At 170 Grammi, Surry Hills’ Roman pizza restaurant, the pizza oven weighs 1.9 tonnes. It was handmade in Italy and imported specifically for the bake that Roman pizza demands. That weight is not incidental — it reflects the sustained, even heat that a thin, high-hydration Roman base needs to finish correctly.
But the oven only completes the work. Everything that matters about a Roman pizza’s final texture — its clean crunch, its lightness, the way a slice holds — is built into the dough before the first pizza ever goes near fire.
What Is Woodfired Roman Pizza?
Woodfired Roman pizza is a distinct style defined by the combination of a thin, crisp Roman base and the direct, even heat of a wood-fired oven. Unlike softer pizza styles that use high heat to create char, steam and a pillowy crust, Roman pizza uses heat to lock in structure and amplify the lightness built by long fermentation and high-hydration dough.
The result is a pizza that is crisp from edge to centre, light in the hand, and precise in the way it carries its toppings. It does not fold under its own weight. It does not collapse as it cools. The woodfired bake is the final stage of a technique that begins hours — sometimes days — before the oven is lit.
The Oven Behind the Roman Crunch
The woodfired oven is the defining tool of Roman pizza — and not every oven serves the style equally. Roman pizza requires consistent, penetrating heat that reaches the base quickly and evenly without scorching the toppings. A wood-fired oven with real thermal mass — one that has retained heat across hours of use — delivers that in a way other oven types cannot replicate reliably.
At 170 Grammi, a Roman pizza restaurant at 428 Crown Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010 in Sydney, the 1.9-tonne handmade Italian oven was imported for precisely this reason. Luigi Esposito — who has spent 35 years mastering Roman pizza technique — chose it for its ability to finish a thin Roman base without sacrificing the lightness built into the dough. The oven is not a prop; it is a technical requirement of the style.
Why Roman Dough Has to Be Ready for the Heat
Roman pizza dough has to be prepared for crispness before it reaches the oven floor. High heat is unforgiving. A dough that is under-fermented, too dense, or compressed during shaping will colour quickly on the outside but lack definition on the inside. The result is hard rather than crisp — and flat in flavour rather than layered.
Roman dough is built to meet high heat with the right internal structure. The hydration sits between 65 and 70 per cent — high for a pizza style designed around crispness — and that moisture, when it contacts the stone floor of the oven, converts rapidly to steam that lifts and opens the base as it sets. The dough is then shaped with a rolling pin rather than hand-stretched, ensuring consistent thinness from centre to edge.
The mechanics behind this are covered in detail in our guide to high-hydration Roman pizza dough, which explains how water percentage shapes the final bake and why Roman dough handles very differently to Neapolitan.
What Fermentation Does Before the Oven Does Anything
Long, cold fermentation is where Roman pizza builds its flavour and structural integrity. At 170 Grammi, the dough ferments for 48 to 72 hours at 2–4°C. Over that period, yeast produces carbon dioxide at a slow, controlled rate while enzymatic activity breaks down complex starches — making the dough more digestible and giving the finished base a flavour that is rounded and more complex than freshly made dough can deliver.
Fermentation also builds the extensibility that the rolling pin technique depends on. Without adequate time in the cold, the dough resists shaping, springs back, and cannot be worked thin without tearing. With proper fermentation, it opens evenly and holds the dimensions it is rolled to — which means the base arrives at the oven floor at a consistent thickness and bakes uniformly.
Without this preparation, a woodfired pizza can emerge technically correct but taste flat. Fermentation adds depth that survives the oven. Our article on the role of long fermentation in Roman pizza goes deeper into why time matters more than most visible technique.
How a Wood-Fired Oven Sets a Roman Base
In a wood-fired oven, heat arrives from three directions at once: radiant heat from the flame and dome, conductive heat from the stone floor, and convective heat from the circulating air. For a thin Roman base, this triple exposure drives off surface moisture rapidly, setting the exterior before the interior has time to become saturated.
The result — when the dough is correctly prepared — is a base that finishes with a clean snap: a dry, set outer layer that breaks crisply but gives way immediately to a light interior. The toppings above are bright and distinct because they have been finished in short, intense heat, not exposed to prolonged baking. Tomato tastes sharper. Cheese holds its character. Cured meats stay defined rather than melting into the base.
