Pinsa o Pizza

Pinsa o Pizza?

PINZA OR PIZZA?

Pizza or Pinsa? Some of you may wonder about the pinsa. Well, on my last trip to Europe I discovered Pinsa. This product is very fashionable in those areas of Italy and Italian-speaking Switzerland. So, let’s discover this gourmet product currently very fashionable.

Pinsa and pizza look alike, they sound more or less the same, but it is enough to look beyond the first glance to understand that there are many differences between pinsa and pizza.

What then are the differences?

Let’s discover them starting with the origins!

The name Pinsa, as my dear friend Paolo, the lord of the Locanda, tells me, has its origin in southern Italy due to the stretched or rather “pinsatura” which is a revision of the ancient forms of focaccia. They were made in their case by Calabrian farmers, who, after having rolled out the dough, cooked it on a stone.

In our times, the changes have already come, it was perfected and spread quickly with great success throughout the Bel Paese. But it is above all the ingredients and preparation that differentiate pizza and pinsa.

The shape is the first aspect to consider, one is round and the other is oval. The substantial differences between the dough, the ingredients and the processing itself give Pinsa a particular characteristic.

First of all, pinsa dough is made with 3 different flours: wheat, soy and rice flour. This mixture, together with the dry sourdough, creates a very hydrated dough, favors a long fermentation, a very digestible dough and helps the pinsa to always be fragrant.

We cannot make a Pinsa only with the dough, so I list the ingredients so you can see the difference between the two.

First of all, the long fermentation of Pinsami, which lasts from 24 to 48 hours, also requires taking into account the hydration of the dough it contains. 80% differs from 60% of pizza. It is very important to underline the number of calories because the mixture of three flours allows a very low use of fats and avoids the use of animal fats.

We cannot make a Pinsa only with the dough, that is why I list the ingredients so that you can see the difference between the two, first of all the long fermentation of the Pinsami that lasts from 24 to 48 hours, we must also take into account the hydration of the dough containing. 80% differs from 60% of pizza. It is very important to underline the number of calories because the mixture of three flours allows a very low use of fats and avoids the use of animal fats.

And how are we in our latitudes? I searched but didn’t find any restaurants that offer Pinsa. If you know any pizzeria or restaurant, let me know and I will pay them a visit.