Celebrating Pizza Month: This Saturday, October 10 at 11 am PT / 2 pm ET, La Cucina Italiana contributor Paul Feinstein will be cooking live with cookbook author and Italian food expert Katie Parla.
Katie recently participated in the “Meet the Makers” series with Breville where she highlighted some of her pizza-making prowess, and now she’s going to share it live with you this weekend.
Parla, known for her cookbooks, “Tasting Rome” and “Food of the Italian South” is currently deep into her next book which will be all about pizza as she collaborates with Dan Richer of Razza in Jersey City, NJ.
For this IG Live session, Katie is going to show us how to make Pinsa, an oblong flatbread that’s light on the stomach but long in the flavor department.
If you want to cook along with us and Katie, be sure to follow @lacucinaitalianausa on Instagram and join in to cook live with us on Saturday, October 10 at 11 am PT / 2 pm ET.
Recipe and ingredients are below! Be sure to start on Friday so your dough can fully ferment!
Ingredients:
500 grams bread flour, plus more for dusting
50 grams white rice flour
30 grams soy flour (if you can’t find soy flour, that’s ok! Just use 80 grams total of rice flour instead)
4 grams active dry yeast or 3 grams instant yeast
400 grams cold filtered water
14 grams fine sea salt
10 grams extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing
Mixer Method:
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, whisk together the bread, rice, and soy flours and the yeast. Add 350 grams of the water, and knead on low speed until the dough comes together and there is no more dry flour in the bowl, about 3 minutes. Add the salt and olive oil, and knead at medium speed. While kneading, add the remaining water a little at a time. Once all the water has been absorbed, 2 to 3 minutes, increase the speed to medium-high. Knead until the dough is smooth, elastic, and shiny, about 10 minutes more. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled medium bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap, and set aside for about an hour.
Hand Mixing Method:
Whisk together the bread, rice, and soy flours and the yeast in a large bowl. Add the water and mix with your hands or a spoon until the dough comes together and there is no more dry flour in the bowl. Set aside for 20 minutes to 1 hour to hydrate the flour. Add the salt and olive oil, and mix to incorporate. Knead until the dough is smooth, elastic, and shiny. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled medium bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap, and set aside for 30 minutes. Uncover the bowl and stretch and fold the dough every 30 minutes until the gluten is fully developed and you can pull a window. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
Follow for Mixer or Hand Mix Method:
Transfer to the refrigerator overnight.
Uncover the bowl and turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, allowing it to gently release from the bowl. Using a dough scraper or a knife, cut it into 6 equal pieces, weighing around 165 grams each.
Working with one piece at a time, take the four corners and fold them into the center, pressing gently to attach. Repeat with the remaining corners. Do not flatten. Form into a tight ball by dragging the dough across your work surface. The dough will tighten up and take on a round shape. Repeat with the remaining dough pieces.
Place the dough balls on a floured baking sheet, seam side down. Leave enough space between the pieces so that they can double their size without touching. Sprinkle the dough lightly with bread flour and cover the baking sheet lightly with plastic wrap. Set aside to rise at room temperature until the dough has doubled in size, 1 to 2 hours.
While the dough is rising, prepare the pinsa topping of your choice. Set aside.
Preheat the Breville oven to 575°F top heat/650°F bottom heat; this can be done in hack mode. Press down the left button while you turn on the oven. The red “Manual” light will illuminate. You can now customize the temperature settings. Set the top control dial to the center.
Place one dough ball on a well-floured surface, then sprinkle more flour on top. Starting from the bottom and working toward the edges and upward, work the dough into an oval by pressing your fingers flat into the dough, gently stretching and pulling, until it measures approximately 6 inches by 10 inches. If the dough springs back, let it rest for a few minutes before trying again.
Gently transfer the dough to a lightly floured peel. Add the toppings of your choice. I recommend adding melting cheeses at roughly the 2.5-minute mark.
Bake in the Breville oven until the raised crust is evenly caramelized. Allow the oven to return to its preheated temperature before baking the next pinsa.
Variation: Home Oven Baked Pinsa
To bake in the oven with a pizza stone, position a rack in the center of the oven, and put a pizza stone on the rack. At least 1 hour before baking, heat the oven to 550°F. Transfer the shaped dough to a floured pizza peel. Brush all over with olive oil. Carefully transfer the dough onto the heated stone. After 2 minutes, check that the dough is baking evenly. If not, spin it 180 degrees. Continue baking until golden-brown with a few dark spots, 2 to 4 minutes. Remove the dough from the oven and add toppings, then return to the oven and continue baking until the toppings are heated through and any cheese has melted, 2 to 3 minutes more.
Variation: Grilled Pinsa
Preheat your grill to 650°F. Prepare a ramekin with 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil. Follow the instructions above for shaping the pinsa dough to 6 inches by 10 inches. Brush one side of the dough with olive oil. Gently lift the dough with both hands, fingers spread out flat underneath to prevent tearing. Shake off any excess flour. Position the dough, oiled side down, on the grill grate. Close the lid and bake for 30 seconds. Brush the unoiled side of the dough with olive oil. Use tongs to carefully release the dough from the grate and flip it over. Close the lid and bake for another 30 seconds. Repeat the flipping every 20 to 30 seconds until both sides are golden-brown with some darker spots, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate with the hottest side (the one that was just on the grate) facing upward. Add the toppings of your choice and serve.