Neapolitan Pizza Dough and Pizza

Are you ready for a pizza-making experience like no other? Neapolitan pizza dough – made with just four simple ingredients – is a unique and sacrosanct part of Italian cuisine. Unlike other types of pizza dough, neapolitan pizza dough must meet certain criteria to truly unlock its delicious flavors. You’ll be surprised just how different that final product can be when made to the exact specifications. In this video, we will discuss the four essential ingredients of neapolitan pizza dough, the importance of each, how to make it perfect every time, and the history of this beloved dish – all of which will give you the confidence to be a neapolitan pizza dough maker extraordinaire!

All of my dough recipes are mixed by hand. I don’t suggest you use a stand mixer or any other kind of mixer. After a while, hopefully, you’ll enjoy making the dough as much as I do.

Dough Balls: I finally made a video on You Tube about shaping dough balls. You can see it Here

Same Day Pizza Dough Ingredients

Method

Start this dough around 8am so you have plenty of time and aren’t rushed.

In a large zip lock tub add the water and the salt and swirl to dissolve.

Add the yeast and let sit for a few minutes to hydrate and dissolve.

Add the flour and mix by hand until fully incorporated then let rest with the cover on for about 20 minutes.

Take dough out of the tub and place onto a lightly floured surface (can use bread or all-purpose flour here) and knead for about a minute, until nice and elastic and smooth. Form into a nice big dough ball, coat tub lightly with olive oil, and put dough ball back into tub seam side down and cover for 2 hours.

After 2 hours take the dough out of the tub and place on a lightly floured surface. Cut the dough into 4 equal pieces, feel free to use your digital scale to weigh the pieces, and make into 4 smooth dough balls.

Place the dough balls on a lightly floured cookie sheet or Pyrex dish, sprinkle with additional flour, and cover tightly. Let rise for 6 hours.

Place the dough balls on a lightly floured cookie sheet or Pyrex dish, sprinkle with additional flour, and cover tightly. Let rise for 6 hours.

After 6 hours you are now ready to make your pizzas.

24 Hour Pizza Dough Ingredients

Start this dough around 6pm.

In a large zip lock tub add the water and the salt and swirl to dissolve.

Add the yeast and let sit for a few minutes to hydrate and dissolve.

Add the flour and mix by hand until fully incorporated then let rest with the cover on for about 20 minutes.

Take dough out of the tub and place onto a lightly floured surface (can use bread or all-purpose flour here) and knead for about a minute, until nice and elastic and smooth. Form into a nice big dough ball, coat tub lightly with olive oil, and put dough ball back into tub seam side down and cover for 2 hours.

After 2 hours take the dough out of the tub and place on a lightly floured surface. Cut the dough into 4 equal pieces, feel free to use your digital scale to weigh the pieces, and make into 4 smooth dough balls.

Place the dough balls on a lightly floured cookie sheet or Pyrex dish, sprinkle with additional flour, and cover tightly. Set in the fridge.

Remove dough balls from the fridge about 90 minutes before making pizzas.

Pizzas

Parchment paper method

Place your pizza steel on next to the bottom rack (you’ll adjust this for how your oven heats) and heat oven to 550 degrees. Let steel heat up for at least 15 minutes at 550.

Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit on your pizza peel and spread your pizza dough out to a 12-inch circle to fit on the paper. You can vertically rotate the dough to stretch out then finish stretching on the paper itself.

Top with pizza sauce, cheese, and desired toppings, slide pizza and paper onto your pizza steel and bake for 7 minutes (again, you’ll adjust this for your oven). Keep checking crust to make sure it isn’t burning.

Let rest a couple of minutes before cutting

Non-Parchment paper method

Place your pizza steel on next to bottom rack (again, you’ll adjust this for how your oven heats) and heat to 550 degrees. Let steel heat up for at least 15 minutes at 550.

On a wooden pizza peel, spread some flour, semolina, or corn meal (I prefer Semolina). Stretch dough and place on peel and working quickly, top with sauce and toppings and place into oven.

*The reason for a wooden peel here is that it is more forgiving with moist dough. A steel peel with make the dough stick and then you’ll have a mess.

Let rest a couple minutes before cutting

Bake for about 7 minutes, checking for crust wellness, then remove with either peel.

Inside Wood Fired Pizza

Use the non-parchment paper method but set your oven on convection bake. The air flow will start to singe the crust and it will cook faster. Start checking the pizza around the 5-minute mark. I have used parchment paper with this recipe without any issues.