Dough

Roman Style

Light and crispy. 70% hydration with semolina and olive oil for a golden crust, 24–48 hour cold ferment.

From the Roman-style Pizza Dough in the Gozney cookbook. High hydration and a good dose of olive oil make it light, crisp and golden.

Notes on the source:

  • The book’s batch (1,000g of flour) adds up to about 1,780g, about 160g more than the 9 × 180g it says it makes. This version is scaled down to match, with the same percentages and a small buffer for dough lost to the bowl.
  • The book lists bread flour as 30% and semolina as 70%, but the grams say the opposite: bread flour is 70% and semolina 30%. The grams are what’s used here.
  • The book lists olive oil but never says when to add it. It goes in right after the salt (a handwritten note in our copy).

Mix

Done in a stand or spiral mixer.

Mixer speeds: low = 15% (~90 RPM), medium-low = 20% (~105 RPM), medium = 25–30% (~120–135 RPM) of the mixer’s top speed. On other mixers, start from the slowest kneading speed and step up from there, and go by the signs in each step more than the clock.

  1. Dissolve the yeast. Put the [[water]] first water and [[yeast]] yeast in the bowl and run on low (15%) for a couple of minutes.
  2. Add the flours. Add the [[flour]] bread flour and [[semolina]] semolina and mix on low (15%) for 5 minutes, until there are no dry bits.
  3. Rest. Stop the mixer for 1–2 minutes.
  4. Second water, slowly. Back on low (15%), add the [[water2]] second water a little at a time, letting each splash disappear before the next. This takes about 5 minutes. Keep the last 10–20g back.
  5. Salt. Add the [[salt]] salt with that last splash of water and mix on medium (25–30%) for 2 minutes until it’s fully combined.
  6. Olive oil. With the mixer on medium (25–30%), drizzle in the [[oil]] olive oil slowly until it’s absorbed.
  7. Rest 5 minutes, then turn the dough out.
    • Freezing: to freeze any of it, divide it into portions now and freeze them before the dough starts fermenting.

Ferment

  1. Bulk (1–2 hours). Form one big ball, cover it in a bowl and leave it at room temperature.
  2. Ball. Divide into [[count]] pieces of [[weight]], shape them into balls and put them in a lidded dough tray.
  3. Room temperature (1 hour), then into the fridge.
  4. Cold ferment (24–48 hours).
  5. Warm up (3+ hours). Take the balls out at least 3 hours before baking. Warmer rooms need less time.
    • Same-day option: skip the fridge and proof the balls at room temperature for 6–8 hours.