Neapolitan Pizza Dough Recipe{with images}

I have been trying different pizza dough recipes, and this is by far my favorite one; this is an easy and Authentic Neapolitan Pizza Dough Recipe that is foolproof and works every time.

Neapolitan Pizzas require high temperatures to come out perfectly with the leopard spots. If you make pizza with this dough recipe in an indoor oven, you can still achieve leopard spotting.

Regardless, the pizzas turn out great with this recipe, and it is super easy to make if you have the right ingredients at hand.

I cooked it in an indoor convection oven and can even use the air fryer technique, and my results were pretty similar to Neapolitan pizza. However, you need an outdoor oven like Ooni to get the perfect result every time.

The crust was crispy and slightly chewy, with the perfect cheese blended with the flavor of the authentic Neapolitan pizza sauce.

So, follow the exact recipe below, and you are going to be amazed at the results of this recipe.

Neapolitan Pizza Dough Recipe

Ingredients

– 500 grams Caputo Tipo 00 Flour

– 1/2 tbsp Instant Yeast

– Salt

– 300 -310 ml Water(room temperature)

-Olive Oil(during kneading)

Hydration in Neapolitan Pizza

Hydration is a pretty important aspect of Neapolitan pizza dough, and in this recipe, I have used a 62 percent hydration by using 310 ml of water.

A dough is said to have 60 percent hydration if 1000 grams of flour has 600 ml of water.

It is okay to have a hydration of 60-65 percent, as the dough becomes easy to manage and easy to stretch and shape.

I wish to experiment with 70 percent hydration soon, but if you are a beginner, stay in the 60-65 percent hydration range, and you will be fine.

Protein content in Neapolitan Pizza Flour

The four that you use in this recipe is crucial for getting all the air pockets, the stretch, and the texture that is much needed for a Neapolitan pizza.

The protein content of Neapolitan pizza is suggested to be around 11-13 percent. The one I used for this recipe has 12.5 percent.

Anything within the given range should be fine for this recipe, just make sure it is a 00 flour meant for Neapolitan pizzas. 00 flour means fine ground flour and this is perfect for making pizzas.

You can use Caputo Tipo 00 flour, as it makes the best Neapolitan pizza.

Yeast

I have used instant yeast for this recipe. You replace dry instant yeast with fresh yeast; just double the amount of dry instant yeast, and you will get the amount of fresh yeast to be used in the recipe.

Olive Oil

I use olive oil to coat the pizza dough in the end and use it on my hands while kneading so the dough is easier to manage.

Honestly, I find using a little olive oil can really make the dough smooth, and it is a good addition towards the end.

Some people skip this and use flour while kneading the dough; both are good options, but I prefer the oil.

Do not add olive oil to the dough while kneading it or mix it with the wet ingredients.

Why choose this Neapolitan Pizza Dough Recipe?

There are a few reasons why this recipe stands out!

1. I have a step-by-step process for making Neapolitan pizza dough with images.

2. It is super easy to follow and understand, and once you get used to this method, you can follow the same process while making any other kind of pizza dough(just with different measurements of ingredients).

How to make Neapolitan Pizza Dough?

Once you are clear on the ingredients and the quality of ingredients to use, we should get started with the recipe.

Step 1-

Add the entire 310 ml of water to the bowl and add salt to it. Dissolve the salt in water.

Step 2-

Now add 3-4 tbsp from the measured 500 grams of flour. DO NOT add all the flour now; we just need a few tbsp to form a pancake batter-like consistency.

Once you add the flour, mix it with your hand and ensure minimal lumps in the batter you made.

Step 3-

Once the flour has mixed well in the salt water, add yeast. We added a little bit of flour so that the yeast doesn’t come in direct contact with the salt in the salt water and is a bit more diluted with the flour in there.

Step 4-

Now, once you have added the yeast and mixed that in the solution, finally add the rest of the flour. So, you totally added 500 grams of flour.

Now, start mixing the dough and form a ball.

Once you get it in the shape of a ball, leave it to rest aside for about an hour at room temperature.

Step 5- After an hour, the dough must have doubled in size.

It is now time to knead the dough. Now, you can use oil in your palms, pour some on the dough, and start kneading it.

Once you get a nice smooth dough that is silky smooth and soft, you will know the kneading is done. Kneading should take about ten minutes.

Step 6- Once you are done kneading, make small balls of the dough, store it in an air-tight container, and keep it in the refrigerator to ferment for 24-48 hours.

If you are fermenting it at room temperature, you can leave it overnight.

Neapolitan Pizza Dough Calculator

If you are confused about the measurements, then use PizzApp+, a Neapolitan pizza dough calculator.

You can download this app for free and enter the quantity of flour that you wish to use or the number of pizza dough balls you want to make, and the app gives you the quantity of all the other ingredients that you need.

You can even select the hydration. I recommend keeping it 60-62 if you are a beginner. Basically, nothing above 65.

You get help with the EXACT measurements. Once you have some practice, you can eyeball the ingredients, but if you are a beginner, then I definitely recommend using this app.

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