Neo Neapolitan Pizza
A modern homemade Italian pizza recipe, Neapolitan style
Servings 4
Ingredients
- 4 cups Tipo 00 flour I use Caputo
- 1 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
- 1 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 3/4 cups + 2 tbsp cold water
- 1 tbsp olive oil + 1 tsp for oiling bowl
- 1/2 cup tomato sauce
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine flour, yeast, salt, and water. Mix to combine with a chopstick.
- Transfer dough to floured work surface and knead for 10 minutes until elastic.
- Cover in plastic wrap and place on counter for 24 - 48 hours.
- Remove pizza dough from bowl and place on a floured work surface.
- Split dough into 4 equal pieces and lightly shape each into a round circle.
- Place each ball of dough onto a large plate and cover with plastic wrap. Proof in fridge for 6 - 24 hours.
- When ready to cook, preheat pizza oven to 600 - 700°F
- Remove dough from fridge. Generously flour work surface.
- Shape pizza dough by pressing your fingers into the dough, taking care not to deflate the air bubbles, and gently pulling to stretch the dough into a circle 10 - 12" wide.
- Spoon a heaping tablespoon of your tomato sauce and thin it out evenly across the dough.
- Add torn pieces of fresh mozzarella cheese.
- Cook pizza for 3-5 minutes, rotating every 20-30 seconds.
- Remove from oven and top with fresh basil and olive oil.
Notes
- Flour your crust! Make sure when you roll out your crust you use plenty of flour. My favorite is semolina, because it provides a nice crunch and texture after cooking. It's also more granular, so it keeps it from sticking to the paddle.
- Keep your dough in the fridge as long as possible. 2-3 days ahead helps develop such a nice flavor that is signature for serious pizza connoisseurs.
- You can use a store bought pizza sauce, but the magic recipe for sauce is just fresh san marzano tomatoes (or canned from Italy) blended with a little olive oil, salt, and basil. You don't need to cook it!
- Instead of slicing your mozzarella, rip it by hand. This creates more irregular shapes and a more authentic, rustic looking pie.
- When cooking multiple pizzas for a group, I keep them in the oven directly on the rack on the lowest temperature possible. I also undercook them slightly. Then, when we're ready to eat, I pop each pizza back in the pizza oven for 15-30 seconds, turning constantly to prevent burning.