Roman white pizza with mortadella

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Pizza bianca filled with mortadella is one of those Roman bakery classics that feels simple and luxurious at the same time. The warm, salty bread and the soft slices of mortadella are all it really needs, which is exactly why the combination works so well.

Serves: 4 people

Preparation time: 90 min

Ingredients

• Strong white flour – 450 g
• Lukewarm water – 300 ml
• Instant dry yeast – 3 g
• Sugar – 5 g
• Fine sea salt – 10 g
• Extra virgin olive oil – 40 ml plus extra for the tray and top
• Coarse salt – to taste
• Mortadella, thinly sliced – 300 g

Method

1. Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the water. Add the flour, olive oil and salt and knead until you have a soft, elastic dough.
2. Give the dough one or two folds during the first rest, then place it in an oiled bowl and leave it to rise until well expanded.
3. Tip the dough into a generously oiled tray. Spread it with oiled fingertips and let it rise again until puffy. This second rise helps create the open crumb that makes the filling work so well.
4. Sprinkle the surface with coarse salt and another drizzle of olive oil. Bake until the top is golden and the underside crisp.
5. Let the bread cool just enough to handle, then cut it into portions or split larger pieces horizontally.
6. Fill generously with folded slices of mortadella and serve straight away. The contrast between the still-warm bread and the cool filling is part of what makes this Roman classic so good.