Naples law mandates 905°F wood-fired ovens and 60-90 second bake times—any longer and it's legally not Neapolitan pizza.
Neapolitan Pizza
Craving that authentic taste of Italy? This Neapolitan pizza recipe brings the pizzeria experience right to your kitchen! With a crispy, charred crust created by high heat and a simple yet flavorful combination of San Marzano tomatoes and fresh mozzarella, you’ll be savoring every delicious slice in no time!
Prep
15
min
Cook
10
min
Serves
4
people
Level
intermediate
The Story
Naples, 1889: Queen Margherita gets a patriotic pizza—tomato, mozzarella, basil for the Italian flag—but the real genius happened centuries earlier when Greek settlers in Campania first slapped flatbread onto volcanic stone ovens, unknowingly inventing the blueprint that Raffaele Esposito would later turn into history's most imitated, bastardized, and Instagrammed export.
Regional Twist
Rome's pizzeria owners scandalously swap Naples' soft wheel for pizza al taglio, stretching that same 500g flour dough paper-thin into rectangular trays, proving even sacred Neapolitan dogma bends when Romans get their hands on a rolling pin and some ambition.
📝 Ingredients
Serves 4🥬Fresh Produce(1)
- 350g d’eau à TA ( à adapter selon le type de farine) (12.4 oz)
🫙Pantry Staples(2)
- 500g de farine ( idéalement farine Italienne «di grano tenero tipo 00 ») sinon de la T45 (4 cup)
- 1,5g de levure fraîche ou 0,85g de levure sèche instantanée (0.05 oz)0.85g of instant dry yeast
🧂Spices & Seasonings(1)
- 12g de sel (0.42 oz)
📦Other(1)
- de la semoule fine pour étaler la pâte.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories
468
Protein
13g
Carbs
97g
Fat
1g
👨🍳 Instructions
- 1
Dissolve the yeast (fresh or dry) in the water, then gradually add the flour and salt while kneading the dough for 10 minutes.
- 2
Shape the dough into a ball and let it rest covered for 15 minutes.
- 3
Knead the dough again for 1 to 2 minutes and let it rest for another 15 minutes. Repeat this process a third time for a total of 3 rests of 15 minutes each.
- 4
Shape the dough into a ball and let it ferment in the refrigerator for 12 to 48 hours (24 hours recommended).
- 5
Degas the dough and divide it into 3 pieces of about 250g each. Shape each piece into a ball and let them rest covered at room temperature for 2 hours.
- 6
Form the pizza using fine semolina and bake it for 3 to 4 minutes at 350 degrees Celsius or about 10 minutes at 250 degrees Celsius (ideally using a pizza stone preheated in the oven).
💡 Pro Tips
- ✓Hydrate your dough to 70% (350g water per 500g flour) for Neapolitan pizza, which creates an open crumb structure through adequate gluten development and steam retention during the high-heat bake.ingredient70% hydration ratio
- ✓Perform three consecutive 15-minute rests with 1-2 minute kneads between them during bulk fermentation because this incremental gluten relaxation prevents overoxidation while building extensibility—critical for hand-tossing without tearing.timing3 × 15 minutes with 1-2 minute kneads
- ✓Cold-ferment at 4°C for 24 hours (rather than 12-48 hours) to allow controlled lactic acid development, which enhances flavor complexity and digestibility while maintaining proper dough strength for shaping.timing24 hours at 4°C
- ✓Use fresh yeast at 1.5g per 500g flour instead of dry yeast because it ferments 15-20% faster and produces better flavor development due to higher enzyme activity and viable cell count.ingredient1.5g fresh yeast per 500g flour
- ✓Dust your peel with fine semolina (not flour) at a 3:1 semolina-to-flour ratio because semolina's larger granules reduce friction by 40% compared to flour, preventing the dough from sticking during the 3-4 minute bake at 350°C.technique3:1 semolina-to-flour ratio
Share this recipe
Prep
15
min
Cook
10
min
Serves
4
people
Level
intermediate
Share this recipe
Naples law mandates 905°F wood-fired ovens and 60-90 second bake times—any longer and it's legally not Neapolitan pizza.
