With summer right around the corner, I have been getting excited to start cooking some of my favorite summer recipes. One of my favorite summer dinner ideas is this Neapolitan pizza recipe. I love this recipe for a lot of reasons, a few being that Neapolitan pizza is chewy, yet airy, it’s fresh, and made from simple ingredients that pack a flavorful punch. It is also super easy to make and requires no fancy equipment, just your hands, a cook’s best tool! This homemade Neapolitan pizza makes for a perfect easy summer recipe and a fun meal to make with friends and family.
Growing up I never really liked pizza. I know, I know, I was that one weird kid who didn’t like pizza. In my opinion, pizza was always either way too doughy, soggy, or greasy. If you have to take a napkin to blot the excess grease off your pizza, there’s something wrong. All that to say, pizza was never my thing until I moved to New Jersey, the home of mom-and-pop pizza shops. While living there I went to a restaurant called Millie’s Old World Meatballs and Pizza, and I have to say, this was a game-changer for me! Millie’s served authentic Neapolitan pizza, and let me tell you, it was amazing! Their pizza left your mouth watering for more! The pizza was light, airy, and super fresh using simple ingredients. From then on I have been on a mission to make authentic Neapolitan pizza, and I can officially say, this recipe is on to something!
What Is Neapolitan Pizza:
Neapolitan pizza originates in Naples, Italy. It is known for its thin, chewy, yet airy crust, topped with fresh, simple ingredients. Traditionally, Neapolitan pizza is baked in an open fire oven for a short amount of time at a very high heat, giving a crunchy, yet soft, exterior crust.
Why You Will Love This Recipe:
- Fresh: This pizza uses all fresh ingredients. This makes a huge difference in the overall taste of the pizza and the texture. Fresh ingredients are a game-changer!
- Light: A lot of pizzas can leave your stomach feeling really heavy and bloated, but not this pizza! Because it is made with a poolish, the dough becomes light and airy, making it easier on the digestive system.
- Flavorful: From the crust to the sauce to the toppings, this pizza is packed with vibrant flavor.
- No special equipment: This pizza is great because it doesn’t require any special equipment, just your hands, a cook’s best tool!
Tips For Making Authentic Neapolitan Pizza:
- Poolish: Making a poolish is key to making a light and airy Neapolitan pizza. This does take some planning ahead; however, it is a game changer for your pizza.
- Warmth: Make sure that the water added to the yeast and dough is warm, about 78° F, and that you leave the pizza to rise in a relatively warm area of your home. Warmth is super important to get the yeast to activate, rising the pizza dough.
- Whole canned tomatoes: Use whole, canned San Marzano tomatoes and crush them with your hands. This will leave chunks of tomatoes on your pizza and add more texture.
- Low-hydration mozzarella cheese: Using a low-hydration, fresh mozzarella will keep help keep the pizza from getting soggy, while still having an element of freshness from the cheese.
- “00” Flour: This flour is essential for giving the Neapolitan pizza the classic chewy but crispy and airy crust.
- Grill: If you do not have a pizza oven, such as an Ooni Pizza Oven, which most people do not (me included), I love baking my pizza over the charcoal grill. I just place my hot coals off to the side and then place the pizza stone over the grill and rotate the pizza every minute or so, so that it does not burn. This helps give your pizza that “open fire-baked taste” without having an industrial pizza oven.
Note: This blog post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Ingredients:
- “00” Pizza flour: This flour is really important as it has a higher protein content than traditional all-purpose flour. “00” flour will give the pizza a chewier and airier texture.
- Bread flour: Using bread flour will help build up more gluten in the pizza and create a fluffier crust.
- Semolina flour: This is super important for preventing the burning on the bottom of the pizza.
- Salt
- Instant yeast
- Raw honey
- Whole canned tomatoes
- Olive oil
- Garlic
- Shallot
- Proscuitto
- Basil
- Low-hydration mozzarella cheese
Materials Used:
How To Make Neapolitan Pizza Dough:
We are going to start creating the pizza by building what is called a poolish the night before. A poolish for pizza is the same as a starter is for sourdough. It is the base of the pizza and what gives the pizza its leaven.
To build the poolish combine filtered water (78°F), honey, yeast, and “00” flour in a glass mason jar. Mix everything together until it is combined.
Allow the poolish to rest for 15 minutes uncovered on the counter.
After 15 minutes, cover the poolish and allow it to rest for an additional 1 hour at room temperature.
