Pizza napoletana
Time: 24–72 h · 4 pizzas
Change the total weight and every quantity rescales (Baker's percentage fixed).
Dough
| Ingredient | Amount | % |
|---|---|---|
| tipo 00 flour | 600 g | 100.0 |
| water | 390 g | 65.0 |
| salt | 18 g | 3.0 |
| fresh yeast | 3 g | 0.5 |
| olive oil | 5 g | 0.8 |
Dissolve the yeast in room-temperature water. Add the flour and mix until shaggy. Rest 20 minutes (autolyse).
Add salt and oil. Knead 10 minutes by hand, or 6 minutes at medium speed in a mixer, until smooth and elastic. The dough should be soft and slightly sticky.
Move to an oiled container, cover, and let it rise 2 hours at room temperature.
Bulk fermentation
| Ingredient | Amount | % |
|---|---|---|
| the mixed dough |
Fold twice during the rise, at 45 and 90 minutes. Each fold: stretch the dough over itself four times.
After 2 hours total, cover and refrigerate 24–72 hours. This cold fermentation is where the flavour and the texture come from.
Divide and rest
| Ingredient | Amount | % |
|---|---|---|
| the fermented dough |
Take the dough out of the fridge 2 hours before shaping. Divide into 4 equal pieces, about 250 g each.
Shape each one into a tight ball. Place on a lightly oiled tray with room between them and cover.
Rest at room temperature 2 hours, until puffy and relaxed.
Tomato sauce
| Ingredient | Amount |
|---|---|
| san marzano tomatoes | 400 g |
| salt | 5 g |
| olive oil | 10 g |
| dried oregano | 2 g |
Crush the tomatoes by hand into a bowl. Add salt, oil and oregano and mix. No cooking: the sauce cooks on the pizza.
Shaping
| Ingredient | Amount | % |
|---|---|---|
| one rested dough ball |
Flour the surface generously and put one ball on it. Press gently from the centre, leaving a 1 cm border for the cornicione.
Press and stretch outward with your fingertips, then lift the dough and let gravity stretch it, rotating as you go. The centre should end up thin (2–3 mm) and the rim thick and puffy. Final diameter, 25–30 cm.
Topping
| Ingredient | Amount |
|---|---|
| fresh mozzarella | 320 g |
| parmigiano reggiano | 80 g |
| fresh basil | 20 g |
| olive oil | 40 g |
Amounts above are for the whole batch: about 80 g of mozzarella per pizza.
Move the stretched dough onto a floured peel or an upturned tray, working quickly so it does not stick.
Spread three or four spoonfuls of sauce in the centre, leaving the rim clean. Don’t over-sauce. Tear the mozzarella and spread it out, add the grated parmigiano, and finish with a drizzle of oil.
Baking
| Ingredient | Amount | % |
|---|---|---|
| one topped pizza |
Preheat the oven as hot as it goes, ideally 280–300 °C, with a stone or steel on the top rack for at least an hour.
Slide the pizza onto the hot stone. Bake 6–8 minutes, until the rim is charred in spots and the base is crisp.
Without a stone, use a preheated upturned tray and bake 8–10 minutes.
Finishing
| Ingredient | Amount | % |
|---|---|---|
| the baked pizza |
Out of the oven, add fresh basil and a last drizzle of oil. Rest a minute before slicing, and serve straight away.
Notes
- Tipo 00 flour is what gives the tender, elastic texture.
- Heat is the whole game: use the hottest your oven can manage.
- Don't overload it. Less is more here.
- Some blistering and charring on the rim is the point, not a mistake.
- The traditional version bakes in a wood oven at 430–480 °C for 60–90 seconds.