Pizza bianca
Photo: Marius Vassnes · CC BY-SA 4.0

History

Pizza bianca evolved from the Roman testing-bread (panaria) that bakers used to check oven temperature: a stretched-out, salted, oiled dough thrown into the wood-fired forno before the morning loaves. The bakers found it sold faster than the bread it was meant to test, and pizza bianca became the daily Roman snack of the 19th and 20th centuries. Forno Campo de' Fiori codified the modern form: long rectangular pieces, sold by weight, often eaten standing on the street with a slice of mortadella inside. Forno Roscioli sells the modern version closest to the canonical bianca; the Bonci Panificio version is the most-discussed modern interpretation with a 72-hour fermented dough.

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Common allergens: Gluten

Make it at home

Yield 6Hands-on 20 minTotal 5 hrDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 500g 00 flour or strong bread flour
  • 375ml cold water
  • 10g sea salt
  • 3g instant yeast
  • Extra virgin olive oil, plus more for finishing
  • Coarse sea salt for the top
  • Optional: fresh rosemary

Method

  1. Mix flour, yeast and water in a large bowl until shaggy. Cover and rest 30 minutes (autolyse).
  2. Add the salt and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Knead in the bowl for 5 minutes by stretching and folding.
  3. Cover and prove at room temperature for 3 hours, doing a stretch-and-fold every 30 minutes for the first 90 minutes.
  4. Pre-heat the oven and a heavy baking stone to 250°C for 30 minutes.
  5. Stretch the dough on an oiled baking tray into a rough rectangle (40 x 25cm). Dimple with fingertips. Drizzle with olive oil and scatter with coarse salt and rosemary if using.
  6. Bake on the stone for 12 to 14 minutes until golden and crisp at the edges. Cool 5 minutes before slicing.

Tip from the editors. Hydration is high; the dough is wet. Use a wet hand to handle it. The dimpled top holds the oil and salt; do not skip the dimples.

Where to eat pizza bianca

Pizza bianca in Rome

Forno Campo de' Fiori ★ 4.5

€ PizzeriaCentro Storico

Forno Campo de' Fiori in Rome bakes pizza bianca by weight at €3-4 per slice. Cash only. Open Mon-Sat 07:30-14:30 and 16:45-20:00; closed Sunday.

TryPizza bianca by weight

TipCash only. Open Mon-Sat 07:30-14:30 and 16:45-20:00; closed Sunday.

Directions

Antico Forno Roscioli ★ 4.5

€ BakeryCentro Storico

The Roscioli family's Antico Forno in Rome's Centro Storico is the 200-year-old neighbourhood bakery counter, with pizza bianca, pizza rossa.

OrderPizza bianca (the classic), pizza rossa with anchovies, and a maritozzo con la panna.

TipOpen Mon to Sat 07:00-19:30; closed Sunday. The maritozzo sells out by 11:00.

Directions

Panificio Bonci ★ 4.5

€ PizzeriaPrati

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.

TryPizza bianca, pizza rossa by weight

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

Directions

Panella L'Arte del Pane ★ 4.2

€€ €8-€18BrunchClassic bakery brunch, pizza biancaEsquilino

Panella in Rome's Esquilino quarter runs an all-day bakery brunch with pizza bianca slices, frittatas, sandwiches and the cornetto-and-cappuccino counter.

OrderPizza bianca with mortadella plus a cornetto and cappuccino at the bar.

TipOpen daily 07:00-22:00. The pizza bianca lunch counter heats up at 12:00; arrive before for the freshest.

Directions

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