The Roman pizzetta is made with bread dough; it is a medium-sized pizzetta with a low, crumbly crust and crispy edge. It is normally topped with tomato, garlic, oil, salt, and oregano, but we can also find it in the simpler version seasoned only with salt and a drizzle of oil on top.

It is said to be a typical product of the ’80s. I grew up with it: it was my snack at school, after sports, during school trips, in short, on any occasion where a savory snack was a good fit.

In Rome, you can find it in every artisanal bakery. It is a typical product that cannot be missing from the window display and remains the ideal snack, easy to transport and consume thanks to its small proportions, round shape, and especially thanks to its simple topping that is good even at room temperature.

Making Roman pizzette at home is not difficult; they bake well even in our classic home ovens. The cooking is quick, and the rising is simple: with just one rise, you’re done!

I used sourdough because it is my leavening agent par excellence, but if you don’t have it at home, it can easily be replaced with a bit of brewer’s yeast. Of course, I will indicate the exact amounts.

I will also leave you other recipes for savory snacks.

Difficulty: Easy
Cost: Cheap
Rest time: 5 Hours 30 Minutes
Preparation time: 20 Minutes
Portions: 14 mini pizzas
Cooking methods: Oven
Cuisine: Italian

161.53 Kcal

calories per serving

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Energy 161.53 (Kcal)
Carbohydrates 32.49 (g) of which sugars 1.16 (g)
Proteins 5.10 (g)
Fat 2.00 (g) of which saturated 0.28 (g)of which unsaturated 0.19 (g)
Fibers 1.37 (g)
Sodium 276.24 (mg)

Indicative values for a portion of 75 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA^* and FoodData Central^** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.

^* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ^** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov

Ingredients

For those who wish to replace the sourdough in the recipe, you need to add 0.1 oz of brewer’s yeast, 3/4 cup of flour, and 1/4 cup of water.

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups cake flour
5 oz sourdough starter
1 1/4 cups water
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
0.2 oz salt
10 oz tomato pulp
to taste salt
to taste pepper
to taste oregano
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Tools

You can knead the Roman pizzettas by hand, but if you want to simplify the operation, you can use the dough hook on a stand mixer.

1 Bowl
1 Whisk

Preparation

The dough preparation begins by putting the flours, the sourdough pieces, the teaspoon of sugar into the bowl, and we start kneading by diluting with the water provided by the recipe. We can knead by hand or with a stand mixer, but always following these steps. The water provided by the recipe should be needed all, but always add it a little at a time because the dough should be soft, well hydrated but not too mushy and sticky.
When the ingredients are well combined, we can add the salt and the tablespoon of oil.
When the dough starts to become firm, if you’re kneading by hand, take it to a work surface. You shouldn’t need to add more flour and knead energetically with your hands until you get a well-elastic dough. If you’re kneading with a stand mixer, let it run until the dough becomes compact and elastic.
Form the obtained dough into a ball to let rise in the bowl where you kneaded or in another rising bowl covered with plastic wrap or a lid. To promote rising, lightly oil the surface of the dough ball.
After about 5 or 6 hours, depending on the house’s temperature, you will find the dough doubled. The rising time can vary from house to house, but it must reach doubling.
When the dough doubles, take it to a lightly floured work surface and with rotary movements, stretch it into a log. From this log, tear with your hands as many dough pieces as you want to make pizzettas.
Round each piece of dough to obtain many balls to be placed directly on the baking sheet covered with parchment paper and let them rest covered with a cloth for about 20 minutes.
After this resting time, press with your hands each ball to make it a round pizzetta no thicker than an inch, even less if you want them crunchier.
Season the tomato sauce with the indicated ingredients. Spread the sauce with the help of a spoon on all the pizzettas. It should cover the entire surface, leaving a small white border, but should not be excessive because it must dry during baking.
Preheat your oven to the maximum temperature allowed and bake only when it is very hot. Bake for about 15 minutes until golden brown and remove from the oven.