Homemade Neapolitan pizza…Looking for a recipe?
Inspired by the best pizza in Naples Italy, here’s a recipe for simple Neapolitan style pizza you can make at home.
When you’ve had the best pizza in Naples Italy, it’s hard to go back.
You know in the movie The Matrix when Neo is given the choice between the blue and red pill, essentially choosing between blissful ignorance or truth? Well, once you’ve had pizza in Naples, it’s that kind of moment.
Eating pizza in Naples, the place where pizza was invented, is like choosing the red pill. Once you know what true Neapolitan pizza is, you’ll never go back! And then you’ll spend the rest of your life trying to recreate it at home. Keep reading for all our tips and tricks to the best homemade Neapolitan pizza.
Homemade Perfect Neapolitan Style Pizza
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 4 cups Italian type "00" flour or bread flour, plus extra for dusting dough
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp active dry yeast
- 1½ cup water
- olive oil
For the Sauce
- 14 ounces can diced, peeled Italian tomatoes
For the Toppings
- 12 ounces fresh buffalo mozzarella or fresh cow's milk mozzarella (fior di latte), cut into slices or torn into small chunks
- Handful basil leaves
- 4 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
Instructions
Make the Dough
- Gather the ingredients.
- Combine flour, salt, and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough attachment. Mix to combine.
- Add water and mix to combine.
- Then, knead dough on low speed for 10 minutes. The mixture should come together into a unified mass that barely sticks to the bottom of the bowl as it kneads.Tips: If dough sticks, add flour 1 tablespoon at a time to the mixer while it is running, until the mass barely sticks to the bowl. If the mixture is too dry, add water 1 tablespoon at a time to the running mixer.
- Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours. It can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.
- When ready to make pizza, transfer dough to a floured work surface. Divide dough into 2 even sections.
- Place dough ball into each coated container or bowl. Lightly coat the top of each dough ball with olive oil.
- Cover each container or bowl tightly with plastic wrap, and let rise at room temperature for 2 hours. Each dough ball should double in volume.
- Heat oven to at least 475°F (240°C), higher if your oven allows.
Assemble the Pizzas
- Onto a well-floured surface, stretch out each ball of dough into a circle. Use a floured rolling pin if you need it. Don’t worry about the dough being a perfect circle!
- Place one rolled out piece of dough into a lightly floured pizza peel, shake gently to ensure that the dough is not sticking.
- Spread about ½ cup of sauce over the dough, leaving about a ½-inch edge without sauce.
- Top the sauce with a half of the mozzarella slices.
- Transfer pizza from peel to the pizza pan.
- Bake about 5 to 7 minutes, until cheese is bubbly and crust is charred in places.
- Tear a few basil leaves on top (according to your liking), and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
- Repeat with remaining dough ball and ingredients.
