How to Make Pinsa Romana — Crispy, Airy, and Unlike Any Pizza

Whisk together the 00 flour, rice flour, and spelt flour in a large bowl until evenly combined.

Dissolve the instant yeast in the cold water, then pour into the flour mixture. Mix with your hand or a fork until no dry flour remains. Cover the bowl and rest at room temperature for 30 minutes — this is the autolyse.

Add the fine sea salt and 20 ml of the olive oil. Mix with wet hands, folding the dough over itself until both are fully incorporated. The dough will be very slack and sticky — this is correct.

Drizzle the remaining 10 ml of olive oil into a lidded container. Transfer the dough, coat it lightly, seal, and refrigerate for 48–72 hours. Do not rush this step; the cold fermentation is where flavour and digestibility develop.

Remove the dough from the fridge 2 hours before you plan to bake. Place a baking steel or stone on the top rack and preheat the oven to 260°C / 500°F. Allow at least 45 minutes of preheating time.

Oil a work surface generously. Turn the dough out and divide into 2 equal portions. Handle each piece with wet hands — do not flour your hands or the surface.

Press and stretch each portion into an oval roughly 30 × 20 cm, pushing outward from the centre with your fingertips. Do not use a rolling pin; it collapses the gas bubbles built up during fermentation.

Spread 100 g of crushed tomato over each pinsa, leaving a 1 cm border. Season lightly with flaky salt. Slide onto the preheated baking steel using a floured peel or parchment paper.

Bake for 8–10 minutes until the base is deep golden and blistered and the edges are charred in spots. The underside should sound hollow when tapped.

Remove from the oven. Tear the mozzarella and distribute over the hot pinsa. Add basil leaves and a drizzle of olive oil. Slice and serve immediately — the crust softens quickly as it cools.