I’ve been to Italy a dozen times, and one of my favorite things is the pizza. Just thinking of the thin, chewy crust with the simple tomato sauce and flavorful cheese makes my mouth water. About a year ago, I became obsessed with making my own pizza. I sourced the special 00 Italian pizza flour from a distributor and bought a 20 kilo bag… about 44 pounds! The 00 pizza flour is an ultra-fine flour that is essential to the pizza. It can handle high cooking temperatures without getting bitter and creates the “crumb” that is so famous in the Neapolitan style pizza.
The toppings are the easy part, as the crust is the main attraction for this pizza. Once you have perfected the dough, then it just takes a bit of experimenting to find your favorite way to top it. The key to this dough, though, is time. You need at least two days for the dough to rise, but the dough is even better if you give it 3-4 days. It’s not hard to make… it just takes planning.
One other bit of advice. If you’re going to get serious about making homemade Neapolitan-style pizzas, you’ll want to invest in a food scale. Measuring in cups and tablespoons is inaccurate and can cause you great headaches when it comes to making homemade bread or pizza dough. By using a food scale, you can measure in grams and get very accurate. Once I weigh my ingredients, my pizza dough always comes out perfect!
Napolitan Pizza Dough Recipe
300 grams room temperature water
15 grams salt
5 grams dry yeastMix flour and water in a stand mixer with a dough hook until just mixed. Turn off the mixer and let it rest for a minimum of 30 minutes. This is called the autolyse period and is essential for hydrating your dough so that it’s easy to work with when you shape it.
After 30 minutes, add the salt and yeast and mix for 8-9 minutes. The dough should pass the “windowpane” test. (When you pinch a bit of dough and stretch it, you should almost be able to see through it.) Put the dough in a greased glass or plastic bowl and shape into a round ball. Cover and let rise for a few hours. Then place the container in the refrigerator for 1-2 days for a slow rise. This slow fermentation is what gives the pizza dough such amazing flavor.
If you want to read about how to top and cook the pizzas, click here. In the meantime, pair this Italian pizza dough recipe with the wine of your choice since you won’t get to eat anything until tomorrow!
0 Comments