Level: Intermediate
Time : 12 hrs 17 mins
Cook Time : 2 mins
Prep Time : 12 hrs 15 mins
Yield: Serves 4
Neapolitan pizza dough is the core of the world’s most famous and authentic pizza styles, from Naples, Italy. Always made with Italian doppio zero (double zero) flour which indicates the finest grind. The double zero flour is milled from soft wheat, which has less elastic gluten than hard wheat.
Ingredients:
- 500g (4 cups) 00 flour (Caputo or San Felice)
- 325ml (1 ⅓ cups) cold water
- 10g (2 tsp) sea salt
- 3g (¾ tsp) fresh active dry yeast
Instructions:
Step 1: Mixing the Dough
In a dough mixer, dissolve the fresh yeast, broken into small pieces in cold water and mix for 15 seconds. Next gradually add the flour and let the mixer run on the lowest speed for 2-3 minutes. Add the salt and continue kneading the dough for about 10 minutes until it becomes smooth as shown in the video.
Step 2: Portioning
Cover the dough in a box and let it rest for 45 minutes at room temperature. Next use a dough cutter to divide it into 300g (10.58 oz) balls for 12-inch pizzas. Move the dough balls to the fridge to ferment for 24 hours.
Step 3: Final Proofing
Allow the dough to rest at room temperature for 2-4 hours before baking.
Tips for Authentic Neapolitan Pizza Dough
- Always use 00 flour for the best texture and a dough ball weighing 180 to 300 grams.
- The hydration level (66%) makes the dough light and airy.
- Traditional Neapolitan pizza dough does not use sugar or oil in the dough.
- When baked at the highest possible temperature for a soft, airy, and slightly chewy texture, with a signature leopard-spotted char on the crust.
- Use our pizza calculator for the regular and Poolish methods, and let the calculator do magic.
