For the love of Pinsa

[DoouBall]

That makes sense, texmex!


Here’s a better pic of the cross-section of yesterday’s apple and pancetta Pinsa. This one was very light without any heavy toppings to weigh it down.

[Rolls]

Does anyone have a better translation for “grip”

pinsa or pince is to pinch, to clamp, to grip, to tweeze, It is probably about the style of pinching of the dough.

I agree with texmex.  In the context of preparing this style, it refers to "finger docking".


Rolls

[texmex]

Now it comes to me...pinzas are also claws,  like lobsters and crab claws...so the bread really does get the claw treatment. 

[amolapizza]

I was taught to let the "thick" Italian pizza ferment a lot, and to let it gain sufficient volume!

But after (gently) extending it, pressing your "claws" (finger tips) into the dough will impose structure and prevent it from getting too many big bubbles.  If you spot one while baking, then do puncture it to let the air out instead of letting it inflate too much and be burnt.

[Yael]

Looks delicious. But how much different is it than a dressed focaccia?

I think about another difference, focaccia doesn't have a high hydration, more around 60% (although I guess you can make it 100% if you want). Pala/teglia/pinsa 75% and more (BTW, I didn't know pinsa was a separate style, thanks for the whole thread!) (but well, I would classify it as a sub-branch of the pala  )

FYI reply 306: https://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php?topic=40750.msg569816#msg569816

[DoouBall]

I think about another difference, focaccia doesn't have a high hydration, more around 60% (although I guess you can make it 100% if you want). Pala/teglia/pinsa 75% and more (BTW, I didn't know pinsa was a separate style, thanks for the whole thread!) (but well, I would classify it as a sub-branch of the pala  )

FYI reply 306: https://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php?topic=40750.msg569816#msg569816

Yeah, I think it's fair to say Pinsa can qualify as a sub-branch of pala.

A little more about the history of Pinsa here:

https://www.pinsaromana.us/what-is-pinsa/

According to the article, Pinsa comes from the Latin word "pinsere" which means "to press".

Also, Pinsa has a specification which you can find in Italian here:

https://www.pinsaromana.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Regolamento-e-Protocollo.pdf

In it, they specify:

2.2.2 Ball weight
Classic pinsa: 230 g - 250 g
Pinsa small portion: 130 g - 150 g

2.2.3 Dimensions of the firing pin
Classic pinsa: width 20 cm - 22 cm length 32 cm - 35 cm
Pinsa Small portion: width 20 cm - 22 cm length 20 cm - 24 cm

[DoouBall]

Today for fun, I made a Pinsa dough experiment by mixing 80% Caputo Nuvola Super with 15% rice flour and 5% roasted soy flour. Perhaps using roasted soy flour wasn’t the best move as the dough smelled very strongly of it, and felt quite a bit more loose during shaping. I decided to bake it as a Pizza in Teglia and make a couple of squares on the end to cut into triangles and serve as trapezzini, filling them with bolognese sauce. The rest was topped with green pea puree and scallops.

I decided to experiment with parbaking the Pizza in Teglia to achieve a crispier crust, similar to the Pinsa method. Parbaked for 8 minutes at 570F, cooled for 5 minutes and then finished cooking directly on the stone to crisp the bottom. The bottom crisped a bit too fast, so I was forced to pull the pizza after only a couple minutes. Fortunately, it was done.

Not the lightest pizza I have made but pretty decent. The trapezzini were delicious though!

I think I will not use soy flour again. Spelt and rye were both better additions.  Also, it seems that baking pizza in teglia in the iron pan never gets anywhere near as light as pinsa romana baked directly on the stone, reminding me why I like Pinsa so much more.
 

[Yael]

Hello guys,

I was looking for Jack (amola pizza)'s thread about pinsa to post the info I found, but I can also post it here: FWIW, I read on a Facebook's "il forum della pizza" that "pinsa" is a trademark from Di Marco's brand that contains, as we know, soy flour, rice flour, and dehydrated sourdough.

Alberto Protopapa:
"Pinsa romana is a pala romana. But the pala romana you make it like you want, you can use any flour you want, whereas for making the pinsa you have to use Di Marco's flour which contains soft wheat, soy, rice and dehydrated SD"
And:
"because pinsa romana is a trademark. If you use a blend of flour, then you call it pala romana"

Not sure how right or wrong he is though, I didn't check by myself, but it would just be very likely. Some ideas about that?

[amolapizza]

I don't think I have a thread about pinsa romana, and I've never eaten one!

From what I've understood it's a relatively new variation on pizza.  AFAIK it was created by Di Marco, then trademarked and they sell a flour mix to make it.  I suppose that means that you can't/shouldn't call it pinsa unless you buy their flour mix.

From my reading it does seem like a variation of the pizza alla pala.  It seems often to be smaller than the standard pala size.  I'd guess more like individual size.  I've read about them and watched some videos, and I'm really impressed by what some of the pizzaioli have come up with as regards topping and presentation.

I think Alex can probably give you more information, as I think he has studied the subject and baked them himself.

[Hanglow]

There's a pinsa place close to me that uses that Di Marco flour. They are excellent. Every time I see pinsa mentioned on this forum I want to try a dough with rice and soy flour to see what it's like, but I never buy the ingredients 

[Yael]

I don't think I have a thread about pinsa romana, and I've never eaten one!

From what I've understood it's a relatively new variation on pizza.  AFAIK it was created by Di Marco, then trademarked and they sell a flour mix to make it.  I suppose that means that you can't/shouldn't call it pinsa unless you buy their flour mix.

From my reading it does seem like a variation of the pizza alla pala.  It seems often to be smaller than the standard pala size.  I'd guess more like individual size.  I've read about them and watched some videos, and I'm really impressed by what some of the pizzaioli have come up with as regards topping and presentation.

I think Alex can probably give you more information, as I think he has studied the subject and baked them himself.

Oops sorry! I think I was confused with your "4 hour Pizza alla Pala" thread (https://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php?topic=63011.msg623014#msg623014)
I just remember having left one or 2 messages on the Pinsa topic a while ago, then I bumped into this Facebook forum and I thought I would share the info.

There's a pinsa place close to me that uses that Di Marco flour. They are excellent. Every time I see pinsa mentioned on this forum I want to try a dough with rice and soy flour to see what it's like, but I never buy the ingredients 

Hahaha, same here!

[amolapizza]

Oops sorry! I think I was confused with your "4 hour Pizza alla Pala" thread (https://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php?topic=63011.msg623014#msg623014)

IIRC, that did deviate a bit onto the pinsa topic.

Do check out this guy's videos on pinsa: https://www.youtube.com/c/MarcoMontuoriOfficial

[Pete-zza]

I got an email from Pizza Today featuring the pinsa style of pizza, at:

https://www.today.com/food/what-pinsa-meet-trendy-pizza-cloud-crust-t174382

Peter

[GumbaWill]

pinsa or pince is to pinch, to clamp, to grip, to tweeze, It is probably about the style of pinching of the dough.

My dad called pliers "Pinsa." Makes sense.