Pinsa Romana
Pizza-Style Flatbread Recipe
Pinsa Romana - perfectly crafted with a simple blend of flour, water, olive oil, salt and yeast, plus plenty of slow-rising amore ✨ 🇮🇹 for a soft, airy inside and a beautiful golden crust!
Little prep and lots of patience - but then the reward… As it bakes, a warm, rustic aroma fills the kitchen. And then the first bite... crisp yet soft, so rich in flavor, and unmistakably artisanal... More than just a meal, homemade Pinsa Romana is a taste of Italy, made with time, tradition and love ❤️
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Little prep and lots of patience - but then the reward… As it bakes, a warm, rustic aroma fills the kitchen. And then the first bite... crisp yet soft, so rich in flavor, and unmistakably artisanal... More than just a meal, homemade Pinsa Romana is a taste of Italy, made with time, tradition and love ❤️
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Why We Love It!
- Taste: The long rising process deepens the dough’s depth of flavor, giving Pinsa Romana a slightly tangy, rich 'fermentation' taste that sets it apart!
- Light: Its uniquely airy dough bakes into a crisp yet delicate texture that’s easy to digest.
- Versatile: Pinsa Romana can be topped with an endless variety of fresh, seasonal, and gourmet ingredients - before, during, or after baking - it's perfect for any palate! And it's a great way to use up leftover veggies, meat, cheese...
- Entertaining: With its artisanal look, Pinsa Romana is a festive, crowd-pleasing dish that’s as beautiful as it is delicious.
What Is Pinsa Romana?
Pinsa Romana, is a lighter, modern twist on pizza. Its name comes from the Latin ‘pinsere’ meaning ‘to press’ or ‘to stretch’ – just like the way the dough is shaped into its signature dimpled oval. The ancient Romans ate flatbreads – simple dough made from grains and water, baked on stones, and sometimes topped with herbs, cheese, or honey, a bit like pizza.
But the Pinsa Romana we eat today isn’t actually ancient. It was reinvented in the early 2000s by a Roman baker named Corrado Di Marco, who wanted to create a lighter, easier-to-digest alternative to traditional pizza. He developed a special modern flour blend, and with its long fermentation process (24-72 hours), this dough bakes into Pinsa Romana’s signature lightly crisp crust, soft fluffy interior, and a more complex, sourdough-like depth of flavor. Unlike classic pizza, it feels lighter and more digestible.
The best part? You can easily make Pinsa Romana at home! All you need is a pizza stone, a pizza peel, and a precision scale – because proportions matter – and trust us, it’s so good you’ll definitely be making it again, so investing in the right tools is totally worth it!
In this recipe, we let pure Pinsa Romana bread shine on its own. We’ve adjusted the process by just mixing all the ingredients and letting the dough rise for ‘only’ about 24 + 1 + 2 hours. And when it comes to toppings, the choice is yours! Add them before baking for a deep, infused flavor, midway for the perfect melt, or at the end for fresh, vibrant bites. However you make it, one thing’s for sure – once you taste fresh homemade Pinsa Romana, there’s no going back!
Ingredients
Pinsa Romana
left to right top to bottom – check our ‘Recipe’ card below for quantity info
- Ice Cold Water: This slows yeast activity, giving the dough more time to rise, which boosts flavor and digestibility.
- Dry Yeast: Yeast kicks off fermentation, creating the airy texture of Pinsa Romana.
- Sea salt: Strengthens gluten, controls fermentation, and enhances taste without making the dough too salty.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil: This makes the dough softer and more elastic while keeping the flavor mild.
- Spelt Flour: Spelt flour brings a light, crispy texture with a nutty touch.
- Wheat Flour: Wheat flour – Tipo 0 or high in protein – builds the dough’s gluten structure for strength and stretch.
- Rice Flour: This makes the crust crispier and the dough airier – one of the key differences from traditional pizza!
How To Make Pinsa Romana
Mix
Start by putting the wheat flour, rice flour, spelt flour, and yeast in the mixer and mix together on low speed.
Add Water & Olive oil
Then add the water and olive oil for the dough and beat until you get a smooth batter, this should take about 1 minute.
Add Salt & Kneat
Then add the salt and continue kneading on medium speed until the dough becomes elastic and stringy, with visible gluten strands, around 15 minutes.
Rise
Take a large bowl - make sure it's big enough for the dough to rise - and grease the entire inside. Then, pour in the batter, cover with plastic wrap to prevent drying out, and let it rest at room temperature for 1 hour. Then put the dough in the fridge for 24 hours to rise slowly.
Rest
Remove the dough from the fridge and let it rest at room temperature for 1 hour.
Divide
We're working with dough, so grab some flour and a sieve to keep things easy. Lightly flour your work surface, turn out the dough, and divide it into the desired portions. Each portion goes into its own container, greased with olive oil to prevent sticking. Cover it up and let the dough rise at room temperature until it doubles in size.
TIP: Want to speed things up? Just pop the containers in a lukewarm oven at 95°F (35°C)!
Preheat the Pizza Stone
Once the dough has risen, place the pizza stone on a low rack in the oven and heat it at 480°F (250°C) for at least 30 minutes, so it’s thoroughly heated and ready for easy baking.
Scoop
Dust the pizza peel with plenty of flour and scoop a portion of risen dough onto it. Generously flour the top as well.
Shape
Flour your fingers and stretch the dough into an oval shape while pressing small dimples into it. Drizzle some olive oil over the dough. Make sure it's loose enough to slide easily onto the pizza stone. Shake off any extra flour from the peel to avoid a mess.
