As of: January 30, 2024, 7:33 a.m
By: Marco Blanco Ucles
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The trendy alternative to Italian pizza is Pinsa.
The fashionable dish differs not only in its shape, but also in how the dough is made.
Italian pizza is one of the most popular dishes in the world.
At first glance, your alternative – the Pinsa – doesn’t have many differences, not just in terms of the name.
With Pinsa, too, the dough is topped with tomato sauce, cheese and delicious ingredients and then cut into pieces.
But just by looking at it, it quickly becomes clear that it is not the same dish.
While the pizza is traditionally served in a round shape, the Pinsa is served in an oval, elongated shape.
The recipe is not particularly complicated, but it does take time.
In addition to pinsa, Italian cuisine has other insider tips to offer - such as the delicious one-pot broccoli pasta.
Pinsa dough should rise for 72 hours
In terms of appearance and taste, the Pinsa is more reminiscent of a flatbread than a pizza, which you can also enjoy with a wholesome sourdough base.
The biggest difference to the Italian classic is the dough. While pizza is made from one type of flour, pinsa has four.
Rice flour is added to the pizza flour, which makes the dough fluffy.
The sourdough and chickpea flour provide additional flavors, which can alternatively be replaced with soy flour.
In addition, the Pinsa is made with less yeast.
If you want to make a perfect pinsa, you should plan this carefully in advance - ideally the dough should rise for three days, i.e. 72 hours.
Delicious alternative to the popular pizza: Pinsa, which differs in the shape and production of the dough.
© Pond5 Images/IMAGO
Ingredients for the ideal Pinsa dough
For four brushes of approximately the same size you will need:
400 g pizza flour (Tipo 00)
80g rice flour
25 g chickpea or soy flour
330 ml water (ice cold if possible)
1g yeast
25 g sourdough (wheat)
10g salt
15g olive oil
400 g whole, peeled tomatoes
1 handful of basil leaves
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It's that easy to make the pinsa dough
Mix flour and water and let stand covered for 20 to 30 minutes.
Then olive oil, salt, sourdough and yeast are added.
Now knead the dough until it can be easily stretched without tearing.
After the dough has matured for 30 to 45 minutes, well covered, at room temperature, place it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for around 72 hours - or three days.
If your schedule doesn't allow for this long maturing process, you can shorten it a little, but this will harm the quality and flavor of the dough.
However, the dough should mature in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours.
After the dough has matured sufficiently, divide it into four equal pieces.
Form them into balls and let them rise at room temperature for four hours until the volume has increased significantly.
Tip: Brush the balls with olive oil beforehand to prevent them from drying out.
30 minutes before the baking process is to begin, you must preheat the oven to the maximum temperature with top/bottom heat.
Now mix the tomatoes with salt and olive oil to make a sauce and add basil.
Dust your work surface with rice flour and shape your pieces of dough into an elongated flat cake.
Important: leave a slightly higher edge on the outside.
Then place the shaped piece of dough on a pizza peel or a baking tray and spread it with the sauce and other ingredients of your choice.
Now you can bake the pins one after the other for about six minutes - depending on the heat of the oven - until crispy.
After you have taken your pinsa out of the oven, additional ingredients such as burrata, ham or fresh arugula can be placed on top of the pinsa.
For flavor, you can also pepper your pinsa and drizzle with olive oil or pesto.
Bon appetit!
In addition to the classic pinsa with tomato sauce, burrata and a few leaves of fresh basil, you can also opt for a “Pinsa Bianca” – a white pinsa without the classic tomato sauce.
If you succeed in making a dough that deviates from traditional yeast dough, you can hardly go wrong with the topping anyway.
More recipes for pizza fans
Can't get enough of pizza?
Once you have successfully registered, you can download the recipes for quick pizza rolls or an exceptional pizza soup for free in the Merkur.de PDF library.
As an alternative to pizza, you can also try this delicious tomato and mozzarella tarte flambée.