The large community of professional chefs and restaurateurs who have united around the Roman Pinsa, gave birth to a technical glossary very specific and characteristic.
This jargon helps to identify the characteristics of the processing of the real Roman Pinsa, which, as we often like to repeat, is a gastronomic product that has very specific peculiarities and which is enormously different from its cousin Pizza, with which one could almost say that it only shares its Italian origins.
Today we reveal 8 terms from the fantastic world of Pinsa Romana that often have meanings you don't expect!
ALVEOLATURE
Let's start by explaining what they are alveoli: these are the characteristic “holes” in the Pinsa Romana dough, which are formed due to the leavening gases.alveolation it is the way in which these are distributed within the dough itself and is characterised by size and more or less homogeneous distribution.
Good alveolation is an indication of correct leavening, observing all the recommendations for hydration, temperature and leavening times.
APPRETTO
THE'starch it is the second and final leavening. In this case we are not talking about the leavening of the entire dough but of the specific leavening of the balls, which are divided in preparation for rolling out and which weigh about 250 g each.
STRINGING
THE'stringing is one of the fundamental steps for the success of a Pinsa Romana. It is essentially the phase in which the gluten mesh of the dough develops creating a lattice, which will give strength and tenacity to the mixture, thus favoring optimal leavening.
How does this process start? Thanks to a strong flour, capable that is to absorb large quantities of water, and thanks to expert processing of the dough which in the case of large quantities is done with the help of a professional mixer.
FOLD (OR VENTILATION)
The high hydration dough of a Pinsa Romana is not easy to work with, which is why it requires a few more steps than other types of processing. An important step is the fold, also called ventilation.
This is the process that allows you to “regenerate” the dough: it happens by working it (in a mixer or by hand) during the leavening and leaving it to rest for 10/15 minutes. In this way you can give more strength to the mixture, making it more tenacious.
The number of recommended ventilations is related to the dough's need to take "string" and therefore to strengthen its gluten mesh. Generally, with less powerful mixers, 2-3 ventilations are recommended.
EPISODE
This is a term that pizza chefs also know, but perhaps it is not so well known outside the professional world.
Our episode it is the first leavening of the dough in its entirety: during this phase we see those characteristic bubbles develop on the surface, which are evidence of a leavening according to the rules of the art
TO BOIL
Staying on the subject of “bubbles”, one of the most used words in the pinsa vocabulary is precisely to boil over.
This is the moment when the dough shows the leavening gases through bubbles and is therefore getting closer to being ready for division into balls, kneading and finally rolling out.
DUSTING FLOURS
If we are asked what is the fundamental element for the preparation of the Original Pinsa Romana, we have no doubts: it dusting. This is the flour that is used as a base on the work surface that makes rolling out easier and prevents the dough from sticking to the surface.
The use of a good dusting also affects the fragrance and cooking, especially if in a wood oven. For this reason in the Di Marco flour family you can find two different mixes of dusting: the one with heat-treated rice flour and the more classic version with durum wheat semolina.
CUTTING
Last term (but only in alphabetical order) of our glossary: the cut it is the action that allows the creation of the dough balls, which will then be left to rest for a couple more hours after the first leavening.
Did you already know these terms? Are there other technical terms related to the production of Pinsa Romana that you have heard used by professionals?
