Very often a legend is more fascinating than the truth and it happens that we end up believing a tale of pure fantasy rather than the story that is shown right under our noses, clear and crystalline. And if the one who told the legend at the beginning was actually one of the protagonists of the true story... well, at that point it is really easy to fall into misunderstanding.
This is how the legend of the Roman Pinsa, which has long hidden the history of the origins of this dish. Today we want to reveal the whole truth to you, starting by giving you a name: Corrado Di Marco.
Roman Pinsa, a Worldwide Phenomenon
In the last 10 years there has been an exponential growth in the fame of Roman pinsa: today There are more than 5000 pinserie all over the world that have conquered palates of different nationalities and cultures. The one who carries the Italian flag of pinsa high isDi Marco company, producer of that special mix of flours which is now an industrial secret.
It is also thanks to this company that the'Original Roman Pinsa Association which deals with protecting the original Pinsa recipe and the work of the pinsaioli.
The Pinserie support the quality control review by the association: in case of a positive outcome they are certified by becoming part of a small circle of businesses that produce Pinsa as per protocol.
Di Marco, the family behind the legend of pinsa
Our family Di Marco, owner of the company of the same name, has been guarding the secret of the myth of Roman pinsa for 20 years: in 2001 Corrado Di Marco, the founder of the company, the forefather of the family, after numerous experiments with leavening and mixtures, discovered the right mix for the base recipe that today makes up the Roman pinsa.
A mix that makes the pinsa different from its cousin pizza not only in shape, but in essence: soy flour, wheat flour, rice flour and mother yeast mixed in the right parts create a high hydration dough, which takes on a fragrant aroma once baked and remains light and easy to digest.
Mr. Corrado had learned this mixing technique after several attempts: it is said that already in adolescence, passionate about baking as well as chemistry, he had experimented well 2000 different fermentation strains!
However, to make the Roman pinsa an interesting product on the market, in a historical moment where the pizzeria sector needed something new, the Di Marco company experimented with a real storytelling around the origins of the pinsa.
First of all, there was the choice of the name: the term Pinsa derives from the Latin “to pin”, what does it mean to stretch or squash.A perfect name to recall the elongated oval shape that the dough takes once rolled out.
At that point it was also easy to tell that the modern recipe for pinsa It took inspiration from an ancient focaccia dating back to the Etruscan period and that this recipe had been handed down over the centuries to the present day. But, as we have already said, the recipe for Roman pinsa is the result of an intuition of the Di Marco family and is very different from what the Etruscans or ancient Romans presumably cooked.
Today the company Di Marco produces different types of flours and mixes for pinsa, Roman round pizzas and Roman pan pizza: behind these are years of artisanal and laboratory experience, which guarantee pizza chefs all over the world that they always obtain a perfect result with Di Marco products, thus safeguarding the tradition of Italian cuisine.
