Napoletano Style Pizza Dough
This is a recipe I have developed over years of making pizza dough. This is an easy, approachable version of Neapolitan Style Pizza dough for the home cook. With a few key ingredients and techniques you can have restaurant quality pizza at home! I promise you this recipe will not disappoint. The only thing you are going to need before you begin is a kitchen scale. The scale I use is called Escali Primo Digital Food Scale. A few other things to have on hand to make pizza making at home easy are wooden peel, a pizza stone or pizza steel, and a dough scraper. Another item that make for great Neapolitan style pizza is the type of flour used. I use 00 flour and it definitely makes a difference in the texture of the pizza. I use a few different brands: King Arthur, Caputo, and Anna Napoletana.
Neapolitan Style Pizza Dough
Ingredients
- 750 g 00 Flour
- 525 ml Warm Water 100-108F
- 15 g Salt
- 4 g Active Dry Yeast
- 1 Tsp Honey to feed the yeast this doesn't need to be an exact measurement
- Semola Rimacinata for the pizza peel
Instructions
- Start by measuring out your water and adding dry yeast and honey. Mix well and let it sit for 10 minutes to bloom.
- Once foamy, add in flour and salt. Mix until you have a shaggy dough. Let the dough sit for one hour covered. This is to allow the flour to hydrate and for the gluten to develop.
- After an hour, knead the dough into a smooth ball, for about 3-5 mins. Place into an oiled container, cover and let it rise until it doubles in size for 1 to 2 hours.
- Once doubled in size, cut into three equal pieces. Knead each piece into a smooth ball. At this point you can place them in the refrigerator overnight or you can use them immediately, just let them sit covered for 30 minutes before making your pizza. This will allow the gluten to relax, so it’s easier to form your pizza.
- Preheat your oven at 500°F.
- ****For best results, use a pizza stone or pizza steel! Place them on the bottom rack of the oven. The key is to preheat the stone or steel at 500°F for one hour before placing the pizza on top of it. This will ensure a great crust underneath the pizza. Another tip to get a brick oven style finish would be to turn the broiler on during the last few minutes of cooking.****
- Stretch your pizza dough out to about a 14-16 inch round. Place onto a wooden peel, sprinkled with semola. Before putting any toppings on, make sure the pizza dough slides around. Any moisture on the peel will cause the pizza to stick, and it will not slide onto the stone, resulting in quite a mess! Add your sauce and toppings and mozzarella. And slide your pizza onto the hot stone or steel.
- Your pizza should take about 10 minutes to cook, but every oven is different so you should check it often. You may want too turn it 180° after 5 mins.
