Pizza Contemporanea (Canotto)
The modern high-hydration pizza. A dramatically puffed, hollow cornicione around a thin, lightly dressed centre.
Canotto is Italian for an inflatable dinghy, and the name describes the rim. The style spread in the 2010s from pizzerias in Campania, around Caserta and Naples, whose pizzaioli used much more water and a longer fermentation than the classic Napoletana does.
The formula in numbers
- Hydration
- 78%
- Salt
- 2.8%
- Olive Oil
- none
- Portion
- 4 × 280 g, about 30.8 cm
- Fermentation source
- Fresh Yeast
- Bulk at room temperature
- 3 h
- In the fridge
- 39 h
- Final proof
- 6 h
- Flour strength
- W 270–400
- Flour protein
- 12–15%
How to prepare it
- Flour619 g
- Water483 g
- Salt17 g
- Fresh Yeast0.54 g
The yeast is dosed for the fermentation times of this formula. The calculator adjusts it to your flour, your kitchen and your schedule.
- W 270–400
The dough
Flour, water, salt and yeast, as in a Napoletana, but with far more water. Use a strong flour, W 270 to 400.
The dough takes 2.8% salt. Salt tightens the gluten, and a dough this wet needs the help.
- 78% water
Mixing
At 78% hydration this dough is wet and sticky. Hold back a small part of the water and add it slowly, once the dough has built some strength.
Wet your hands instead of adding flour.
- 48 h
Fermentation
3 h at room temperature, then 39 h in the fridge. The long, cold maturation is part of the style, not an option.
A short plan gives you a Napoletana with too much water, not a canotto.
- 6 h
Dough balls
Divide the dough into 4 balls of 280 g. They are heavier than Napoletana balls because the tall rim takes more dough. Leave them covered at room temperature for 6 h.
The balls need that long to warm through and fill with gas. The gas becomes the rim.
- 2 min
Shaping and baking
Open the ball gently and push the gas out to the edge. Never press the rim. Bake at around 450°C (842°F) for about 2 min, a little longer than a Napoletana, so the tall rim dries through.
Keep the centre thin and use few toppings. The rim is the point of this pizza.
The most common mistakes
Wrong:Using an ordinary weak flour
Right:Pick a flour of W 270 to 400. A weaker one cannot hold 78% water.
Wrong:Pouring in all the water at once
Right:Add the last part slowly, once the dough has come together.
Wrong:Cutting the final rest short
Right:Give the balls the full 6 h. A cold, tight ball opens into a flat, wet disc.
Wrong:Pressing the rim while you open the ball
Right:Work from the centre and move the gas outwards, so it stays in the edge.
Recommended flours
Flour for this formula: W 270–400, 12–15% protein. Ranked by fit, then by availability in your country, then by popularity.