Why Woodfired Roman Pizza Feels Lighter Than Other Styles
The crispness of Roman pizza is sometimes confused with heaviness — as if a crunchy base must also be thick or dry. The opposite is true. A correctly executed Roman base is thinner than most pizza styles, and lighter because its structure comes from the way gas distributes through high-hydration dough during fermentation and bake, not from bulk.
A woodfired Neapolitan pizza uses high heat differently: to create char and carbonisation at the edge, with a soft, yielding centre. Roman pizza distributes crispness across the whole base. Each slice carries the same texture from crust to centre, which means toppings stay defined rather than sinking into softness — and each slice invites the next rather than sitting heavily after the first.
That consistency is what gives Roman pizza its characteristic eating experience: light enough to keep eating, crisp enough to hold without folding, structured enough to share cleanly across the table.
What to Look for in a Woodfired Roman Slice
Before the first bite, lift a slice and watch how it holds. A correctly made Roman pizza should hold flat — no sag, no curl. The base should look dry rather than oiled or shiny. The toppings should sit clean and defined against the surface.
The bite should close easily: a short snap, then open. Not a crack that dries the palate, not a pull that stretches or tears. The interior should be dry but not papery. The flavour at the base should register as something distinct — a mild tang from fermentation, a slight nuttiness from the bake — rather than background.
By the third or fourth slice, a well-made woodfired Roman pizza should feel lighter than it did at the first. That progression — getting easier to eat, not heavier — is the signature of the Roman style handled correctly.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is woodfired Roman pizza?
Woodfired Roman pizza is a thin, crisp pizza style baked in a wood-fired oven, where high, even heat sets a base built on high-hydration dough and long cold fermentation. The result is a pizza that is crisp from edge to centre, light in the hand, and structured enough to hold its toppings cleanly without folding.
Why does the oven matter for Roman pizza?
A wood-fired oven delivers radiant, conductive and convective heat simultaneously, driving moisture out of a thin Roman base quickly and evenly. This rapid, even bake sets the Roman crunch without scorching the toppings or creating the charring associated with Neapolitan-style baking, where softness in the centre is part of the intended result.
Is woodfired Roman pizza lighter than Neapolitan?
Yes. Roman pizza distributes crispness across the whole base, while Neapolitan pizza is designed for softness in the centre and char at the edge. Roman pizza’s thin, high-hydration base — typically hydrated at 65–70 per cent and fermented for 48 to 72 hours — means each slice feels lighter and holds its structure better throughout the meal.
What makes Roman dough different before it goes in the oven?
Roman pizza dough is prepared with a hydration of 65–70 per cent, fermented for 48 to 72 hours at 2–4°C, and shaped with a rolling pin rather than hand-stretched. These three factors — hydration level, cold fermentation time, and rolling technique — build the internal structure that a woodfired bake then sets into a consistent crunch across the whole base.
Can woodfired Roman pizza work for takeaway?
Yes. Because Roman pizza dough is designed for structure and crispness rather than softness, it holds its texture better during takeaway than softer pizza styles. The thin, fermented base stays defined as it cools rather than collapsing or becoming soggy — which is why the Roman style is well-suited to eating at home as well as at the table.
Where can I eat woodfired Roman pizza in Sydney?
170 Grammi at 428 Crown Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010 serves woodfired Roman pizza in the La Tonda Romana style, baked in a 1.9-tonne handmade Italian oven by Luigi Esposito, who has spent 35 years mastering Roman pizza technique. The restaurant is open Tuesday to Thursday from 5–10 pm, and Friday to Sunday from 12–10 pm.
170 Grammi is Surry Hills’ home of authentic Roman-style pizza, founded by Naples-born pizzaiolo Luigi Esposito. Where Luigi’s other restaurants bring the traditions of Naples to Sydney, 170 Grammi is dedicated to the Roman counterpart — La Tonda Romana — defined by thin, high-hydration dough, long fermentation and a clean, structured crunch that sets it apart from softer southern styles.
Opened in 2024 at 428 Crown Street and already one of the most-searched pizza restaurants in Surry Hills, 170 Grammi has quickly established itself as Sydney’s leading destination for Roman-style pizza. This blog covers the craft and culture behind what makes Roman pizza distinct — from dough technique and fermentation to menu guides, Roman food traditions and what to look for in a genuinely authentic slice.