Making Authentic Neapolitan Pizza at Home, Step by Step

Key points

• A real Neapolitan pizza bakes very fast in a super-hot oven and cooks completely in about 90 seconds, so the oven's heat matters more than anything else. 0:13
• The dough uses only Napoli flour, rests 16 hours at room temperature, and then ferments 30 hours in the fridge after shaping. 0:38
• The sauce is San Marzano tomatoes crushed by hand with garlic, fresh basil and salt, then rested in the fridge for 24 hours for a deeper, sweeter flavour. 2:58
• Ovens rank by heat: a real wood-fired oven is best, a home pizza oven reaching at least 700°F (about 370°C) is second, and a regular oven that tops out near 500°F (about 260°C) is weaker. 4:06
• Keep toppings minimal, since top chefs use little cheese and few ingredients, and learn from a test pizza by watching the edge puff and the leopard spots form. 6:08

Words the video explains

• Neapolitan pizza — A real Neapolitan-style pizza bakes extremely fast in a super-hot oven, giving a soft, delicate centre and a puffed, airy crust edge made with very simple fresh ingredients. 0:13
• Neapolitan pizza cooking goal — The purpose of cooking Neapolitan pizza is to cook it fast so that the pizza and its dough do not dry out. 4:37
• leopard spots — The small black spots on the crust are called leopard spots (leoparding), and the goal is to get them on both the underside and top of the edge. 6:24
• Ice pieces on the dough — Ice is placed on the dough during the first bake to slow how fast the top cooks while the base finishes. 5:35
• Cold fermentation — Long refrigerated rest, here 30 hours, which lets the dough rise slowly and gives a softer, delicate texture. 2:41

What you need

• Flour — Caputo Pizzeria flour, as shown on the bag; amount not stated
• Water and salt — Water and salt for the dough; a small pinch of salt is also added to the sauce
• Yeast — Yeast added to the dough; amount not stated
• San Marzano tomatoes — One can or jar of canned San Marzano tomatoes for the sauce
• Garlic, basil and olive oil — Several cloves of garlic, fresh basil and olive oil for the sauce and finish
• Pizza oven — A very hot oven: a wood-fired oven, a home pizza oven near 700°F, or a regular oven at about 500°F
• Pizza peel and ice — A peel to slide the pizza, and ice pieces for the first test bake

Steps

• 1. Mix water, salt and flour: Dissolve the salt in water by hand, then add flour a handful at a time until the mix is milky and has no lumps. 0:30
• 2. Add yeast and knead: Add the yeast, work it in with your hands, then keep adding flour and kneading until the dough is fully combined. 0:57
• 3. Ball and rest for 16 hours: Shape the dough into a ball, place it seam-side down in a bowl, cover with cling film and rest at room temperature for 16 hours. 2:05
• 4. Refrigerate for 30 hours: Divide the dough into two, shape each into a ball, place on a lined tray with space between, cover and refrigerate for 30 hours. 2:41
• 5. Make and chill the sauce: Open a jar of San Marzano tomatoes, crush them by hand, add garlic, basil and a pinch of salt, then refrigerate for 24 hours. 2:58
• 6. Preheat the oven and shape the dough: Heat the oven as hot as possible, dust the work surface with flour, and stretch the dough with minimal handling. 4:49
• 7. Add ice and slide into the oven: Place a few ice pieces on the dough to slow the top, slide the pizza on the peel and close the oven quickly. 5:35
• 8. Check the edge and the leopard spots: When the water has evaporated, take the pizza out and check for even leopard spots on the top and underside of the crust. 6:20

Questions to check yourself