Last updated on October 26th, 2023
Carbs on carbs, what could be better? Leave it to the Italians to get very friendly with this combination, especially when it comes to street food. The more carbs, the better and there is nothing that quite embodies this concept more than Italy’s famous potato pizza.
In Italy, potato pizza isn’t usually ordered at pizzerias but rather, ordered by the ‘slice’ and eaten as street food for a light lunch, snack or even breakfast.
Potato pizza is super easy to recreate at home and it’s a hit for even the pickiest eaters. Think pillowy focaccia with a crisp topping of salty, oily potatoes. Sounds good, right? In this article, I will share with you my potato pizza recipe and how best to enjoy it at home.
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Recipe Pronunciation
Potato pizza in Italian is pizza con patate, pronounced peetz-zah cohn pah-tah-teh.
Listen to the pronunciation of potato pizza in Italian:
What Is Potato Pizza?
Potato pizza is a yeasted focaccia flatbread, baked with a layer of thinly sliced potatoes, sold at bakeries or forni, as we call them in Italy, by the weight. The dough is the same as any other focaccia but instead of tomatoes and cheese, potato pizza starts as a pizza bianca or all’olio, meaning without tomatoes.
A really good potato pizza should be soft on the inside and crisp on the outside with a nice, salty, oily bite on top from the potatoes.
Potato pizza in Italy is really a street food enjoyed as an afternoon snack for kids or as a light lunch, cut up into small squares with a cocktail or even for breakfast for early risers.
In Rome (Lazio), the tradition of pizza by the slice, or pizza a taglio, is very popular and widespread.
How To Eat Potato Pizza
Italians typically eat potato pizza the same way that they eat any other pizza a taglio or pizza by the slice. They will stand up or sit casually on a bench outside a forno or bakery. Eating potato pizza is a very casual affair, often paired with beer, water or coke.
Good To Know: Pizza a taglio is sold by the weight in big squares or rectangles, not by the slice like in the US.
If you sit down, you might order several different kinds of pizza a taglio but if you are just grabbing a large square to eat standing, you would most likely just stick to a single kind.
Early risers eat potato pizza even for breakfast. It’s filling and really flavorful.
My family eats potato pizza typically as an afternoon snack or for colazione (morning snack at school). It’s easy to pack and holds up well at room temperature.
Learn More: Read How Do Italians Eat Pizza? and Do Italians Eat Pizza With a Fork?
Ingredients For Potato Pizza
- 1 recipe for schiacciata or focaccia dough
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1-1½ pounds gold potatoes (4-5 medium, depending on the size)
- 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary, optional
How To Make Potato Pizza
Preheat the oven to 475°F (245° C).
Be sure you have your schiacciata or focaccia dough ready to use in the next 30 minutes (see notes below for how to make potato pizza in one day without an overnight proof).
Fill a large bowl with lukewarm water and whisk in 1 ½ teaspoons of salt.
Peel the potatoes and slice them very thinly either by hand, with a mandoline slicer or the slicer on a box grater.
Place the potatoes in the saltwater bath, being sure they are completely submerged and let soak for at least 30 minutes. You can also cover and refrigerate them for up to 12 hours.
Drain the sliced potatoes in a colander and pat them dry with paper towels or a clean kitchen towel, removing as much moisture as possible.
Place the potato slices in a large bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the chopped rosemary, if using. Gently toss, making sure all the potatoes are evenly coated with the olive oil.
Line a baking sheet (minimum dimensions 17×11.5 inches) with parchment paper, drizzle with olive oil and spread it out evenly with your hands. Turn the schiacciata dough out onto the baking sheet. Using slightly wet or oiled hands, pull and stretch the dough out into a square (or whatever shape you can manage; it can be a little challenging to spread out), pulling from the underside of the dough outward.
Spread the potatoes in an even layer on top of the dough. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with the remaining ½ teaspoon salt.
Bake for 13-17 minutes in the middle of the oven until golden brown and crunchy.
Let cool before cutting.
How To Make Potato Pizza Without An Overnight Proof
Prepare the schiacciata dough at least 5 hours prior to baking. Place it in a well-oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise at room temperature for 3-7 hours or until doubled in volume, performing four folds every 30 minutes, four times.
Fold the dough upon itself by lifting up one corner of the dough with a slightly wet hand, pulling it up and bringing it back down on top of the dough on the opposite side. Turn the bowl a quarter of a turn and repeat 3 more times until all the dough has been folded upon itself.
Finish proofing at room temperature. Do not refrigerate for same-day potato pizza. When doubled in size, you can move onto the instructions for making potato pizza.
