Best Homemade Italian Neapolitan Pizza

Name: Homemade Neapolitan Pizza
Prep time: 1440 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 1450 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 5 cups of 00 flour; 1 1/2 cup of warm water; 1 1/2 tablespoon of salt; 1/4 tablespoon of dried yeast; 300 grams of tin of plum tomato; 1 teaspoon of sea salt; 1 teaspoon of black pepper; 2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese; 3 tablespoons of shredded parmesan cheese; 3 tablespoons of olive oil; 1/2 cup of fresh basil

Neapolitan pizza prides itself on its rich tomato sauce and pillowy crust, which come together for an intensely flavorful experience! It’s savory, chewy, and delightfully soft!

Italian Cuisine

July 28, 2021

Difficulty Medium

Servings 4 people

Preparation 1440 mins

Cooking 10 mins

Total 1450 mins

Recipe Contents

Ingredients Directions Nutrition Equipments Tips

Ingredients

5 cups of 00 flour
1 1/2 cup of warm water
1 1/2 tablespoon of salt
1/4 tablespoon of dried yeast
300 grams of tin of plum tomato
1 teaspoon of sea salt
1 teaspoon of black pepper
2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese
3 tablespoons of shredded parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1/2 cup of fresh basil

Directions

Combine all the ingredients of the dough in a large bowl to form a shaggy mass. Add the water first and use your hand or a wooden spoon to mix everything together.
Then cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp cloth and leave it to rest for about an hour.
Transfer the dough to a work surface after an hour and knead it for about 5 minutes before returning it back to the covered bowl.
Leave the dough to rise for about 20 hours and then divide the risen dough into 4 equal pieces of 250g each with the help of some kitchen scales and a dough scraper or knife.
Form each dough piece into a ball and transfer them to a large lidded container to rest for 4-6 hours more.
In the meantime, blend the plum tomatoes in a blender and cook the resulting smooth sauce until runny but thick.
Add salt and pepper to taste and a tablespoon or so of tomato puree for a richer, sweeter flavor, and prepare your oven by placing the baking stone/tray in it and heating it to 500˚F or more.
Once dough balls have fully risen, dust them with flour before transferring to a large bowl whose base is covered with flour.
Start pressing down the center of the dough ball to get the trapped air to move towards the edges (where it can form the crust), turning the dough as you work. Once the dough forms a pizza shape, turn it over to repeat this process on the other side.
Transfer the flour coated dough to the counter and gently stretch outwards without touching the edge until you get a circular base 9-10 inches in diameter.
Top with 2 soup spoons of the previously made tomato sauce, spread, and then add the handful of Mozzarella evenly.
Load the pizza onto the baking stone/tray using a pizza peel or chopping board and bake for about 6-8 minutes, turning every 2-3 minutes.
Remove the pizza from the oven and top with grated Parmesan, fresh basil, some black pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil. Let it cool and enjoy!

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 1 Homemade Neapolitan Pizza

Serves 4

Amount Per Serving

Calories913.39

% Daily Value*

Protein 35.33 g70.7%

Total Fat 27.8 g35.6%

Cholesterol 45.1mg15%

Sodium 2060.73 mg89.6%

*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

Tips

This recipe requires a 20-28 hour prove, so be sure to make the dough the night before you want the pizza.
Use high quality tomatoes and sieve the sauce after blending it to avoid cooking.
Don’t use too much yeast, as smaller quantities and longer prove time result in nicer doughs.
For best results, use kitchen scales to measure the ingredients accurately.
When shaping and cooking the pizzas, do it one at a time and be fast to avoid sticking.
To prevent soggy pizza, remove excess moisture from the fresh mozzarella by breaking it up and wrapping it in paper towels for about 30 minutes.
Be sure to use a damp cloth to cover the bowl if you don't have a plastic wrap to prevent drying out.
When shaping the dough, be careful to avoid pressing down on edge for a well-risen crust as any air lost cannot be regained.
Avoid pressing the shaped and stretched dough to the work surface to avoid sticking.
If you can’t find 00 flour, substitute with strong white bread flour. Use a Neapolitan pizza dough calculator for the exact quantities of flour, water, salt, and yeast when making any changes.

Rate This Recipe

The slight acidity of the tomatoes and the salty and savory mozzarella in this Homemade Neapolitan Pizza are an absolute delight to the taste buds. The recipe is well-balanced, with all the flavors complementing each other, and surprisingly easy to make with some basic baking knowledge.

Equipment for this recipe

Mixing Bowls

Wooden Spoon

Dough Cutter

Oven Mitts

Baking Set

Stand Mixer

What is Neapolitan Pizza?

Neapolitan style pizza is a style of pizza invented in Napes, Italy, in 1889 by Raffaele Esposito. It mainly consists of tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese but what truly sets it apart from other pizza styles is its soft, pillowy crust.

How to Make Neapolitan Pizza?

To make homemade Neapolitan pizza, you can either use store-bought pizza dough or make your own true Neapolitan pizza dough using flour, water, yeast, and salt. Once you have the dough shaped and the sauce ready, all that's left to do is assemble everything together and bake.

How to Make Neapolitan Pizza Sauce?

This Neapolitan pizza sauce recipe is super easy with just one main ingredient. To make it at home, just blend 300 g of plum tomatoes in a blender until smooth, cook the resulting sauce to your desired consistency, and add salt, pepper, and tomato puree to taste. If you’d rather not cook, you can also thicken the sauce by passing it through a sieve.

How to Serve Neapolitan Pizza?

Homemade Neapolitan pizza should be served sliced with garlic bread, salad, mozzarella bites, breadsticks, fries, meatballs, etc., as sides and a variety of dips like barbecue sauce, hot sauce, ranch cheese, ketchup, and garlic butter to complement and add flavor.

Here are our some delicious recipes that you can serve with Neapolitan Pizza:

How to Store Neapolitan Pizza?

Store leftover Neapolitan pizza in the refrigerator for up to 3 to 4 days, or freeze for up to 2 months after double wrapping in plastic wrap and foil. To reheat, just fry the slices in a pan for 3-4 minutes or bake on high for about 3 minutes.

Recipe byPetite Gourmets