True Neapolitan pizza bakes in 900°F wood-fired ovens for ninety seconds. Home cooks approximate that magic with a blazing hot baking steel, 00 flour dough, and restraint on toppings — because Neapolitan pizza is defined as much by what you leave off as what you add.
Dough ingredients
- 500 g tipo 00 flour
- 325 ml cool water (65% hydration)
- 10 g fine sea salt
- 2 g instant yeast
Make the dough
Dissolve yeast in water. Add flour and salt, mix until shaggy, then knead eight minutes until smooth and elastic. Bulk ferment two hours at room temperature, divide into four 250 g balls, and cold-proof eighteen to forty-eight hours in the refrigerator. Long fermentation develops flavor and extensibility.
Shape and top
Press each ball from the center outward, leaving a puffy rim. Avoid rolling pins — they deflate the edge. Top sparingly: crushed San Marzano tomatoes, torn fresh mozzarella, a drizzle of olive oil, and basil added after baking.
Bake hot and fast
Preheat a baking steel on the top rack for at least forty-five minutes at the highest oven setting — ideally 550°F with broiler assist. Slide the pizza onto the steel and bake two to three minutes, rotating once, until the rim blisters and the bottom spots char. Finish under the broiler for thirty seconds if needed.
Less is more: wet mozzarella and heavy toppings make Neapolitan pizza soggy in home ovens. Drain mozzarella on paper towels before using.