Pizza al padellino
Flagship profileAlso known as: Turin-style pan pizza, pizza al tegamino
Turin's small, individual, oiled-pan pizza, prized for its crisp, almost fried bottom and thick, soft interior in a compact personal size.
- Origin
- Italy, Turin
- Thickness
- thick
- Bake temperature
- 220–260 °C (typically 240 °C)
- Bake time
- 8–12 min (typically 10 min)
- Skill level
- beginner
- Domestic oven
- excellent
- Time commitment
- 24-48 hours including fermentation; simple active steps
- Topping density
- moderate
Origin and history
A small, round, individual pan pizza from Turin, baked in a small oiled steel pan, producing a distinctively crisp, almost fried bottom and a soft, thick interior, smaller in diameter than most other round styles.
Defining characteristics
- Small individual pan (typically 12-16cm), producing a small, thick, personal-sized pizza
- Crisp, almost fried bottom from the oiled steel pan
- Notably soft, thick interior relative to its small footprint
Dough
- Hydration
- 65–75% (typically 70%)
- Salt
- 2.5–3% (typically 2.8%)
- Oil
- 3–5% (typically 4%)
- Ball weight
- 140–180 g (typically 160 g)
- Bulk fermentation
- 2–4 h (typically 3 h)
- Ball/cold fermentation
- 24–48 h (typically 30 h)
Mixing: Machine or hand mixed
Kneading: Moderate kneading
Shaping: Pressed by hand directly into a small, generously oiled steel pan
Expected crumb: Soft, moderately open
Tolerance: The small pan size and generous oil are forgiving of minor shaping imperfections
Common failure modes
- Insufficient oil produces a duller, less crisp bottom
- Underbaking leaves the thick interior gummy
Flour choices
Builds enough structure for the thick, high-hydration dough to hold its shape in the small pan.
A viable alternative where a finer crumb is preferred over maximum strength.
Construction and bake
- Press dough into an oiled pan
- Proof briefly in the pan
- Apply toppings
- Bake
Traditional method: Small oiled steel pan, oven or stovetop-assisted, moderate-high heat
Common modern adaptations
- Very achievable at home with any small oven-safe pan
Techniques
Fits the dough evenly to the small pan's shape and depth.
Domestic alternative: Hand-pressing directly into the pan.
Flavour and texture
A crisp, almost fried bottom contrasted with a soft, thick interior, in a notably small, personal-sized format
Serving
Served whole per diner, still in or just out of its pan
Usually cut into wedges or eaten as a whole small pizza · One per diner
Ingredients
Sauce
Cheese
Ingredient intelligence
Sauce
A standard, well-reduced base suited to the small, thick pan format.
Cheese
A standard melting cheese for the small, thick pan format.
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: Fior di latte
Build guides
- Pizza al padellino in a small steel pan
Turin's small, individual, cold-fermented pan pizza — a crisp, almost fried bottom around a soft, thick interior, baked in a 12-16cm oiled steel pan. Same small personal-pan format as New England bar pizza, but on a 24-48 hour cold ferment rather than a same-day schedule.
Domestic adaptation
One of the easiest Italian styles to reproduce at home, needing only a small oven-safe pan
Common mistakes
- Skimping on the oil, which is central to the style's characteristic crisp, almost fried bottom
Flavour balance and what to serve with it
Based on cooked tomato sauce and fior di latte with Pizza al padellino’s crust and bake.
Rich, salty and savoury.
The full profile
Taste
- Salt
- Moderate
- From Cooked tomato sauce, Fior di latte
- Sweetness
- Moderate
- From Cooked tomato sauce
- Acidity
- Moderate
- From Cooked tomato sauce, Fior di latte
- Savoury depth (umami)
- Moderate
- From Cooked tomato sauce, Fior di latte
Aroma
- Aromatic intensity
- Moderate
- From Cooked tomato sauce, Fior di latte
- Freshness (green, herbal or bright lift)
- Low
- From Cooked tomato sauce
Mouthfeel
- Richness (fat)
- Moderate
- From Fior di latte, Pizza al padellino crust, Cooked tomato sauce
- Creaminess
- High
- From Fior di latte
What it does to the pizza
- Water it releases
- High
- From Fior di latte, Cooked tomato sauce
- Fat it renders
- Moderate
- From Fior di latte
Little or none: bitterness, chilli heat, pungency, smoke, crunch or crispness.
What makes it work
- Acidity against richness. Cooked tomato sauce cuts through the richness of Pizza al padellino crust and Fior di latte.
The reasoning behind each of these, with its limits and sources: how PizzaHQ judges balance.
What to serve with it
Drinks, by what they do
- Refresh between rich bites: sparkling water with lemon or lime; unsweetened iced or hot tea; a crisp pale lager or pilsner; a dry cider; a dry sparkling wine.
Why these work, and what the evidence does and does not show: drinks with pizza.
Pairing works the same way without alcohol: every suggestion includes a non-alcoholic option, and nothing here is a reason to drink.
Sides
- A green salad with a sharp dressing — Acidity and freshness give relief from a rich pizza.
- A bitter-leaf salad (rocket, chicory, radicchio) — Bitter leaves contrast with fat.
- Raw crunchy vegetables or a vinegar slaw — Crunch the pizza does not have.
Probably skip: cured meat and cheese (more of what the pizza already has plenty of.)