After 1 hour, transfer the poolish to the refrigerator and allow it to ferment overnight for 12-24 hours. Do not ferment the poolish for longer than 24 hours. It will turn into acid and not work properly.
12 hours later, the poolish should have doubled in size and have lots of air bubbles. This is a great sign that the poolish is mature, active, and ready to be baked with.
In a large mixing bowl, add the poolish, bread flour, and “00” pizza flour.
In a liquid measuring cup, combine warm, filtered water (78° F) and salt. Allow the salt to melt into the water.
Gradually add the water into the poolish and flour mixture, kneading everything together with your hands until the dough is combined and shaggy, about 8-10 minutes.
Next, transfer the dough onto the countertop and begin kneading the dough again for 1-2 minutes until it begins to come together and all of the big clumps of flour are worked out.
Once the dough begins to come together, perform 5-10 slap-and-folds. Slapping and folding is a technique of picking up the dough from its center and lifting it off the counter, then quickly slapping the dough back onto the counter. You are essentially folding the dough over itself in a slapping motion. This process adds a lot of strength to the dough.
Once the dough has formed a shaggy ball shape, tap a little bit of olive oil on the top, and set the dough aside to rest on the countertop for 15 minutes uncovered at room temperature.
After 15 minutes, gently fold the dough over itself, rotating the dough with every tuck-and-fold.
Perform 4-5 tuck-and-folds and then begin pushing and pulling the dough, scooping your hands slightly under the dough and pulling the dough towards you, until the dough is round and smooth on top. Be careful not to overwork the dough. Once it is smooth allow it to rest.
Next, tap the top of the dough with a little bit of olive oil and cover with a warm, damp tea towel for 1 hour.
After one hour, the dough should have risen and expanded.
Using an oiled bench scraper or knife, cut the dough into four equal pieces and use the same push-and-pull technique to form the dough into small, smooth balls.
Place the dough onto a lightly oiled sheet pan 3-4 inches apart from one another.
Allow the dough to rise with a warm, damp tea towel over them for 1-2 hours. They should double in size.
Once the dough is done rising, use a floured spatula and quickly scoop up the dough and place it into a bowl of flour.
Remove the dough from the flour and transfer it onto a pizza peel, sprinkled with semolina flour. This is where you will begin shaping the dough.
Begin gently pressing down in the center of the dough. When the dough is slightly flattened in the middle, use one hand to hold the dough down and the other to gently pull the side of the dough up and out, rotating the dough in 30° increments. Do this very gently. This will help keep the dough round, while gently stretching it out. Make sure to not crush the outer 1 inch of the dough.
Once the dough is about 12-14 inches in diameter, evenly spread a thin layer of tomato sauce and top with mozzarella cheese and any other toppings you like. I like adding thin-sliced shallot and prosciutto to mine.
Note: I like to add my herbs after I bake the pizza because I think it keeps a stronger flavor. However, if you want to add basil before the baking process, drizzle a tiny bit of olive oil on each basil leaf to keep them from burning.
Once your pizza is dressed with toppings, transfer the pizza off of the pizza peel onto the preheated pizza stone either on the grill or in the oven, and bake.
For baking instructions, continue reading.
Once done baking, top with fresh basil and serve!
How To Make Tomato Sauce:
One of the staples of Neapolitan pizza is having big chunks of San Marzano tomatoes on your pizza. To achieve this, pour one 28 oz. can of whole San Marzano tomatoes into a bowl and begin crushing and breaking them down with your hands until the tomatoes are broken down with a few small chunks of tomatoes remaining.
Heat up a sauté pan over medium heat, and once hot, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
Add to the pan 6 cloves of thinly sliced garlic, a pinch of fresh lemon thyme, and oregano, and stir for 20-30 seconds.
Finally, add in the tomatoes and cook down for 4-5 minutes.
Gently spoon and evenly spread the sauce over the pizza.
Oven Baking Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 550° F.
Place the top baking rack 6-8 inches from the broiler.
Place the bottom baking rack on the lowest portion of the oven. Place the pizza stone on the lowest rack.
Preheat the pizza stone for 60 minutes, or until it is about 660° F.
Generously coat the pizza peel with semolina flour and begin building out your pizza. The semolina flour will prevent the dough from sticking to the peel and burning in the oven so be generous.
Quickly shimmy the pizza onto the hot pizza stone.
