Prepare A Delicious Neapolitan-style Pizza
Neapolitan-style pizza has crossed borders and is one of the world’s favorites! Would you like to learn how to prepare it at home? Read on and discover the recipe step by step.
Contrary to what many people think, Neapolitan pizza is not a kind of pizza but a style of preparation that, of course, has its secrets.
The main differential of this pizza is its dough, which gives a result with a high and smooth edge, far removed from the Roman one that has a thin and crunchy dough (and in some parts of the world it is known as the classic pizza “a la piedra” ). Join us to discover this recipe step by step.
Neapolitan style pizza
Processing difficulty: medium
Preparation time (including proofing of the dough): + 24 hours
Let’s discover together how to prepare a real Italian pizza, in this case, of the Neapolitan variety that has a higher and fluffier dough. We propose the classic and famous margarita pizza but, of course, you can vary the complements to your liking incorporating all kinds of ingredients.
If you are on a diet, do not deprive yourself of eating a homemade pizza from time to time. You must pay attention to its ingredients to choose the best option that does not spoil your plans to maintain your ideal weight.
Ingredients for 2 large pizzas
- 450 g of strength flour
- 250 ml of water
- 12 g of salt
- 2.5 g fresh yeast
- extra virgin olive oil (required amount)
- 400 g of crushed tomato
- 250 g mozzarella
- fresh basil (to taste)
- salt and oregano (to taste)
Neapolitan-style pizza preparation
Preparation of the dough
- Put a little water in a bowl and reserve the rest.
- Dissolve the yeast in the first bowl. Reservation.
- Put the flour in a large bowl and add the yeast dissolved in water. Stir to join.
- Take the bowl with water that you reserved in the first step and dissolve the 12 grams of salt there.
- Add the salted water to the yeast flour. Mix with a wooden spoon.
- When you have obtained a sticky dough, it is time to use your hands. Mix with your hands to form a ball.
- Put some flour on the table and begin to knead. You will have to knead for a while until all the ingredients are well incorporated. Neapolitan pizza makers insist that the dough must be “slapped” to achieve the desired texture.
- When you have achieved a uniform ball, place the dough in a bowl, cover with a cloth and let it rise for a day. During this break, the dough will triple in size.
- After the resting time, flour the table again and put the dough there.
- Divide the dough into two equal parts. Arrange each part in a bowl, cover with a cloth and leave to rise for one more hour.
Preparing condiments for pizza
- Place the crushed tomato in a bowl and add two tablespoons of olive oil. Mix.
- Add the oregano and season to taste. Reservation
Pizza Preparation
- After the last resting time, take a dough and roll it out on the floured table, giving it a round shape. If you don’t have a round mold, you can make it square or rectangular. Try not to manipulate the dough too much to avoid losing air.
- Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.
- Place the mold that you will use for the pizza inside. True Neapolitan-style pizza is cooked in a wood-fired oven but if, like most mortals, you don’t have one at home, use the oven and it will still be great. If you have, you can use a pizza stone to give the bottom a crunchier texture.
- Brush the pizza with two tablespoons of sauce.
- Paint the pizza peel with olive oil to prevent the dough from sticking and with its help, place the pizza in the oven. If you don’t have a pizza peel, you can place the pizza directly into the preheated pan.
- Cook the dough for about 8 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and add the mozzarella.
- Put the pizza back in the oven to finish cooking for another 10 to 12 minutes.
- Garnish with the basil leaves.
Ideas for Neapolitan-style pizza
- In Argentina, for example, Neapolitan pizza has tomato sauce, mozzarella and tomato slices seasoned with salt and oregano. Delicious!
- You can incorporate all kinds of ingredients to the recipe that we have presented: mushrooms, ham, artichokes, anchovies, olives, bacon, onion, pepper, sausage or whatever comes to mind!
- Some pizzerias offer varieties with bechamel and spinach instead of cheese, for example.
- You can also prepare a salad pizza to add more vegetables to your diet.
Play with your creativity and create a Neapolitan-style pizza with all kinds of ingredients. You can even throw a pizza party and make all the varieties you can think of!
