Neapolitan Pizza Dough: Tips and Tricks from a Naples Pizzeria

Let’s talk about serious stuff: pizza dough. In the future, I’m going to share some tricks about fillings too, but think the recipe will be 100% about making the perfect dough, Neapolitan style, without having to wait too much.

Ingredients for 2- 3 Servings

Time: more or less 30 mins to knead and 4 hours total to wait.

Tips from a Naples Pizzeria

This recipe will basically be all about tricks and tips that I learned working in a pizzeria in Naples.

First of all, don’t use all the flour: if you are working with 4 cups, start using 3 and a half, as half a cup will definitely be needed on the counter/in the bowl.

Making the Dough

The second thing we want to do is to melt the salt and reactivate the yeast: from the lukewarm water (temperature here is crucial so be sure it is not cold) take half a glass and melt the salt, and a glass of water to melt together sugar and instant dry yeast. You will understand when the yeast is ready because it will start bubbling on the surface.

Now it is time to knead: put the flour in a bowl, add the plain water slowly and stir with a fork, then add the water with yeast, and only at the end the one with salt. We want to keep kneading with the fork in this phase. In the end, get your hand oily and use it to add the oil to the dough.

In this phase, the dough will look too watery; it is, trust the process. Cover the bowl with a dish or a towel, place it in a warm and dark spot, and let it sit for 30 minutes.

After the 30 minutes, put some of the half a cup flour on the counter and transfer the dough there. We want to fold it like a towel, so stretch it out on the counter and imagine dividing it into three along the long side; fold the left part over the middle and do the same with the right one. Now fold it in half in the opposite direction.

Place it again in the bowl and do the same thing after waiting 30 more minutes.

After the second set of folding, the hard job is basically done: place the dough in the bowl and wait 2 to 3 hours (or basically until the dough doubles in size, like in the picture).

Remember, in this way you will have a big dough. If you prefer to split it, put the dough on the counter again, and cut it into the number of smaller balls you prefer (I suggest no more than 4, unless you want to make small “pizzetta” as aperitive) with an oily sharp knife, form small balls, and wait 30 more mins for them to be in shape again.

Filling and Baking

This dough is the most standard one; you can use it to make focaccia, classic pizza, or the closed one (called calzone in Neapolitan).

In the same way, you can fill it with whatever you prefer (no judgment here!)

I usually love classic margherita, or the closed one (like a closed pie with a disk of dough on the bottom and top, with the filling in the middle).

If you choose veggies, always remember to drain all the water as best you can, especially if they are cooked.

If you choose mozzarella or ricotta cheese, be sure they are well-drained as well.

About cooking: the key to an amazing pizza is to boost the oven temperature to the max it can reach. You want to place the pizza first on the lower part of the oven for 8 minutes, then 4 minutes in the middle, and 5 more on the uppermost part.

Please remember that timing depends heavily on the oven and filling you choose, so pay attention throughout.

Roberta Di Rosa

Neapolitan Pizza Dough

A Neapolitan-style pizza dough recipe using instant dry yeast and a series of folds, requiring about four hours of total wait time.

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Servings: 2 servings

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 4 cups total All-purpose flour start using 3 and half, as half a cup will definitely be needed on the counter/in the bowl
• 1 and 1/3 cups Lukewarm water temperature here is crucial so be sure it is not cold
• 1 packet Instant dry yeast
• 1 and 3/4 tsp Fine salt
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 1 tbsp EVO oil

Method

 

1. From the lukewarm water, take half a glass to dissolve the salt and a glass to dissolve the sugar and instant dry yeast together.
2. Put flour in a bowl. Slowly stir in plain water with a fork, then yeast water, then salt water.
3. Continue kneading with the fork, then oil your hands and use them to work the oil into the dough.
4. Cover the bowl with a dish or towel. Rest in a warm, dark spot for 30 mins.
5. Dust the counter with some of the reserved half cup flour. Transfer dough and stretch lengthwise into thirds. Fold the left third over the middle, then the right third over the middle. Fold in half in the opposite direction.
6. Return to the bowl; rest 30 minutes and repeat the folds.
7. After the second folds, return to the bowl for 2 to 3 hours or until doubled.
8. If desired, divide into smaller balls on the counter with an oiled sharp knife. Rest 30 more mins to regain their shape.

Notes

Boost oven temperature to the max it can reach; place the pizza first on the lower part of the oven for 8 minutes, then 4 minutes in the middle, and 5 more on the highest part.

Total time: more or less 30 mins to knead and 4 hours total to wait.