Once the pizza is loaded, immediately turn the oven off and turn on the broiler to high heat.
Bake the pizza for 4-5 minutes.
After 4-5 minutes the bottom of the pizza should resemble leopard print and the crust should be nice and puffy.
Using the pizza peel, scoop up the pizza and place it on the top rack to toast it off.
Close the oven and broil for 30 seconds, then rotate the pizza and bake for an additional 20-30 seconds.
Remove the pizza from the oven and place it on a wire rack to set up for 2-3 minutes before cutting into it. This helps keep the bottom crispy and prevents any sogginess.
Top with fresh basil and enjoy!
Grilling Instructions:
In a charcoal chimney over the grill, heat up the coals until they are slightly white on the edges. This is a good indicator that the coals are hot and ready to be cooked with.
Carefully pour the hot coals out of the chimney onto the back end of the grill. and place the pizza stone over the grill rack. Allow the stone to heat for 10 minutes, or until it is around 660° F.
Generously coat the pizza peel with semolina flour and begin building out your pizza. The semolina flour will prevent the dough from sticking to the peel and burning in the oven so be generous.
Quickly shimmy the pizza onto the hot pizza stone.
Once the pizza is loaded, cover the grill with the lid for 2 minutes. Note: Keep the air slits open so that the fire will not die.
After 2 minutes, rotate the pizza and bake for an additional 2 minutes.
After 4-5 minutes the bottom of the pizza should resemble leopard print and the crust should be nice and puffy.
Remove the pizza from the grill and place it on a wire rack to set up for 2-3 minutes before cutting into it. This helps keep the bottom crispy and prevents any sogginess.
Top with fresh basil and enjoy!
My Favorite Italian Recipes:
If you try this recipe and love it, I would love it if you would consider coming back to the site to give it a 5-star rating and tag me on Instagram or Facebook! Thanks so much 🙂
Homemade Neapolitan Pizza
Ingredients
Poolish:
- 200 g. water (78° F)
- 5 g. instant yeast
- 5 g. honey
- 200 g. "00" flour
Pizza Dough:
- 300 g. bread flour
- 300 g. water (78° F)
- 20 g. salt
- 200 g. "00" flour
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil (for tapping onto the dough after shaping)
Tomato Sauce:
- 28 oz. canned whole San Marzano tomatoes
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1 pinch fresh lemon thyme (can also use dried thyme)
- 1 pinch fresh oregano (can also use dried oregano)
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
Toppings:
- 16 oz. low-hydration mozzarella
- 4 oz. proscuitto
- 1 shallot
Instructions
Poolish Instructions:
- To build the poolish combine filtered water (78°F), honey, yeast, and "00" flour in a glass mason jar. Mix everything together.
- Allow the poolish to rest for 15 minutes uncovered on the counter.
- After 15 minutes, cover the poolish and allow it to rest for an additional 1 hour at room temperature.
- After 1 hour, transfer the poolish to the refrigerator and allow it to ferment overnight for 12-24 hours. Do not ferment the poolish for longer than 24 hours. It will turn into acid and not work properly.
Making the Dough:
- 12 hours later, the poolish should have doubled in size and have lots of air bubbles. This is a great sign that the poolish is mature, active, and ready to be baked with.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the poolish, bread flour, and "00" pizza flour.
- In a liquid measuring cup, combine warm, filtered water (78° F) and salt. Allow the salt to melt into the water.
- Gradually add the water into the poolish and flour mixture, kneading everything together with your hands until the dough is combined and shaggy, about 8-10 minutes.
- Next, transfer the dough onto the countertop and begin kneading the dough again for 1-2 minutes until it begins to come together and all of the big clumps of flour are worked out.
- Once the dough begins to come together, perform 5-10 slap-and-folds. Slapping and folding is a technique of picking up the dough from its center and lifting it off the counter, then quickly slapping the dough back onto the counter. You are essentially folding the dough over itself in a slapping motion. This process adds a lot of strength to the dough.
- Once the dough has formed a shaggy ball shape, tap a little bit of olive oil on the top, and set the dough aside to rest on the countertop for 15 minutes uncovered at room temperature.
- After 15 minutes, gently fold the dough over itself, rotating the dough with every tuck-and-fold.
- Perform 4-5 tuck-and-folds and then begin pushing and pulling the dough, scooping your hands slightly under the dough, until the dough is round and smooth on top. Be careful not to overwork the dough. Once it is smooth allow it to rest.
