This Old-School Roman Pizza Style Is One Of The Hardest To Make At Home

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Many who visit Rome consider it a goldmine of cultural delights. Sure, there's the Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon; there's the Sistine Chapel and a range of lush gardens to recline in like the River God Tiber himself. But if you haven't spent a day sampling Rome's scrumptious food, particularly pizza al taglio, have you really experienced the city? The name translates to "by the slice," which is pretty apt. This type of pizza is baked in rectangular pans before being sliced into slabs with scissors and sold to folks passing by on the street.

The dough is what makes this pizza different. Typically made using strong flour, water, yeast, salt, and olive oil, it's traditionally light and airy, kind of like focaccia, yet sturdy enough to support a rich assortment of toppings. While Neapolitan pizza's less-is-more approach permits only tomato and mozzarella, pizza al taglio bears all kinds of eclectic additions like cured meats, salad leaves, soft cheeses, and even eggs.

To create a dough able to handle such a feat, it's key that it is seriously hydrated (we're talking at least 75% and up to 90% water) and that it's fermented in the fridge for at least 48 hours to create that airy, flavorful crust. But use too much water and you'll find it becomes a sticky mess — in other words, a nightmare to work with in the kitchen. What's more, the pizza's base is crunchy, often baked on an oily pan to cook rapidly. But it's tricky to achieve the ideal pizza baking temperature in a traditional oven, where the highest setting often peaks at around 500 degrees Fahrenheit.

But it's not all bad. This classic Roman pizza is also super versatile to make, as you can prep the crust first then load on an assortment of toppings later. While the dough is traditionally kneaded by hand, today, many cooks opt to use a stand mixer, which may be the best approach if you're finding the mixture a challenge to handle. It's also easier to cook the base in a pizza oven, such as WOOCIT's multi-fuel outdoor version (there'll be no soggy bottoms at 700 degrees Fahrenheit!), but if you don't have one don't worry. We suggest pre-baking the pizza crust on your oven's lowest rack so the underside quickly crisps up.

While it might seem tricky and time-consuming to make from scratch, pizza al taglio actually gained traction in Rome as a speedy meal for workers to wolf down during lunch breaks. Natural gas was expensive in the city, meaning chefs used stone-lined deck ovens to create long, rectangular pizzas, as opposed to the circular, smaller versions commonly baked in Naples' larger, brick ovens. 

Now, it's become a trendy snack outside of Italy's capital. In addition to his restaurant in Rome, Gabriele Bonci, a trailblazer of modern al taglio, has opened three eateries in Chicago that serve it, for instance. If you give your dough the proper treatment (remember: do as the Romans do), there's no reason you can't follow in his footsteps at home.