray-bake pizza and Ciabatta were both conceived in the early 1980s.
- Both recipes strip back the ingredients to a minimum, eliminating anything that could weigh down the dough, such as lard.
- Both Ciabatta and Roman-style tray-bake pizza recipes use wet dough, to guarantee their airiness and excellent digestibility.
- In both recipes, the refinement of specific procedures allow you to manipulate and manage these wet doughs easily.
The characteristics that Roman-style tray-bake pizza and Ciabatta bread have in common, would seem to suggest that the worlds of pizza and bread making have overlapped and influenced each other, but it is no simple task to identify the steps that generated this interaction.
Focaccia or Roman-style tray-bake pizza: let’s be clear!
In our previous article we proposed a very simple and versatile recipe, which can be used as a base for either soft tray-bake pizza or focaccia.
But be careful! Roman-style tray-bake pizza has significant differences from focaccia. For this reason, we recommend that you try both the recipes on our blog, to find out the differences between one and the other. The main characteristics and differences of each are shown below:
The characteristics of focaccia
- The dough is more risen and softer
- The air pockets are smaller and more diffuse
- The bottom surface is soft and the top surface is flat with small depressions in it
- The water to flour ratio is 60%
- The second proof is done in the baking tray
- It has a cooking temperature of less than 250 ° C
The characteristics of a Roman-style tray-bake pizza
- The dough is less risen and crisper
- The lower surface is crisp and upper surface shows that it contains marked air pockets
- It has a slightly moist crumb, with large well distributed air pockets
- The water to flour ratio is greater than 70%
- The dough is first proved in the refrigeration room then cut into portions for the second proof
- It has a cooking temperature of about 300°C
Now that we have provided some historical background and specified the characteristics that differentiate Roman-style tray-bake pizza from focaccia, we can get on with the recipe.
The recipe for Roman-style tray-bake pizza with wheat germ
Which flour is best to use for Roman-style pizza? On the web there is a lot of advice on which flour is best for pizza but in our recipe we have decided to offer you something rather special, our GustoFibra N°4 flour, from the GranEssere range, which is obtained with the StabilEasy method, and is supplemented with wheat germ. This noble part of the wheat grain gives a greater fragrance and crispness and a pleasant golden colour to baked goods, as you can see from the photographs in this article.
Ingredients
- 3kg GustoFibra N°4 flour:
- 1950ml water (for autolysis) (65% of the quantity of flour)
- 24g brewers yeast (0.8% of the quantity of flour)
- 450ml water (per the dough) (15% of the quantity of flour)
- 60g salt (2% of the quantity of flour)
- 60g extra virgin olive oil (2% of the quantity of flour)
Instructions: from the dough to cooking
1. Roman-style tray-bake pizza dough
A fibre-rich wet dough, like the one in this recipe, requires the appropriate treatment to allow the mixture to absorb a total of 80% of the flour’s weight in water and 2% of its weight in oil. To achieve this it is essential to start with an autolysis. In this case, this consists of mixing the flour, with 65% of the water using a spiral mixer on first speed for approximately 5 minutes, then covering the mixture with plastic sheeting and letting it rest for 20 minutes.
Fig.1 Preparing the mixture for autolysis.
After resting continue to mix the dough on first speed, adding the yeast and, gradually, about half of the remaining water. After about 7 minutes increase the speed to the second setting. Mix for a further 5 minutes adding the salt, the remaining water, a little at a time, and finally the extra virgin olive oil. At the end the dough should be stringy, smooth and hom*ogeneous, as shown in Figure 2.
Fig.2 The final phase in the spiral mixer showing the gluten mesh on the finished dough.
2. The first proof, folding and maturation in the refrigeration room
Remove the dough from the mixer, wetting your hands to facilitate the operation, and place it in a previously oiled container. Give the mixture some reinforcing folds (to find out the technical reason for folding, read our article on the extensibility of flour). The first proof takes 15 – 20 minutes, including the time needed to make the folds.
Subsequently, cover the container and place it in the refrigeration room at 4 ° C for 24 hours.
3.Portioning, shaping and the second proof
When the maturation is complete remove the dough from the refrigeration room, cut it into portions and shape it into spheres. The weight of each portion should be calculated according to the size of the tray in which it is to be baked. For example, for a 60 cm long and 40 cm wide tray you will need a dough with a total weight of 1440 g.
We suggest that you do not turn the dough out onto a work surface to cut it but portion it in the container to ensure that it deflates as little as possible. This will benefit the subsequent formation of the air pockets.
Once cut, fold the dough over several times, manipulate the portions into oval shapes and place them in airtight containers, previously sprinkled with durum wheat semolina (see figure 3). Leave to rise for about 2.5 – 3 hours, at room temperature.
Fig.3 The portions at the beginning of proving.
4. How to stretch out Roman-style tray-bake pizza
Stretching out the tray-bake pizza dough correctly is fundamental to obtaining a regular thickness and generously sized, well-distributed air pockets.
Dust a work surface with a generous layer of durum wheat semolina. Using a spatula, gently detach the portions of dough from the edges of the containers and from each other, taking care not to tear the external gluten mesh. Tip the dough out on to the work surface and stretch out as follows:
- Dust the top of each portion with semolina.
- “Close” the edge of the dough by pressing with your fingers along the entire perimeter.
- Begin to spread out the middle, from top to bottom, and vice versa. The more delicacy you use, the more yielding the dough will be.
- Turn out the dough on to the floured work surface and repeat the operation on the other side until it is slightly smaller than the baking tray.
- Lift the dough, placing it on one forearm and gently shake it to remove any excess semolina.
- Place the dough in the oiled pan and press itgently with your fingers along the edges of the pan to cover the entire surface. Lightly work the central part of the dough again, distributing it evenly.
Fig.4 Spreading out the Roman-style pizza in a baking tray.
5. How to season Roman-style tray-bake pizza
Once the pizza covers the entire surface of the baking tray, it should be seasoned before going in the oven. You will first have to decide whether to make a “white” or “red” Roman-style pizza.
For “white” pizza, cover the surface with an emulsion of water, oil, and a few grains of coarse salt.
For “red” pizza, on the other hand, drizzle a little oil on top, then spread tomato sauce on the pizza with your hands, not with a spoon, to avoid crushing the air pockets which are characteristic of Roman-style tray-bake pizza.
Additional toppings can be added halfway through or at the end of cooking, or indeed when “cold”.
6. How to cook Roman-style tray-bake pizza
Bake the trays for about 10 minutes, preferably in an electric oven where the top and bottom temperatures can be controlled separately, 320°C at the bottom and 250°C at the top. If this technology is not available to you, the pizza can be cooked in a normal oven at 290 – 300 ° C. If you want save the pizzas to eat later, it is best to let them cool down on special racks to prevent them from losing their flavour.
The regeneration technique gives wet dough Roman-style tray-bake pizza excellent results and, GustoFibra N°4 flour in particular, will further enhance the flavour of the dough when the pizza is revived.
As an alternative to GustoFibra N°4 flour, this recipe can also be prepared with one of our professional flours for pizza, such as Caprì 350 which, thanks to the enduring nature of its rise, allows maturation in the refrigeration room for 48 – 72 hours and proving in portions at room temperature for 4 – 5 hours
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Fig. 5 Our Roman-style tray-bake pizza. The clearly visible wheat germ gives it the beautiful golden colour.