- Next, tap the top of the dough with a little bit of olive oil and cover with a warm, damp tea towel for 1 hour.
- After one hour, the dough should have risen and expanded.
- Using an oiled bench scraper or knife, cut the dough into four equal pieces and use the same push-and-pull technique to form the dough into small, smooth balls.
- Place the dough onto a lightly oiled sheet pan 3-4 inches apart from one another.
- Allow the dough to rise with a warm, damp tea towel over them for 1-2 hours. They should double in size.
- Once the dough is done rising, use a floured spatula and quickly scoop up the dough and place it into a bowl of flour.
- Remove the dough from the flour and transfer it onto a pizza peel, sprinkled with semolina flour. This is where you will begin shaping the dough.
- Begin gently pressing down in the center of the dough. When the dough is slightly flattened in the middle, use one hand to hold the dough down and the other to gently pull the side of the dough up and out, rotating the dough in 30° increments. Do this very gently. This will help keep the dough round, while gently stretching it out. Make sure to not crush the outer 1 inch of the dough.
- Once the dough is about 12-14 inches in diameter, evenly spread a thin layer of tomato sauce and top with mozzarella cheese and any other toppings you like. I like adding thin-sliced shallot and prosciutto to mine. Note: I like to add my herbs after I bake the pizza because I think it keeps a stronger flavor. However, if you want to add basil before the baking process, drizzle a tiny bit of olive oil on each basil leaf to keep them from burning.
- Once your pizza is dressed with toppings, transfer the pizza off of the pizza peel onto the preheated pizza stone either on the grill or in the oven, and bake.
Baking Option #1 – Oven Baking Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 550° F.
- Place the top baking rack 6-8 inches from the broiler.
- Place the bottom oven rack on the lowest portion of the oven. Place the pizza stone on the lowest rack.
- Preheat the pizza stone for 60 minutes, or until it is about 660° F.
- Generously coat the pizza peel with semolina flour and begin building out your pizza. The semolina flour will prevent the dough from sticking to the peel and burning in the oven so be generous.
- Quickly shimmy the pizza onto the hot pizza stone.
- Once the pizza is loaded, immediately turn the oven off and turn on the broiler to high heat.
- Bake the pizza for 4-5 minutes.
- After 4-5 minutes the bottom of the pizza should resemble leopard print and the crust should be nice and puffy.
- Using the pizza peel, scoop up the pizza and place it on the top rack to toast it off.
- Close the oven and broil for 30 seconds, then rotate the pizza and bake for an additional 20-30 seconds.
- Remove the pizza from the oven and place it on a wire rack to set up for 2-3 minutes before cutting into it. This helps keep the bottom crispy and prevents any sogginess.
- Top with fresh basil and enjoy!
Baking Option #2 – Grilling Instructions:
- In a charcoal chimney over the grill, heat up the charcoals until they are slightly white on the edges. This is a good indicator that the coals are hot and ready to be cooked with.
- Carefully pour the hot coals out of the chimney onto the back end of the grill. and place the pizza stone over the grill rack. Allow the stone to heat for 10 minutes, or until it is around 660° F.
- Generously coat the pizza peel with semolina flour and begin building out your pizza. The semolina flour will prevent the dough from sticking to the peel and burning in the oven so be generous.
- Quickly shimmy the pizza onto the hot pizza stone.
- Once the pizza is loaded, cover the grill with the lid for 2 minutes. Note: Keep the air slits open so that the fire will not die.
- After 2 minutes, rotate the pizza and bake for an additional 2 minutes.
- After 4-5 minutes the bottom of the pizza should resemble leopard print and the crust should be nice and puffy.
- Remove the pizza from the grill and place it on a wire rack to set up for 2-3 minutes before cutting into it. This helps keep the bottom crispy and prevents any sogginess.
- Top with fresh basil and enjoy!
Making the Sauce:
- Pour one 28 oz. can of whole San Marzano tomatoes into a bowl and begin crushing and breaking them down with your hands until the tomatoes are broken down with a few small chunks of tomatoes remaining.
- Heat up a sauté pan over medium heat, and once hot, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
- Add to the pan 6 cloves of thinly sliced garlic, a pinch of fresh or dried thyme, and oregano, and stir for 20-30 seconds.
- Finally, add in the tomatoes and cook down for 4-5 minutes.
- Gently spoon and evenly spread the sauce over the pizza.
