Pizza Dough (Italian Roman Scrocchiarella)

Roman style pizza "scrocchiarella" is not related to the special ingredients for the topping, but to a type of pizza, white or red that is. The pizza romana is much thinner and crispy than the napoletan one, that’s why it is often called scrocchiarella (from the sound “crock”). The scrocchiarella cooks a little longer than the napoletana to completely dry out the dough. Roman-style pizza is a rectangular, focaccia-like pizza. Famous in Rome, it is light, full of large bubbles and can be filled or topped with many ingredients. Roman-style pizza does not require a wood-fired oven, but traditionally is cooked in a ‘deck’ oven at almost half the temperature of wood-fired pizza. Use stoneground whole-wheat (not wholemeal) flour.

2 lb 4 oz (6 2/3 cups) stoneground whole-wheat flour or strong bread flour, unbleached (1 kg)
1⁄8 oz dried powdered yeast (3.5 g)
23 oz water, room temperature (650 mL)
½ tsp. caster superfine sugar
1 oz corn or other seed oil (25 mL)
¾ oz sea salt (20 g)

Place the flour in a mixer with a dough hook attachment.

Dissolve the yeast in 3½ oz (100 mL) of the water and add to the flour along with 14 oz (400 mL) of the remaining water and the caster sugar.

Turn on the mixer to its lowest setting and mix for about 2 minutes until the water is totally absorbed. Add the oil and salt and mix in. Double the speed of the mixer and slowly add the remaining water, a little at a time, only adding more when the previous amount has been absorbed. The mixture will look quite wet, but don’t worry, continue mixing for 8–10 minutes and you’ll see that gradually the dough will begin to stretch and form long gluten strands.

Rest the dough for 10 minutes in the mixer bowl, covered with plastic wrap, before folding, leaving to mature in the refrigerator and forming into three sheets (teglie) of Roman-style pizza dough.

Shaping your Roman-style Dough:
Once the dough has been briefly rested, it needs to be folded a few times to give it strength. Oil your hands with a tsp. of extra virgin olive oil, then lightly oil the work surface. Tip the dough out of the container and onto the work surface. Lift it gently in the centre and fold the ends under (or over) to meet in the middle to form pockets of air.

Turn the dough 90° and repeat the fold. Return to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and rest for 15 minutes, then fold again. Rest for another 15 minutes, then do a final fold as before. Place the dough in an oiled, plastic container with an airtight lid and leave for 18-24 hours in the refrigerator.

Once the dough has matured in the refrigerator, turn out from the container on to the work surface. Divide the dough into three pieces. Shape each piece of dough. Place your hands under the outer edges and slide under to form a ball. Repeat several times until the dough has a ball-like appearance.

Fold and gather with your fingers at the edge of each piece of dough, bringing the ball towards you. This will eventually make the ball even and smooth. The dough balls should be left to rise again in three oiled containers for 2 hours at room temperature.

Oil an oven tray (teglia) or baking tray with extra virgin olive oil. Place flour on the work surface and turn one piece of the dough. Begin to press gently on the surface of the dough with your fingers, stretching it to roughly fit the size of the tray.

Makes 3 sheets.

Cook's Notes: Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C.