Pizza al Taglio (Italian for pizza by the slice, or literally ‘by the cut’ ) originated from Rome. Considered one of the first ever fast foods, it was a street meal designed for busy Romans eating ‘on the go’.
My version is very similar to a Foccacia recipe, and so is considerably thicker than your traditional Pizza and a great way to start to learn how to make bread!
Ingredients
Topping:
1 Mozzarella Ball or Grated Mozzarella
Cured Meats (Salami Napoli, Coppa Ham, Prosciutto etc.)
Red onion (thinly sliced)
Red pepper (thinly sliced)
A handful of fresh basil
Extra virgin olive oil
For the marinara sauce:
1 can of chopped tomatoes
1 clove of garlic, lightly crushed
2 teaspoons of oregano
Salt and pepper
For the Dough:
500g ‘OO’ flour
1 teaspoon salt
7g dried active yeast
325ml warm water
Method
- Firstly, mix the yeast into the warm water
- Add the salt to the flour and mix, then add the water to the flour.
- Mix with a spoon until it forms a sticky dough and tip it onto a clean work surface.
- Clean your hands with the flour and then start to knead the dough. The kneading should take between 10-30 mins depending on how new you are to bread making, and it should be sligthly sticky so don’t worry if the consistency is slightly wet.
- Once the dough is ready, separate into two.
- Then let the dough rest for half an hour, or until it has doubled in size.
- Meanwhile, to make the marinara sauce: add extra virgin olive oil to a pan on a medium heat and add the garlic. Cook for about a minute and then add the chopped tomatoes and oregano. Once it comes to the boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 5 mins or so until it thickens slightly. Set aside and allow it to cool.
- Next, place the dough onto an oiled baking tray and lightly press it down until it is rectangular in shape and about 2 cm in thickness (being careful not to force too many of the air bubbles out).
- Now add your topping to the base, i.e. the Marinara sauce, mozzarella, cured meats, red onion and basil. Less is more, the dough will be too soggy if you add too much marinara and cheese.
- Let it rest for an hour so it can rise again.
- Then bake at 200 degrees for 20-30 mins.
- Take out of the oven, let it rest for a couple minutes, slice and serve.
