History

Pizza al taglio took its modern shape in Rome in the 1950s as a working-class lunch sold from neighbourhood bakeries by the etto (100g) and weighed on a scale. Gabriele Bonci reinvented the genre at Pizzarium near the Vatican in 2003 with long fermentation, high-hydration dough and a rotating bench of seasonal toppings; the Bonci style is now the international reference for Roman al taglio.

Common allergens: Gluten

Make it at home

Yield 40Hands-on 40 minTotal 26 hrDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 500g strong bread flour, 13% protein
  • 400ml cold water (80% hydration)
  • 10g fine sea salt
  • 2g instant dried yeast
  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • Semolina for dusting
  • Toppings: 300g San Marzano tomato passata seasoned with salt and a drizzle of olive oil
  • 200g fior di latte mozzarella, torn
  • a handful of fresh basil, plus extra olive oil to finish

Method

  1. Whisk the flour, salt and yeast in a wide bowl. Add the cold water and mix with a wooden spoon until the dough comes together as a shaggy mass.
  2. Cover and rest 30 minutes (autolyse).
  3. Stretch and fold the dough in the bowl: lift one edge, fold across, rotate the bowl 90 degrees, fold again. Repeat 4 times.
  4. Rest 30 minutes. Repeat the stretch-and-fold sequence three more times at 30-minute intervals.
  5. Cover the bowl tightly and refrigerate 24 hours.
  6. Three hours before baking, take the dough out and rest at room temperature.
  7. Oil a 40 by 30cm baking tray heavily. Tip the cold dough out and dust with semolina.
  8. Use your fingertips to dimple and press the dough evenly across the tray; do not deflate it. Rest 1 hour to relax.
  9. Heat oven to its maximum (typically 250C) with a baking stone or heavy tray on the bottom rack 30 minutes before baking.
  10. For a margherita: spread the tomato over the dough, leaving a 1cm border. Bake 6 minutes.
  11. Pull the tray, scatter the torn mozzarella, bake 4 minutes more until the cheese is just melted and the base is crisp.
  12. Finish with basil and a drizzle of olive oil. Cut with scissors into rectangular slices to eat folded in half.

Tip from the editors. High hydration is the structural choice; the wet dough is awkward but produces the open honeycomb crumb. If your dough feels firm enough to knead by hand, you have not added enough water.

Where to eat pizza al taglio

Pizza al taglio in Rome

Pizzarium ★ 4.5

Pizzeria€prati

Pizzarium near Vatican in Rome is Gabriele Bonci's pizza al taglio counter, with slices sold by weight from €5 to €7; a generous slice plus a suppli runs.

Try: Pizza al taglio by weight

Tip: Open 11:00-22:00 daily. The 12:00 batch is the freshest of the morning.

Via della Meloria 43, 00136 Roma

Bonci Pizzarium ★ 4.5

Pizzeria€pratiTue-Sat 11:00-22:00, Sun 11:00-15:00, 17:00-22:00, Mon closed

Gabriele Bonci's Pizzarium near the Vatican in Rome is the pizza al taglio counter that re-wrote how the city does slices, with toppings that rotate.

Signature: Pizza bianca, Pizza al taglio with mortadella, Suppli

Order: Pizza bianca with mortadella, the potato slice with rosemary, a suppli on the side.

Tip: Open from 11:00 daily; line moves fast. Slices are sold by weight. Eat standing or take to nearby park.

Via della Meloria 43, 00136 Roma

Panificio Bonci ★ 4.5

Pizzeria€prati

Gabriele Bonci's Panificio in Rome's Prati district sells pizza bianca and pizza rossa by weight at €4-6 per slice, with the saltless Roman loaf at €4 per.

Try: Pizza bianca, pizza rossa by weight

Tip: Open Mon-Sat 07:30-20:00; closed Sunday. The 18:00 batch is the afternoon drop.

Via Trionfale 36, 00195 Roma

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