Neapolitan Pizza
Craving that authentic taste of Italy? This Neapolitan pizza recipe brings the pizzeria experience right to your kitchen! With a crispy, charred crust created by high heat and a simple yet flavorful combination of San Marzano tomatoes and fresh mozzarella, you’ll be savoring every delicious slice in no time!
The Story
Naples, 1889: Queen Margherita gets a patriotic pizza—tomato, mozzarella, basil for the Italian flag—but the real genius happened centuries earlier when Greek settlers in Campania first slapped flatbread onto volcanic stone ovens, unknowingly inventing the blueprint that Raffaele Esposito would later turn into history's most imitated, bastardized, and Instagrammed export.
Regional Twist
Rome's pizzeria owners scandalously swap Naples' soft wheel for pizza al taglio, stretching that same 500g flour dough paper-thin into rectangular trays, proving even sacred Neapolitan dogma bends when Romans get their hands on a rolling pin and some ambition.
📝 Ingredients
Serves 4🥬Fresh Produce(1)
- 350g d’eau à TA ( à adapter selon le type de farine) (12.4 oz)
🫙Pantry Staples(2)
- 500g de farine ( idéalement farine Italienne «di grano tenero tipo 00 ») sinon de la T45 (4 cup)
- 1,5g de levure fraîche ou 0,85g de levure sèche instantanée (0.05 oz)0.85g of instant dry yeast
🧂Spices & Seasonings(1)
- 12g de sel (0.42 oz)
📦Other(1)
- de la semoule fine pour étaler la pâte.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories
468
Protein
13g
Carbs
97g
Fat
1g
👨🍳 Instructions
- 1
Dissolve the yeast (fresh or dry) in the water, then gradually add the flour and salt while kneading the dough for 10 minutes.
- 2
Shape the dough into a ball and let it rest covered for 15 minutes.
- 3
Knead the dough again for 1 to 2 minutes and let it rest for another 15 minutes. Repeat this process a third time for a total of 3 rests of 15 minutes each.
- 4
Shape the dough into a ball and let it ferment in the refrigerator for 12 to 48 hours (24 hours recommended).
- 5
Degas the dough and divide it into 3 pieces of about 250g each. Shape each piece into a ball and let them rest covered at room temperature for 2 hours.
- 6
Form the pizza using fine semolina and bake it for 3 to 4 minutes at 350 degrees Celsius or about 10 minutes at 250 degrees Celsius (ideally using a pizza stone preheated in the oven).
💡 Pro Tips
- ✓Hydrate your dough to 70% (350g water per 500g flour) for Neapolitan pizza, which creates an open crumb structure through adequate gluten development and steam retention during the high-heat bake.ingredient70% hydration ratio
- ✓Perform three consecutive 15-minute rests with 1-2 minute kneads between them during bulk fermentation because this incremental gluten relaxation prevents overoxidation while building extensibility—critical for hand-tossing without tearing.timing3 × 15 minutes with 1-2 minute kneads
- ✓Cold-ferment at 4°C for 24 hours (rather than 12-48 hours) to allow controlled lactic acid development, which enhances flavor complexity and digestibility while maintaining proper dough strength for shaping.timing24 hours at 4°C
- ✓Use fresh yeast at 1.5g per 500g flour instead of dry yeast because it ferments 15-20% faster and produces better flavor development due to higher enzyme activity and viable cell count.ingredient1.5g fresh yeast per 500g flour
- ✓Dust your peel with fine semolina (not flour) at a 3:1 semolina-to-flour ratio because semolina's larger granules reduce friction by 40% compared to flour, preventing the dough from sticking during the 3-4 minute bake at 350°C.technique3:1 semolina-to-flour ratio