Traditional Neapolitan Dough
This Neapolitan pizza dough is the best I’ve ever had! I made it thick but it’s really up to you on how thick or thin you want it. The pizza I made has two different toppings : Margherita and Hawaiian but same tomato sauce for the whole pizza. The Hawaiian part is vegetarian, I used pineapple, pepper and grated cheese.
I know there is a bit of a war between people that like pineapple on their pizza, and the others that find it crazy. Well, I actually find it a bit weird, but I like it, so… By the way, did you know that Hawaiian pizza comes from Canada?
The dough recipe is from a Neapolitan chef, Alba Pezone.
A few tips to make a great pizza!
For the kneading, if you don’t have a stand mixer, you can do it by hand. Here is a french video you can follow, no need to speak the language, just check the chef’s gestures!
I personally use a stand mixer with a hook, it takes about 12 minutes to get a nice elasticity. Also, I use a scale when baking and I would recommend doing so as it’s much more precise but I converted the weights in cups for people that prefer it this way.
It requires 8 to 10 hours of proofing, so you can let it rest overnight or make it in the morning for the evening.
Surprisingly, the dough doesn’t require any olive oil, you’re just going to press some on top of it once it’s stretched.
The pizza is going in the oven twice, once for 5 minutes with only the tomato sauce. I used my homemade tomato sauce but you can use any kind of tomato sauce you like.
And then, for about 5 to 10 minutes with the rest of the Margherita and Hawaiian toppings – apart from the herbs.
Add the herbs after baking and a drizzle of olive oil if you like!
If you have some leftovers, reheat in the oven at 350°F for 10 to 15 minutes.
Traditional Neapolitan pizza dough
Ingredients
- 1⅓ cup water 320 g
- 2 tsp fine sea salt 10 g
- ½ tsp instant dry yeast 3 g = 10 g fresh yeast
- 3 cups +3 tbsp Manitoba flour 500 g
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 tbsp tomato sauce
- 5 slices mozzarella
- fresh basil chopped
- ¼ cup red pepper diced
- ¼ cup pineapple diced
- grated cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Put the flour, salt, yeast and water in a bowl of a stand mixer and mix on first speed with a hook until combined – scrape the sides if needed.
- Knead on second speed for about 10 to 12 minutes.
- Once the dough is elastic, quickly shape a ball and place in a lighlty greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for 8 to 10 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 480°F. Brush with olive oil or place a parchment paper on a baking sheet.
- Spread the dough with your hands – that you previously covered with a bit of olive oil to prevent from sticking. Push the dough from the center to the edges with your fingers, until you get the thickness you want.
- Prick the edges with a fork, and press the olive oil into the dough with your fingers.
- Spread the tomato sauce and bake the pizza for 5 minutes at 480°F.
- Remove from the oven and put the rest of the ingredients – apart from the herbs.
- Put back in the oven for 5 to 10 minutes. You want the crust to be nice and golden brown.If you want the cheese to be grilled, broil for a couple more minutes, but keep an eye on the pizza so it doesn't burn!
- Sprinkle with basil and drizzle with olive oil if you like.
