Neapolitan Pizza Dough Recipe

 

Neapolitan Pizza Dough Recipe

This thin-crust pizza dough is a beautiful example of how just a few humble ingredients can transform into something extraordinary. With only flour, water, yeast, and salt, this recipe captures the true spirit of traditional Italian pizza-making—simple, honest, and focused on technique. While the ingredient list is short, the magic of this dough comes from care, patience, and precision. Using a gram scale ensures accuracy, allowing the dough to develop the perfect structure, hydration, and elasticity needed for that classic crisp yet tender thin crust.

What makes this recipe special is the slow, controlled fermentation that builds incredible depth of flavor. The dough begins with a gentle hydration of warm water and yeast, giving it time to awaken and come to life. As the flour, salt, and water come together, the dough gradually transforms from a sticky mass into a silky, smooth ball that feels alive under your hands. The kneading process develops gluten and gives the dough strength—an essential step for achieving that signature chew and airy lift.

The resting stages are just as important as the mixing. As the dough rises, it softens and matures, allowing the yeast to create natural flavor and texture. An overnight rest in the refrigerator deepens those flavors even more, resulting in a dough that stretches beautifully without tearing. Once shaped into individual dough balls, the dough becomes light, supple, and easy to work with. After a few hours at room temperature, each ball is ready to be stretched into a thin disk that bakes up perfectly crisp around the edges and delightfully soft in the center.

This recipe may be simple, but it teaches you the real craft of pizza. With time and practice, you’ll learn how the dough feels, how it responds, and exactly when it’s ready. The result is a thin-crust pizza that tastes authentic, artisanal, and far better than anything store-bought—a dough that forms the foundation for endless creativity, from classic Margherita to your own signature combinations.

A truly great pizza starts with a truly great dough—and this one is designed to help you master the art of making it.

INGREDIENTS

+ 1000g of ’00 flour

+ 650g warm water

+ 1g Instant dry yeast

+ 28g sea salt, fine

DIRECTIONS

+ STEP 1: HYDRATE

Add water to a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle yeast on top of water. Let sit for 2-3 mins.

+ STEP 2: BUFFER

Mix a handful of flour with the water in the mixing bowl. In the flour bowl, mix in salt.

+ STEP 3: MIX

Add remaining flour and salt mixture to mixing bowl and combine. The temp should be near 80F here. When flour is incorporated, transfer dough to work surface.

+ STEP 4: KNEAD

Knead dough for about 10 mins.

+ STEP 5: FIRST RISE

Transfer dough to an oiled bowl and cover for 2 hrs at room temp. Ideally, make this in advance so it can sit in the fridge overnight after the first rise.

+ STEP 6: DOUGH BALLS

After first rise, separate into 6, 270g-ish dough balls. Place the dough balls on a large tray with space in between to give them room to rise. Cover and leave at room temperature for 6 hrs. If making this dough in advance, place the dough balls in the refrigerator overnight after the second rise. The dough will need to sit at room temperature for about 2-3 hrs before stretching.

NOTES

+ OVEN: Ideally, this style dough should be cooked in a pizza oven (800-900F) for about 1-2 mins. In a traditional oven, about 550F for about 8 mins with a preheated pizza stone helps get a similar texture.

+ SALT & YEAST: In Naples, salt is usually added to the water first to slow down the fermentation process. In this recipe, we want the yeast to quickly get started.

+ BIGA: This recipe is an accelerated version so it does not use a biga. At home, I will typically make a biga and allow for a 72 hr fermentation.

+ PUNCH: Not required, but only done after the first rise.