Media masa (Argentine half-dough pizza)
Also known as: Media masa, Half-dough pizza
The everyday pan-baked pizza of Buenos Aires: a spongy, twice-proofed, medium-thickness dough generously covered in cheese to the pan's edge, distinct from both fugazza and fugazzeta in the same city's tradition.
- Origin
- Argentina, Buenos Aires
- Thickness
- medium
- Bake temperature
- 220-250 celsius (typically 235 celsius)
- Bake time
- 600-900 seconds (typically 750 seconds)
- Skill level
- intermediate
- Domestic oven
- good
- Time commitment
- 3-4 hours
- Topping density
- generous
Origin and history
The everyday pan-baked pizza of Buenos Aires pizzerias: a spongy, twice-proofed dough of medium thickness (1-2cm), baked in an oiled round pan and generously topped with cheese that reaches the crust's edge — distinct from fugazza (onion-focused, traditionally no cheese) and fugazzeta (double-dough, cheese-stuffed) in the same city's pizza tradition.
Defining characteristics
- A spongy, medium-thickness (1-2cm) dough, proofed twice for its characteristic crumb
- Baked in an oiled round pan rather than free-form on a stone
- Cheese applied generously enough to reach the crust's edge, unlike fugazza's traditionally cheese-free onion topping
Dough
- Hydration
- 60-68 percent of flour weight (typically 64 percent of flour weight)
- Salt
- 2-2.5 percent of flour weight (typically 2.2 percent of flour weight)
- Oil
- 3-5 percent of flour weight (typically 4 percent of flour weight)
- Bulk fermentation
- 1-2 hours (typically 1.5 hours)
- Ball/cold fermentation
- 1-2 hours (typically 1.5 hours)
Mixing: Machine mixed to a soft, extensible dough
Kneading: Moderate kneading
Shaping: Pressed into an oiled round pan and proofed a second time in the pan
Expected crumb: Open, spongy, and airy from its double proof
Tolerance: A forgiving, oil-enriched dough similar in spirit to other pan-pizza traditions
Common failure modes
- Skipping the second proof in the pan, losing the style's characteristic spongy crumb
Flour choices
Supports the spongy, twice-proofed crumb and generous cheese load typical of Buenos Aires pizzeria pan pizza.
Construction and bake
- Press the dough into an oiled round pan
- Proof a second time in the pan
- Apply tomato sauce
- Cover generously with cheese, reaching the pan's edge
- Bake
Traditional method: Commercial deck or pan oven, moderate-high heat
Common modern adaptations
- A domestic oven and a standard round cake or pizza pan reproduce this style well
Techniques
Develops enough structure to support the style's generous cheese load after its double proof.
Flavour and texture
A generous, gratin-like cheese cover over a spongy, airy pan crust — richer and more cheese-forward than fugazza
Serving
Cut into wedges and shared from the pan
Cut into wedges · Several wedges per person, commonly shared
Ingredients
Ingredient intelligence
Sauce
A standard base applied before the generous cheese cover, playing a supporting role beneath media masa's defining cheese-to-the-edge treatment.
Cheese
Forms a generous, gratin-like cover reaching the pan's edge — the defining feature that distinguishes media masa from fugazza's traditionally cheese-free onion topping.
Toppings
A common herbal seasoning across the generous cheese layer, echoing the wider Argentine pizza tradition's use of oregano.
Construction order
Derived from this style’s own structural ingredient data — see the construction order & topping load guide for why order varies by style.
- Sauce: Cooked tomato sauce
- Melting cheese: Low-moisture mozzarella
- Oil or seasoning before baking: Oregano (dried)
Build guides
- Media masa — Buenos Aires's twice-proofed everyday pan pizza
The everyday crust of Buenos Aires pizzerias: a medium-thickness dough proofed twice — once in bulk, once again in the pan — for a spongy, open crumb, then covered generously with cheese to the pan's edge.
Domestic adaptation
Adapts well to a domestic oven with a standard round pan; the double proof is the detail most often skipped by home cooks
Common mistakes
- Confusing this with fugazzeta, which uses a double dough layer stuffed with cheese rather than a single generously topped crust
- Skipping the pan proof and treating it like a thin, freeform 'a la piedra' dough
Sources and evidence
Show sources and evidence
- Pizza al molde — Wikipedia
- Argentine Pizza Icons: A Pizza Lover's Guide to Buenos Aires — argentineasado.com