WHAT IS PIZZA ROMANA?

Pizza Romana is a catch-all name for one of many types of pizza typically found in rome, one of which is Pizza in Teglia or Pizza al Taglio.

Mission Pizza Romana makes Pizza al Taglio, which we call, simply, Pizza Romana. What makes this style unique is that it is baked in a pan (“in teglia”) and sold by the cut or piece (‘al taglio”, pronounced “tall-yo”)

Mission Pizza Romana is distinguished by its well-risen, airy, soft structure (or “crumb” for you pizza nerds).  And when we say airy, we mean airy! Just look at the network of open celled air pockets. 

This results from a lower protein, high-hydration, long fermented dough (48-72 hours). Low protein equals less gluten and less elasticity, making for a creamy, light chew.  Long fermentation breaks down the complex carbs and proteins that makes pizza heavy. In other words, our pizza is less chewy and lighter than what you may know from other square pizza’s like Detroit or Sicilian styles, which are closer to a focaccia than our squares.

All of this creates a well-developed dough with enhanced digestibility but with enough strucutdre to support generous toppings.

Lest you think, however, that soft and light means less flavor, we use a cold water, cold fermentation process that is designed to slow the yeast activation, resulting in a sweet, mild nutty flavor.  Said differently, you can have your cake (pizza) and eat it too!

Oh, almost forgot – since Pizza al Taglio is baked in a pan, it is cut in squares (rectangles tbh).  So we don’t sell slices.  We sell squares.  Soft, pillowy, digestible squares.  Roman squares!