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    Home » Recipes » Yeast Breads

    Published: Jul 20, 2022 · Modified: Oct 23, 2022 by Kelly Bloom · This post may contain affiliate links · Leave a Comment

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    Authentic Neopolitan Pizza Dough

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
    ball of dough rising on a floured wood board with red towel in background

    In Naples, pizza is a way of life. The dough is key though – it must be soft, airy, and slightly chewy. This authentic Neopolitan pizza dough is easy to make and results in a light, crispy crust with bubbled edges every time.

    Whether you're a beginner or experienced baker, this recipe is sure to become a family favorite!

    ball of fresh pizza dough rising on a floured wood board.

    Why you will love this recipe

    This recipe is a classic Neopolitan pizza dough that will make you feel like you’re in Italy. Making pizza dough from scratch is a fun and rewarding way to make your own pizzas at home.

    Unlike some more complicated recipes, this one only requires a few simple ingredients that you probably have on hand. This recipe for Neopolitan pizza dough is straightforward and results in a crispy, chewy crust that will remind you of your favorite pizzeria.

    So why not give it a try? Your family and friends are sure to be impressed.

    Jump to:
    • Why you will love this recipe
    • Ingredients
    • How to make Neopolitan pizza dough
    • Serving Suggestions
    • How to store fresh pizza dough
    • Substitutions
    • Equipment
    • Top Tips
    • Frequently asked questions
    • Some Other Recipes We Are Sure You Will Love
    • Connect with Smells Like Delish!
    • 📖 Recipe

    Ingredients

    • warm water
    • active dry yeast
    • sugar
    • '00' flour (or bread flour)
    • salt

    Full ingredient amounts and preparation instructions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.

    How to make Neopolitan pizza dough

    You want a low gluten flour for making this type of pizza dough. The dough is supposed to be really stretchy. When you stretch it out by hand it gets thin in areas and when baked is crusty in those areas. '00' flour is very low in gluten.

    If you can't find it locally, Amazon has it, and at a fantastic price! It's Antimo Caputo '00' Pizzaria Flour. You can use a bread flour as a fair substitute, but the '00' is really key to the Neopolitan dough style.

    Prepare the yeast

    clear glass bowl with foamy yeast developing with yeast packet and red towel
    1. Any dry active yeast will work. Sprinkle it on warm water that has a tiny amount of sugar. The yeast uses the sugar as 'food' to bloom and grow.
    clear glass bowl with foamy yeast developing
    1. Here you see the bowl of yeast gobbling up the tiny bit of sugar in the water. The yeast bubbles up and gets a foamy or frothy head on the top of the water in the bowl.

    Full ingredient amounts and preparation instructions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.

    Mix the dough

    stainless steel bowl with flour inside
    1. Put your flour and salt in the bowl. Note very little salt is used. Salt can retard yeast development, so we only use a little.
    stainless steel bowl with blue spatula mixing ingredients.
    1. Add the yeast water and stir until the mixture forms a soft ball.

    Full ingredient amounts and preparation instructions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.

    Let the dough rise (proof)

    clear wrap covering a stainless steel bowl with dough inside
    1. You will knead that dough a bit on a floured surface, just enough to mix well. Put in an oiled bowl and cover with plastic film. Let sit in a draft free location.
    clear glass bowl with ball of dough rising
    1. The yeast will start using the flour for food and do their bubbling thing in the ball of dough. It will start expanding and doubling in size.

    Full ingredient amounts and preparation instructions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.

    Make Pizza!

    After this first dough rise, punch the dough down and at this point you can let it sit over night in the refrigerator for the next day. Or, you can knead it again, shaping the pizza when the dough reaches that smooth, satiny texture.

    Toppings vary, but an authentic Neopolitan pizza is very simple. A tomato based sauce, Mozzarella or Burrata cheese, slices of tomato, and fresh basil.

    Sounds like a Margherita Pizza, right? Well, the Margherita pizza was one of the first Neopolitan pizzas!

    pizza dough spread in a pizza pan
    1. Kneaded dough stretched out to fit on a pan or a wooden pizza paddle.
    pizza sauce spread on uncooked fresh pizza dough in pan.
    1. Dress your pizza dough with sauce, mozarella, and some fresh basil leaves.

    Full ingredient amounts and preparation instructions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post

    Serving Suggestions

    This Neopolitan pizza dough for flatbreads also because it stretches nice and thin. It bakes up crispy. Below is the photo of our Caramelized Onion Flatbread.

    white pizza stone with cooked carmelized onion, bacon, and olive flatbread.

    Full ingredient amounts and preparation instructions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.

    How to store fresh pizza dough

    This pizza dough can be divided and frozen in portions best suited for your family. The recipe is enough to make a large family size pizza, two smaller pizzas, or three 10" pizzas.

    Just punch the dough down, divide in portions. I use a food scale to make sure the dough is evenly distributed. Pop in a freezer and store up to three months.

    If you decide to store the pizza dough in the refrigerator, use a heavy plastic zip lock type bag. Otherwise, the dough will push the lid off and crawl out on to your refrigerator shelf. Ask me how I know... lol!

    three plastic tubs with fresh pizza dough for the freezer with red star yeast packet.

