ENGLISH: INGREDIENTS/DIRECTIONS/BAKING/TIPS
When I was little, every morning in the summer I used to go to the bakery with my grandfather and order a slice of pizza for breakfast. It wasn't the classic round pizza, it was called pizza in teglia, the pizza of the bakers, cooked in a rectangular pan and sold in slices. It was softer than a normal pizza, and at the same time crispier, especially in the corners. I also loved not having to choose the flavour, because I could get two slices of different flavours (if not three) at the same time.
For all these reasons, pizza in teglia is still my favourite.
This recipe is really easy to make at home and requires very little work time, but a long resting time: this will allow you to use very little yeast and to obtain a well alveolate and digestible product.
I usually prepare the dough 24 hours in advance of when I want to eat my pizza. If you can't plan ahead or just want to shorten the preparation time, simply increase the amount of yeast (10 g of fresh yeast or 200 g of sourdough starter).
The flours can of course be modified as you wish, but always try to use a flour with at least 12.5g of protein as your main flour, to make sure it can withstand a long fermentation.
The doses are sufficient for a classic 30x40 cm baking tray.
INGREDIENTS PREPARATION: 2 h of preparation + 22 h of raising time/ SERVING SIZE: 4 people
400 g of wheat or spelt strong flour (with a minimum of 12.5 g of proteins)
80 g of re-milled semolina flour or Hartweizengrieß
370 g of water (may vary depending on the flour used, see tips)
5 g of fresh bio yeast
10 g of extra virgin olive oil
12,5 g of salt
Same recipe using only sourdough starter:
420 g of wheat or spelt strong flour (with a minimum of 12.5 g of proteins)
80 g of re-milled semolina flour or Hartweizengrieß
320 g of water (may vary depending on the flour used, see tips)
100 g of sourdough starter (ready to use)
10 g of extra virgin olive oil
12,5 g of salt
DIRECTIONS
Mix the dough 24 hours in advance (so if you want to eat it at 7 pm on Saturday, you can mix the dough on Friday late afternoon).
Start with the autolyse: coarsely mix all the flour with 60-70% of the water (in this case 250 g) in a bowl. Let it rest for 30 minutes, covered with a cloth. In this way, the water and flour will begin to bind together, making the dough easier to work with.
After 30 minutes add sourdough or fresh yeast to the dough, add also the remaining water and start kneading.
If you are kneading by hand, I recommend doing it directly in the bowl and then moving to a wooden board once the dough has taken structure. If you are kneading with a mixer, use the medium speed for about 10 minutes.
Once the dough has taken shape, add all the salt and mix. Then add the oil in a trickle, allowing it to be slowly absorbed. Continue kneading until your dough is smooth and homogeneous (more or less 5 more minutes).
Transfer the dough into a container with a cap, and don’t forget to oil the container before! Leave it at room temperature for 30 minutes, give it a fold with oiled hands, and place it in the fridge for more or less 20 hours.
Take the dough out of the fridge 5 hours before you want to eat your pizza. Let it rest in the container at room temperature for about 3 hours. Then roll it out into a non sticky pan with low edges and a thin bottom (so that the pizza can cook underneath) and leave it to rise for 2 hours in the oven with the light on.
BAKING
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Before baking, spread the tomato, previously seasoned with oil, salt and pepper, on the pizza. At this point you can also add other ingredients that need a longer cooking time (mushrooms, vegetables, potatoes, cherry tomatoes, etc.). Do not add any cheese or sliced meat yet.
Place the pizza at the lowest point of the oven. After 12/15 min take out the pizza from the oven and from its tray, season it with the rest of the ingredients (mozzarella, ham, tuna etc..) and place it again in the oven (directly on the grate) for the last 5 min.
TIPS
- Choose a flour with at least 12.5 g of proteins, that can sustain the long fermentation. You are always free to mix flours as you like: just remember that wholemeal flours usually require a little more water. There is no precise rule about this, I always recommend adding the water slowly. As you knead your dough with your hands, you will know how much water to add! :)
- When mixing your dough, use water at room temperature. If it is very hot in the room, use cold water. The final dough should never feels warmer than 25/26 degrees.
- Autolyse can be useful for any dough that requires large amounts of water, including highly hydrated breads.
- The dough may be too soft and sticky, depending on how well the flour you are using absorbs the water. In case it gets too hard to knead it, don't despair! Leave the dough to rest, covered, and after 10 minutes try to knead it again. If it still doesn't work, transfer it directly to the container where it will rise overnight, after having well oiled it, and give it a fold every 30 minutes to give it strength.
- It is very important to observe the rising times, otherwise the risk is to end up having an over-proofed dough (flat and hard pizza) or not proofed enough (heavy to digest).
- It is essential that the oven is very hot and does not lose temperature: I advise you to be very quick when putting the pizza in the oven and never open the door during the first 10/12 minutes of cooking.
- If you want to be extra sure that your pizza dough won’t stick to the cooking pan, spread some semolina flour on the pan.
- You can freeze slices of ready made pizza! Simply take them out of the freezer two hours before eating them and heat them at 200 degrees for 5 minutes maximum.
Buon appetito!