Pizza in Teglia alla Romana

Ingredients

• 500g strong white bread flour, W300 or higher
• 400ml cold water
• 12g fine salt
• 2g fresh yeast, or 0.7g instant dried yeast
• 25ml extra virgin olive oil, plus more for the tin
• 400g tomato passata
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 300g fiordilatte mozzarella
• A handful of basil leaves
• Salt and extra virgin olive oil, to finish

Before you cook

• Dice the mozzarella and drain it in a sieve for at least an hour, or it will flood the pizza.
• Season the passata with salt, the oregano and a tablespoon of olive oil.
• Oil a 30cm by 40cm baking tin thoroughly.

Steps

1. Put the flour into a large bowl and crumble in the yeast.
2. Pour in 350ml of the cold water and mix with a fork until no dry flour is left, keeping the dough deliberately rough.
3. Cover the bowl and leave it for 30 minutes.
4. Dissolve the salt in the remaining 50ml of water and add it to the dough.
5. Squeeze the dough through your fingers until the salted water is fully worked in.
6. Add the 25ml of olive oil and squeeze again until the dough is slick and homogeneous.
7. Wet one hand, reach under the dough, stretch a section up and fold it over the top, then turn the bowl a quarter turn.
8. Repeat that stretch and fold eight times around the bowl, then cover it.
9. Give the dough three more rounds of folds at 30 minute intervals, until it holds its shape and feels strong.
10. Cover the bowl tightly and refrigerate the dough for 24 hours.
11. Take the dough out of the fridge and leave it, still covered, for two hours to come back to room temperature.
12. Flour the worktop heavily and tip the dough out without knocking the air out of it.
13. Dust the top with flour and coax the dough into a rough rectangle with flat hands, working only from the edges.
14. Lift the dough on the backs of both forearms and lay it into the oiled tin.
15. Press it out to the corners with oiled fingertips, then cover the tin and prove for 60 minutes.
16. Heat the oven to its maximum, at least 250 degrees Celsius, with a stone or heavy tray on the lowest shelf.
17. Spoon the seasoned passata over the dough and spread it to within 1cm of the edges.
18. Bake on the lowest shelf for 15 minutes, until the base is set and browning underneath.
19. Scatter the drained mozzarella over the top and return the tin to the oven for six to eight minutes, until the cheese has just melted.
20. Slide the pizza out of the tin onto a rack so the base stays crisp.
21. Scatter over the basil, add a pinch of salt and a final drizzle of olive oil, then cut it into rectangles with scissors.