Basic Neapolitan Pizza Dough

Get a thin layer of crispness to the crust, with an interior that is moist, poofy, and cloud-like.

Updated October 20, 2024

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Homemade Neapolitan Pizza with pepperoni and basil on a pizza peel — Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

A great Neapolitan pizza has the best sauce, the finest mozzarella, and maybe a few whole basil leaves. But before you can get into the toppings, you'll need to make the perfect crust. Neapolitan pizza is made from a lean dough—that is, it's got nothing but flour, water, salt, and yeast. No oil, no sugar, nothing. With so few ingredients, the key to great Neapolitan pizza crust is a good long fermentation period during which time starches will break down into simpler sugars, yeast will create flavorful by-products, and gluten formation will occur, allowing you to stretch the dough out easily and making for a dramatic rise and good charring in the oven.

July 2012

Recipe Details

Basic Neapolitan Pizza Dough Recipe

Prep 10 mins

Active 15 mins

Rising Time 58 hrs

Total 58 hrs 10 mins

Serves 4 pizza crusts

Ingredients

20 ounces (about 4 cups) bread flour, preferably Italian-style "OO"
.4 ounces kosher salt (about 4 teaspoons)
.3 ounces (about 2 teaspoons) instant yeast, such as SAF Instant Yeast
13 ounces water

Directions

Combine flour, salt, and yeast in a large bowl and whisk until homogenous. Add water and incorporate into flour using hands until no dry flour remains on bottom of bowl. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and allow to rise at room temperature for 8 to 12 hours.
Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface and divide into four even balls. Place each in a covered quart-sized deli container or in a zipper-lock freezer bag. Place in refrigerator and allow to rise at least 2 more days, and up to 4. Remove from refrigerator, shape into balls, and allow to rest at room temperature for at least 2 hours before baking.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
32	Calories
0g	Fat
6g	Carbs
2g	Protein

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories	32
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0g	0%
Saturated Fat 0g	0%
Cholesterol 0mg	0%
Sodium 1104mg	48%
Total Carbohydrate 6g	2%
Dietary Fiber 1g	3%
Total Sugars 0g
Protein 2g
Vitamin C 0mg	0%
Calcium 5mg	0%
Iron 0mg	1%
Potassium 28mg	1%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.