Have you ever tried an angelica alla pizzaiola? Great! Then I have the recipe you’ve been looking for!

If someone asked you what your favorite comfort food is, what would you spontaneously say?

It’s the million-dollar question that Light and Tasty asked us for this week’s topic. Ahhh how difficult it is to answer!!

Let’s see… at the moment, given the cold weather, I would spontaneously say a hot soup. In winter, I could live on nothing but soups, creams, and purees!

Although maybe, if I had a few more seconds to think… I would say tiramisu! It does very well as a comfort food, and I think not just for me, right? 😁

But there is a third comfort food that I could never give up, in all four seasons, and that is pizza! 🍕

And so, in the end, I decided to answer this very complicated question with the recipe for an angelica alla pizzaiola that I tried for the first time a few years ago using a yeast dough, and that I have now made three times in one week 😀 using my beloved sourdough starter.

Variations on the pizza theme are always welcomed in our household with great enthusiasm. And since today happens to be the son’s birthday (who, unbelievably, hated pizza as a child! 🤪)… yes, yes, today a pizza in festive dish form is a must!

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You can find other variations on the pizza theme at these links: 👇

Difficulty: Medium
Cost: Inexpensive
Rest time: 8 Hours
Preparation time: 15 Minutes
Portions: 2
Cooking methods: Oven
Cuisine: Italian
Seasonality: All seasons

Ingredients

2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sourdough starter
7 tbsp water
5 tbsp tomato sauce
1 clove garlic
oregano
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Tools

Baking tray
Bowl proofing
Parchment paper

Steps

With the weights indicated in the ingredient list, you get a dough not too large, suitable for two people (which can obviously be doubled, or more 😊).
For those who prefer using yeast, refer to my basic recipe –> Pizza Dough (it’s a slightly larger dough with 500 g of flour).
To prepare the dough:
Pour the sourdough starter and water into a bowl, mix to dissolve the starter, add the flour, and knead by hand for a few minutes until you get a smooth dough that easily detaches from the bowl’s sides.
Let rise for 6-8 hours, depending on room temperature, in a sheltered place (inside the oven or microwave).
Roll out the dough (not too thin) into a rectangular shape.
Distribute the tomato sauce (it’s better to use a thick sauce, not too liquid).
Flavor with a minced garlic clove and a sprinkle of oregano.
Roll the dough along the long side.
Cut the roll in half lengthwise.
Twist the two halves together, making sure the cut sides face upwards.
Finally, join the two ends of the twist to form a crown.
🙆‍♀️🤭 So focused was I on the twisting operation that I forgot to photograph this step, but the procedure remains clearly visible in the photo of the finished crown (next photo). Here are two tips:
1. Perform the twist directly on the parchment paper; otherwise, during the transfer from the cutting board to the baking tray, the dough may become misshapen (unless you have a pizza peel to lift it!).
2. Try, if possible, to join the two ends so that the dough’s thickness remains even (and not thin at the joint as mine turned out 😊).
In any case, even if imperfect, once baked, your angelica alla pizzaiola will make a great impression, I assure you!
Before baking, add more oregano and drizzle some oil over the surface.
Bake at 392°F for 30-35 minutes. Occasionally check the surface’s browning, and if it browns too much, cover with foil or lower to 356°F.
In the following photo, I show you the last angelica alla pizzaiola I made, baked last night. It’s not round either, in fact… it’s really oval. 😅😄
The angelica alla pizzaiola is nothing more than a pizza-flavored bread, or a rolled pizza, but the beauty of this braided shape, created by the Simili sisters and now part of baking history, remains unmatched. Even when I get involved with my imperfections! 🤪🤭😄
Enjoy!

Salt-Free Tips

No salt in this recipe, neither in the dough nor the filling. The only seasonings: garlic and oregano.

☝ Always check the tomato sauce label because it often contains salt.

Always verify that the ingredients on tomato sauce labels list “100% tomato” and that no salt is present.

If you’re interested in reducing or eliminating salt, always remember to:
▫ Gradually decrease salt, the palate needs to adapt slowly and should not notice the progressive reduction.
▫ Use spices. Chili, pepper, curry, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, cumin…
▫ Use herbs. Basil, parsley, oregano, thyme, sage, marjoram, rosemary, mint…
▫ Use seeds. Sesame, pine nuts, almonds, walnuts…
▫ Use spicy vegetables or fruit. Garlic, onion, lemon, orange…
▫ Use my salt-free vegetable granule and gomasio.
▫ Prefer fresh foods.
▫ Avoid cooking in water, prefer methods that don’t disperse flavors (grill, foil, steam, microwave)
▫ Avoid bringing the salt shaker to the table!
▫ Occasionally allow yourself a break from the rules. It’s good for morale and helps you persevere.
If you don’t want to, or can’t, give up salt:
▫ You can still try my recipes by salting according to your habits.

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Light and Tasty:

And here are the other Light and Tasty recipes for today:

Carla Emilia: Chicken Roll with Carrots
Claudia: Chocolate Pudding
Daniela: Porridge with Carrots and Almonds
Elena: Baked Potato Cream
Milena: Savoy Cabbage, Cannellini Bean and Cornmeal Soup

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Angelica alla pizzaiola