Then, slide the Pinsa Romana onto the hot pizza stone in the 480°F (250°C) oven and bake for about 8 minutes, or until golden.
Serve!
When your Pinsa Romana is perfectly golden, take it out of the oven, slice it up, and serve immediately!
Serving Tips & Pairings
- Salt: Simply drizzle with olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt for effortless flavor.
- Toppings: Top the raw dough or half baked Pinsa Romana with mozzarella, halved cherry tomatoes, and fresh basil leaves for a delicious Pinsa Margherita variation. Get creative with any veggies, cured meats, or cheeses from the fridge – turning leftovers into little treasures!
- Herbs: Lay sprigs of rosemary, thyme or sage on the raw dough just before baking for an aromatic touch.
- Rub Garlic: 🧄 For extra aroma, rub a garlic clove over the crust before adding toppings.
- Antipasti: Serve with grilled and marinated veggies, cured meats like prosciutto and mortadella, and a variety of cheeses – burrata, Parmigiano, olives for the ultimate Italian feast.
- Salad: A simple arugula salad with balsamic dressing or a classic Caprese salad turns your meal into a mini trip to Italy
- Drinks
- Have a refreshing Limonata with it…
- Pair it with Italian White Wine like Verdicchio or Pinot Grigio or red Chianti or Sangiovese.
Substitutions & Variations
- Semolina flour: We keep the recipe simple since we already use many types of flour, but dusting your work surface with semolina flour adds a deliciously crisp crust around the Pinsa Romana – definitely worth trying!
- Herb Add-ins: Mix the dough with some rosemary, oregano, thyme, garlic or chili flakes to add a mild savory depth.
- Pinsa 🍞 Loaf: When we make Pinsa Romana, we always prep extra dough. Any leftovers go into an oiled baking pan, get some finger holes pressed in, a drizzle of olive oil on top, and then bake at 410°F (210°C) for 45 minutes. The result? A light, airy loaf with that signature Pinsa Romana flavor!
FAQs
The way to pronounce it is ‘peen-sah roh-mah-nah’, with the stress on ‘peen’ and ‘mah’.
A pizza stone gives the best results because it retains and evenly distributes heat, creating that perfect crispy-yet-airy Pinsa Romana crust. But if you don’t have one, a baking sheet works well, just know it doesn’t hold heat as long, so the crust may be slightly less crispy.
Our recipe calls for a 24-hour rise, but you can prepare the dough up to 72 hours in advance. Whatever you do, don’t freeze the dough…
Store pre-baked Pinsa Romana bases airtight in the fridge for about 3 days or freeze for about 3 months. We always make extra to have some ready! To reheat, bake at 160°C (320°F) for 5 minutes.
Recipe
Pinsa Romana
Equipment
- 1 Pizza stone
- 1 Pizza Peel
- 1 precision kitchen scale
Ingredients
- 480 ml ice water
- 3 g dry yeast
- 12 g sea salt
- 1 tbs olive oil - for the dough
- 1 tsp olive oil - for greasing the bowl
- 30 g spelt flour - or soja flour
- 510 g wheat flour
- 60 g rice flour
Instructions
- Start by putting the wheat flour, rice flour, spelt flour, and yeast in the mixer and mix together on low speed.
- Then add the water and olive oil for the dough and beat until you get a smooth batter, this should take about 1 minute.
- Then add the salt and continue kneading on medium speed until the dough becomes elastic and stringy, with visible gluten strands, around 15 minutes.
- Take a large bowl - make sure it's big enough for the dough to rise - and grease the entire inside. Then, pour in the batter, cover with plastic wrap to prevent drying out, and let it rest at room temperature for 1 hour. Then put the dough in the fridge for 24 hours to rise slowly.
- Remove the dough from the fridge and let it rest at room temperature for 1 hour.
- We're working with dough, so grab some flour and a sieve to keep things easy. Lightly flour your work surface, turn out the dough, and divide it into the desired portions. Each portion goes into its own container, greased with olive oil to prevent sticking. Cover it up and let the dough rise at room temperature until it doubles in size.TIP: Want to speed things up? Just pop the containers in a lukewarm oven at 95°F (35°C)!
- Once the dough has risen, place the pizza stone on a low rack in the oven and heat it at 480°F (250°C) for at least 30 minutes, so it’s thoroughly heated and ready for easy baking.
- Dust the pizza peel with plenty of flour and scoop a portion of risen dough onto it. Generously flour the top as well.
- Flour your fingers and stretch the dough into an oval shape while pressing small dimples into it. Drizzle some olive oil over the dough. Make sure it's loose enough to slide easily onto the pizza stone. Shake off any extra flour from the peel to avoid a mess.Then, slide the Pinsa Romana onto the hot pizza stone in the 480°F (250°C) oven and bake for about 8 minutes, or until golden.
- When your Pinsa Romana is perfectly golden, take it out of the oven, slice it up, and serve immediately!
Notes
- Ice Cold Water: This slows yeast activity, giving the dough more time to rise, which boosts flavor and digestibility.
- Dry Yeast: Yeast kicks off fermentation, creating the airy texture of Pinsa Romana.
- Sea salt: Strengthens gluten, controls fermentation, and enhances taste without making the dough too salty.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil: This makes the dough softer and more elastic while keeping the flavor mild.
- Spelt Flour: Spelt flour brings a light, crispy texture with a nutty touch.
- Wheat Flour: Wheat flour – Tipo 0 or high in protein – builds the dough’s gluten structure for strength and stretch.
- Rice Flour: This makes the crust crispier and the dough airier – one of the key differences from traditional pizza!
Nutrition
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