“Pizza al taglio (Roman style pizza) is set to revolutionize the U.S. pizza industy.”

– Roman Pizza Academy.

I was feeling uninspired facing this week’s bake and casting about for what to make. Another cake after last weekend’s seemed de trop and cookies weren’t calling to me. Nor were tarts or pastries. Then my lovely friend Tess, the giver-of-Meyer-lemons, gifted me with a giant bag of gorgeous, silky Italian pizza flour, tipo 0, and the decision was made. How could I not make pizza? And not just any pizza, but pizza al taglio, or “pizza by the cut.” (But don’t you fear – I’m giving you a recipe made with good ol’ trusty bread flour.)

Pizza al taglio is THE street food in Rome. It has a delicious, airy, bubbly crust, and is baked in big rectangles with any number of toppings, designed to be cut and sold by the slice. But it’s that marvelous, honeycombed, blistery crust that makes it so special.

You’ll want to plan ahead when making this pizza. For the flavor to fully develop, you want to make your dough a day ahead of time and do a slow ferment in the fridge overnight.

So Many Choices, So Little Time

The most exciting but also challenging part of this week’s bake was deciding on toppings. In the bread flour pizza recipe I’m giving you, I decided to do half as a pizza rosso (red pizza), topped Margherita-style, and half as a pizza bianca (white pizza), topped with prosciutto, goat cheese and baby arugula.

Then inspiration struck again and I decided I also wanted to make an “illustrated” pizza. After seeing so many pretty, decorated focaccia on Pinterest, I thought something similar just might work with this pizza. Skip down to the Garden Design section below if you want tips on making one of your own.

Pizza al Taglia Dough

The most important thing when making pizza al taglia dough is keeping it light and full of those air pockets. Which means no kneading. Overworking the dough will result in a flat crust prone to burning and nobody wants that. You still need to aerate the dough, though, and you do that by folding it, resting it, then folding it again. It’s all about massaging the dough, here, and being gentle. By the last set of folds, the dough should be supple and smooth and no longer sticky.

On Tomatoes and Toppings

You’ll notice with this recipe for the pizza rosso that it’s not really a tomato sauce going on the crust but rather just lightly crushed whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes from a can, seasoned with a bit of olive oil and salt (and maybe a dash of red pepper flakes, if you like it spicy). It’s important that you use good canned tomatoes, or the real-deal San Marzano tomatoes themselves if you can find them.

It’s easy to go crazy with toppings, but master pizzaiolo Gabriele Bonci says don’t do it. More than three and your pizza isn’t balanced. That being said, using really good ingredients is essential.

For the pizza bianca version, I used Mitica Drunken Goat cheese because it was on sale at my local market and I wanted to try it. Cured in red wine, it added a wonderful flavor to the pizza. But you can get really creative here, and choose whatever cheese or meats you’d like. Maybe soppressata and provolone, topped with some fresh chopped spinach? Or something with feta and roasted red peppers and garlic? Just remember – keep it to no more than three main ingredients, and use quality stuff.

Garden Design

Given my love of vegetables, I wanted to keep my illustrated pizza al taglio fresh and light. But I also wanted to make sure each slice had a good complement of flavors, which took some planning. This is the pizza I used the special pizza flour for and I have to say, the crust had the most wonderful color and chew to it. (The recipe I used is based on master pizza chef Gabriele Bonci’s and is different than the one using bread flour: 7 cups of Italian pizza flour (tipo 0), 1 packet of active dried yeast, 3 cups warm water, and 1 tablespoon of sea salt. The rest of the instructions remain the same except that I shaped this one on the counter with more pizza flour then transferred it to the oiled baking sheet.)

For the design I used grape tomatoes, olives, cilantro and chard stems, an orange and a yellow bell pepper, a red onion, pine nuts, perlini mozzarella, and a bit of honey trying to stick everything down (unsuccessfully). Because it’s so bread-heavy, I served it with leftover San Marzano tomato puree, and an oil and vinegar mix as dipping sauces.

Reality Bakes

There were definitely differences between the pizza flour and the bread flour, with the pizza flour the clear winner. It was a pleasure to work with and the pizza dough bubbled up beautifully. For all that, though, the pizza al taglio made with bread flour had a lovely texture and flavor. The edges caught pretty soon, however, so I think the 475°F temperature gives the bottom a chance to cook without the edges burning.

This bake is dedicated to my brother, Mike, piazzaiolo extraordinaire.

Print Pin

Pizza al Taglio

Delicious homemade pizza just like the Roman street-food version, both rosso and bianca style.