    Full ingredient amounts and preparation instructions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.

    Substitutions

    You can substitute All Purpose flour, but the pizza dough will be tighter and less stretchy and chewy. The '00' flour will allow you to stretch the dough with less recoil, or dough bounce back.

    Equipment

    • Antimo Caputo '00' Pizzaria Flour
    • Pizza Stone (it helps cook the pizza hotter and faster)
    • Pizza Pan with holes for crisping crust

    The '00' will make the very best Neopolitan style pizza crust, and the price for two bags and the yeast is an excellent price, without having to shop all over town for it.

    Keep the dry yeast in a airtight container and freeze it for the longest shelf life also.

    The pizza stone gets preheated so that our kitchen oven gets a heat bump, helping to replicate the Neopolitan style pizza oven. Which is utterly impossible in our modern kitchens.

    Authentic pizza ovens get up to 800 degrees, and the modern oven reaches a maximum of about 550 degrees. Pizza ovens in Naples are large tiled 'igloo' looking domes. They have a small opening and a flat space for pushing the pizzas to crisp directly on the stone oven table.

    So, a pizza stone helps compensate with it's direct bottom heat that mimics the Neopolitan pizza oven.

    Top Tips

    • Use a pizza stone
    • Use '00' flour if possible, bread flour if you can't, and all purpose only as a last alternative.
    • Let the dough rest overnight, as it will let the dough develop more elasticity.

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    Frequently asked questions

    How many days can I keep this dough in the refrigerator?

    If you don't plan to use it in 36 hours, freeze the dough. Otherwise it may start to ferment and that will change the dough taste and texture.

    Do I have to use a stone to bake it on?

    No, but you need that extra lower heat for that most authentic crispy crust on the bottom with the bubbled up edges. The stone give you that. But a pizza pan is still going to make a tasty pizza.

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    📖 Recipe

    ball of dough rising on a floured wood board with red towel in background.
    Print Recipe SaveSaved!
    5 from 2 votes

    Authentic Neopolitan Pizza Dough

    In Naples, pizza is a way of life. The dough is key though – it must be soft, airy, and slightly chewy. This authentic Neopolitan pizza dough is easy to make and results in a light, crispy crust with bubbled edges every time. Whether you're a beginner or experienced baker, this recipe is sure to become a family favorite!
    Prep Time15 mins
    Cook Time15 mins
    dough rising time2 hrs
    Course: Main Dishes
    Cuisine: Italian
    Servings: 6
    Calories: 119kcal
    Author: Kelly Bloom

    Equipment

    • 1 pizza stone (or)
    • 1 pizza pan
    • 00 Pizza Flour

    Ingredients

    • ¾ cup warm water
    • 1 ½ tablespoon dry active yeast
    • 1 teaspoon sugar
    • 1 ½ cups '00' Flour (Antimo Caputo 00)
    • salt
    US Customary - Metric

    Instructions

    • In a medium bowl whisk together the warm water, sugar, and sprinkle the top with the yeast. Stir and let sit for about 15 minutes until the top is bubbly or frothy.
      ¾ cup warm water, 1 ½ tablespoon dry active yeast, 1 teaspoon sugar
    • In a large mixing bowl add the flour and salt. Make a well in the center, and pour in the yeast and water mixture. Using your hands or a spatula, mix the flour and yeast water until a dough forms into a ball. Scrape the sides to pull it all together.
      salt, 1 ½ cups '00' Flour
    • Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until the surface becomes smooth.
    • Cover the dough with plastic film and set in a draft free location to rise for 2 hours. You can also do this part a day ahead and just let it rest in a plastic bag in the refrigerator.
    • Punch down the risen dough and shape into portions to store or make into pizza or flatbreads.

    Pizza Cooking Directions

    • If not freezing the dough preheat the oven to 500 to 550° F and put the stone in the middle rack of the oven so it can preheat also.
    • Using both hands shape the dough into a disc or a rectangle. Lay out on a wooden paddle (to later transfer to a heated stone) or on a pizza pan (if not using a stone).
    • Dress the dough with a light layer of pizza sauce, cheese, herbs, etc.
    • Slide the pizza from the wooden paddle or cutting board onto the preheated pizza stone in your hot oven. If using a pizza pan pop the pan of pizza into your preheated oven.
    • Bake 12 to 15 minutes, checking at 12 minutes. Remove when the edges are bubbled up and browned or even crisped.

    Notes

    • To defrost frozen pizza dough, put in your refrigerator that day before. It will be ready for pizza the next day.
    • You can freeze this dough for up to 3 months.
    • For stretchier dough, let rest in the refrigerator after punching down the risen dough.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 119kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 0.1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 3mg | Potassium: 41mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 1IU | Vitamin C: 0.003mg | Calcium: 6mg | Iron: 0.3mg
    Keyword : fresh pizza dough, how to make pizza dough, Neopolitan Pizza dough

    Did you make this recipe? We could love to hear from you. Drop us a comment below.

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    Hi, I'm Kelly! and I have a love affair with herbs & spices! Here at Smells Like Delish, I'm all about creating food that has three aspects: flavor, aroma, and texture - to create satisfying fare!

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