Neapolitan Style Pizza

I am always on the constant pursuit to try to perfect pizza. You might already be familiar with all of the pizza recipes I’ve made, and as they have always been great (in my opinion), I am always looking to improve on the dough. I believe with this last batch, I probably did a fairly close job to making a neapolitan style pizza dough. It had the right amount of air pockets, and a good chew.

This past week allowed me to tinker with the dough and bust out the KettlePizza (which I love using). Granted the pizzas only took minutes to cook in the KettlePizza, the dough itself was the star and took days to ferment.

Let’s get started.

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 lb 00 flour, plus more for dusting your work surface
• 25 g kosher salt
• .80 g active dry yeast
• 2 1/4 cups warm water
• 1 tbsp olive oil, optional
• buffalo mozzarella
• your favorite pizza sauce
• your favorite toppings

The goal is to measure by weight, so if you have a digital food scale (which I highly recommend), use it. I found that measuring by weight rather than volume is one of the keys to a good hydration ratio. I also have been using the double zero style flour as it is a bit finer and gets the texture I am looking for.

Start by adding the flour to a mixing bowl along with the salt, yeast, and then slowly add in the water. Slowly mix, either by hand, or what I use, the KitchenAid mixer. Mix for only a minute or so, then let it rest for a few minutes. After a few minutes scrape the sides of the bowl with a wooden spoon to get any flour into the center of the mixing bowl, then mix on medium for about 5 minutes.

After 5 minutes, turn off the mixer. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, then with a kitchen towel. You will place this in a warm area to let the dough rise. I like to place a coffee mug filled with water and place into our microwave for about a minute, then let the steam build up. I then remove the mug, and place the covered bowl in there.

Once the dough has risen, about double in size, if not more, then lightly flour your work surface, and divide the dough into 3 equal portions. Lightly oil with olive oil, place in a sealed container, and place into your refrigerator for 4 days to ferment. Yep, I did 4 days, and it was awesome!

After 4 days, and when you are ready to make the pizzas, remove the dough, a few hours in advance, from the refrigerator to let it come close to room temperature.

Lightly flour your work surface with the double zero flour. Remove one of the balls of dough from the container and place onto the floured surface.

Gently working from the center outward, begin shaping your dough into a pizza like shape. I find that the circle does not need to be perfect, but once you have formed your dough into a thin circle, then move it onto a lightly dusted pizza paddle. Now begin building your pizza.

Take some sauce and lightly coat your pizza. Then top with a a good buffalo mozzarella cheese. I tear off chunks of the cheese and top on the pizza. I’ve found that buffalo mozzarella cheese works way better than a store bought shredded type.  Then top with your favorite ingredients. The pizza above used thinly sliced mushrooms, onion, and bell peppers.

If you are using an oven, preheat it to the highest temperature, along with the pizza stone, or if you are using the KettlePizza then make sure your kettle is heated. I like my kettle heated to around 700 degrees.

Slide your pizza in onto the stone or into your kettle, and cook until the crust is golden and the toppings are cooked.

The end result is a perfect crust that was crisp, airy, and had the perfect chew, and that four day fermentation did the trick! I’m sure I will continue to tinker with dough throughout my life, but so far this one is the shining star. Good luck and I hope you enjoy!