Prep Time 25 minutes minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes minutes

Folding and Chilling Time: 1 day day 1 hour hour

Servings 8

Author Jen Leigh

Ingredients

For the Pizza Crust:

• 1 1/2 cups warm water (110°F), divided
• 1 tsp honey or sugar
• 1 packet active dry yeast
• 4 cups bread flour
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 1/2 tsp sea salt

For Pizza Rosso with Margherita Toppings (whole pizza):*

• 1 14 oz can of whole, peeled tomatoes (San Marzano or similar quality)
• Dash of olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp dried oregano (optional)
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1 lb fresh mozzarella, sliced
• 15 to 20 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
• Big handful of basil

For Pizza Bianca with Prosciutto, Goat Cheese and Baby Arugula Toppings (whole pizza):*

• Drizzle of olive oil
• Pinch of salt
• 6 oz goat cheese, sliced
• 6 oz prosciutto, thinly sliced
• 4 cups baby arugula, lightly dressed with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and a spritz of lemon juice

Instructions

Pizza Base:

• In a large wide bowl, proof the yeast by stirring a teaspoon of honey or sugar into 1/4 cup of the water, which has been heated to 110°F. Add the yeast and let sit for 10 minutes or so, until foaming and bubbly. Add the flour and the rest of the water and mix with a spoon. Once the lumps are mostly gone, let the dough sit for about 10 minutes, then add the salt and gently pinch it into the dough. Add the olive oil. The dough will be quite wet and sticky.
• Gently fold the top half of the dough down over itself, towards you. (If dough is too sticky, work with wet hands.) Turn the bowl 90 degrees and fold the dough over on itself towards you again. Continue the folding and turning 4 to 6 more times. As you don’t want to actively knead the dough, this folding and turning will aerate it. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rest for 15 minutes, a little longer if it’s not puffing up during the rest period. Repeat the folding and turning 3 more times, with 15 minutes rest in between, making 4 to 6 turns each time. By the last set, the dough should be springier and supple and no longer sticky.
• Generously oil a 13 x 9 baking dish and transfer dough to the dish. Brush the top of the dough with a bit of olive oil and gently press into a large oval with your fingertips. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and let dough sit in the fridge at least overnight, though 24 hours is best.
• Take dough out of the fridge and allow to come to room temperature, usually 1 to 2 hours. Place an oven rack on the bottom shelf and another in the middle. Preheat the oven to 475°F for at least 30 minutes.
• Generously oil a large rimmed baking sheet. Place sheet over baking pan with the dough and carefully flip over. The dough should tip onto the new sheet but if not, gently coax it. Using just your fingertips, gently press and push out the edges of the dough to fill the corners and sides of the pan. Then very gently dimple the dough. Think gentle Swedish massage here, not deep tissue. You want to keep the air pockets intact and you’re not poking hard as you do with focaccia.

Pizza Margherita Toppings:

• Drain canned tomatoes a little more than halfway. In a medium bowl, combine canned tomatoes with salt, a healthy splash of olive oil, and lightly puree with an immersion blender. (Or just lightly crush the tomatoes with your hands, if necessary.) Add oregano and red pepper flakes (if using) and stir to combine.
• Lightly drizzle dough top with olive oil and then spread the tomato mixture on with your hands.
• Bake pizza on the bottom rack for 15 minutes but start checking the bottom of the pizza for doneness at 10 minutes. If it seems almost done, move pizza to the center rack and continue to bake for 10 more minutes, or until puffed up and golden brown.
• Remove pizza from the oven and add the mozzarella slices. Return pizza to oven center shelf and bake just until cheese is melted. Remove from oven and switch the oven to broil. Add the cherry tomato halves cut side up and broil for 1 to 2 minutes. Remove pizza from oven and immediately transfer pizza out of the pan and on to a cooling rack.
• Cool for 5 to 10 minutes then top with basil and serve.

Pizza Bianca with Prosciutto, Goat Cheese, and Baby Arugula Toppings:

• Lightly drizzle dough top with olive oil and a pinch of salt.
• Bake pizza on the bottom rack for 15 minutes but start checking the bottom of the pizza for doneness at 10 minutes. If it seems almost done, move pizza to the center rack and continue to bake for 10 more minutes, or until puffed up and golden brown.
• Remove pizza from the oven and add the goat cheese slices. Return pizza to oven center shelf and bake just until cheese is melted. Remove pizza from oven and immediately transfer pizza out of the pan and on to a cooling rack.
• Cool for 5 to 10 minutes then top with prosciutto and lightly-dressed baby arugula and serve.

Notes

To do pizza half Margherita and half bianco with prosciutto, just halve the topping ingredient quantities.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Keyword arugula, basil, goat cheese, margherita, mozzarella, pizza, prosciutto