Good To Know: The time it takes for your dough to double in size will depend greatly on the weather, climate, time of year, humidity, water and type of flour. In the summer, your dough will double in size very quickly but in the winter, it can take upward of six hours!
Variations For Potato Pizza
Potato Pizza in Italy will always be made slightly differently because like most Italian foods, each bakery will have their own recipe or special touch.
Some versions are made with thinly sliced or diced white onion, which are added with the potatoes. Any type of onion will work well here. Other versions include chopped herbs such as oregano, rosemary or even thyme (less common) or cherry tomatoes.
More complex versions are flavored with cheese such as pecorino romano in Rome or other good melting cheeses such as scamorza or mozzarella.
Good To Know: Potato pizza is such a simple pizza that you can really add anything like you to the potatoes to give an extra boost of flavor. Use this recipe as a base and have fun experimenting with different pizza topping combinations.
Check Out: How to Make Focaccia Art and How to Make Pinsa!
Notes and Tips For Making Potato Pizza
- You can really use any baking sheet you like as long as it’s at least 17×11.5 inches, approximately. I like to use a larger one and stretch it out in a more organic shape than a perfect rectangle.
- Use any kind of potatoes you like for this potato pizza recipe.
- Don’t rush a rise. Let your dough proof correctly, being sure it has doubled in size before moving forward with the potato pizza recipe.
- Don’t peel the potatoes if you don’t want to. Italians always peel their potatoes, which is why I have for this authentic potato pizza recipe.
- Use an oven thermometer for an accurate oven temperature
- Use a pizza stone if you have one and are comfortable using it (they help to ensure a crispy crust on the bottom)
Potato Pizza
Ingredients
- 1 recipe schiacciata or focaccia dough
- 2 tsp salt
- 1-1.5 lbs gold potatoes (3-4 medium, depending on size)
- 4 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil plus more for drizzling
- freshly-ground black pepper
- 1 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 475°F (245° C).
- Be sure you have your schiacciata or focaccia dough ready to use in the next 30 minutes (see notes for how to make potato pizza in one day without an overnight proof).
- Fill a large bowl with lukewarm water and whisk in 1 ½ teaspoons of salt.
- Peel the potatoes and slice them very thinly either by hand, with a mandoline slicer or the slicer on a box grater
- Place the potatoes in the saltwater bath, being sure they are completely submerged and let soak for at least 30 minutes. You can also cover and refrigerate them for up to 12 hours.
- Drain the sliced potatoes in a colander and pat them dry with paper towels or a clean kitchen towel, removing as much moisture as possible.
- Place the potato slices in a large bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the chopped rosemary, if using. Gently toss, making sure all the potatoes are evenly coated with the olive oil.
- Line a baking sheet (minimum dimensions 17×11.5 inches) with parchment paper and drizzle it with olive oil and spread it out evenly with your hands. Turn the schiacciata dough out onto the baking sheet. Using slightly wet hands, pull and stretch the dough out into a square (or whatever shape you can manage; it can be a little challenging to spread out), pulling from the underside of the dough outward.
- Spread the potatoes in an even layer on top of the dough. Drizzle with two more tablespoons of olive oil and sprinkle with the remaining ½ teaspoon salt.
- Bake for 13-17 minutes in the middle of the oven until golden brown and crunchy.
- Let cool before cutting.
Notes
- You can really use any baking sheet you like as long as it’s at least 17×11.5 inches, approximately. I like to use a larger one and stretch it out in a more organic shape than a perfect rectangle.
- Use any kind of potatoes you like for this potato pizza recipe.
- Don’t rush a rise. Let your dough proof correctly, being sure it has doubled in size before moving forward with the potato pizza recipe.
- Don’t peel the potatoes if you don’t want to. Italians always peel their potatoes, which is why I have for this authentic potato pizza recipe.
- Use an oven thermometer for an accurate oven temperature
- Use a pizza stone if you have one and are comfortable using it (they help to ensure a crispy crust on the bottom)
Potato Pizza Recipe FAQ
The concept of potato pizza is Italian but it’s particularly beloved by the Romans in Lazio. Each region in Italy will have their own version and specialty, sometimes adding herbs, tomatoes or regional cheese.
The idea of putting sliced potatoes on a pizza comes from the very common Italian culinary tradition of using what is seasonal and local without wasting anything. No Italian would be caught dead throwing away a lone potato or two so one day, it was sliced and put on a pizza!
Potato pizza can be stored wrapped well in plastic wrap for one day. It can be reheated at 300°F until warm and crisp. Don’t ever microwave potato pizza or focaccia because it will get soggy. You can also freeze potato pizza in a freezer ziplock bag.
Potato pizza is best the same day it’s made but you can also enjoy it the following day reheated or eaten at room temperature.
