Make An Authentic Neapolitan Style Pizza At Home

You must have enjoyed the best Neapolitan pizza in Naples, Italy? Isn’t it hard to go back and eat that pizza again? Perhaps it must be? Here I have come up with the great recipe of a truly authentic homemade Neapolitan pizza that you will enjoy for a lifetime.

Yes! You can cook perfectly flavored Neapolitan pizza at your home. 

Neapolitan pizza: 

Neapolitan pizza is a Naples style pizza that is considered the most delicious flatbread on the ground of Naples, Italy. But do you know what makes this pizza better than other pizzas? For me, it’s the passion that makes a perfect Neapolitan pizza. Furthermore, this style of pizza has certain specific characteristics that are not often followed by the restaurants and pizzerias that make Neapolitan style pizza. These features add extra flavor to the pizza and make it unique. 

Variations in types: typically Neapolitan pizza has been served in two flavors. 

·       Pizza Margherita is covered with tomatoes, fresh basil, mozzarella, and extra virgin olive oil. 

·       Pizza Marinara is simply topped with tomatoes, oregano, garlic, and extra virgin olive oil. 

The thin and light airy crust, baked at high temperature: The pizza will have the soft airy crust if it is properly cooked in the wood-fired oven– a classic pizza oven that utilizes wood as fuel. 

The flame lick over the pizza, and provides it a little smoky taste. Moreover, the allowed oven temperature is around 800 to 1000 degrees Fahrenheit. This extreme heat blackens the crust of the pizza by the fire yet it is light and soft in the middle. 

Topped with simple tomatoes: the crust of the pizza is simply covered with tomatoes, especially San Marzano. The recipe uses simple tomato sauce that imitates the flavor of original Naples pizza. 

Mozzarella cheese: the cheese commonly fresh mozzarella or buffalo mozzarella gives the stellar taste to this Italian flatbread. 

Neapolitan pizza dough- how can I make it? 

Yes, you can make a perfectly charred crust of the Naples style pizza in your home oven. All you need to know is the dough recipe. Once you have learned the dough making method, you will impress family and friends with the homemade Neapolitan pizza. 

Prefer Antimo Caputo Tipo “00” bread flour: the dough must be made with Tipo 00 Italian bread flour. It helps to improve the texture of the pizza by making the fluffy and supple. It is easily available at the local marts or online. However, if can’t find it, the regular bread flour will also work perfectly. 

Start preparing the dough 2 to 3 days ahead: if it’s feasible for you then you must ball up the pizza dough in the refrigerator for 48 to 72 hours. This longer fermentation time provides a superior, nutty flavor and improved texture to the Neapolitan pizza dough. I know this sounds a bit longer time, if it’s not possible, you can use the dough even after few hours.   

How can I cook a Neapolitan pizza?

For the perfect authentic Neapolitan pizza, a Neapolitan pizza oven isn’t compulsory. The pizza can be baked in a standard oven (the baking time is just 60 to 90 seconds), with preheated stone at 500 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Red flag: we all love those toasted edges and leopard-spotted underside of the pizza crust. So it’s requisite to have a pizza oven.

Which oven is the best to use?

The temperature of the home oven can be reached to only 550 degrees, but the pizza oven can get heated to almost 1000 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Ooni is a great pizza oven that typically heats up to 1000 degrees in only 10 minutes. It is a super spendy custom hearth, high-end pizza oven that generates really great pizza in minimal time.  

What sauce adds flavor to Neapolitan pizza?

San Marzano tomato sauce is perfect to create your favorite brick oven Neapolitan pizza at home. San Marzano is the most popular type of Italian tomatoes that can be easily available in different superstores in America. 

But if you are looking for the recipe of this great thicker and smoother sauce, we have discovered an easy trick for that too! Fire Roast the tomatoes and spread them on the pizza. They have the same flavor as a canned sauce. 

This simple delicious sauce uses only 5 ingredients to pair with Neapolitan style crust. 

I assure you that it will give you the flavor of genuine Italian pizza.     

Should I sprinkle basil on Neapolitan pizza?

There are various thoughts of using basil on pizza. Like if you are baking Margherita style pizza basil is a must-have ingredient. About a few years back Neapolitan pizza has only one leaf of basil but it made the pizza tastier. 

Is it right to add basil before mozzarella?

It completely depends upon the type of oven you use. 

·       In the Neapolitan pizza oven, the bake time is minimal (about 1 minute) so the basil leaves will remain fresh.

·       However, in a standard home oven, where the cooking time is about 7 minutes placing the leaves will turn black. So it is advisable to place the leaves on the top of the pizza after it is completely baked. As it will help in shielding the small basil leaves from getting a lot of heat and burning.   

What type of cheese is best for Neapolitan pizza?

In terms of the cheese, you should use mozzarella cheese. This is a protected cheese that is made up of the milk of water buffaloes which is supposed to add moisture to the pizza. But how can you prevent the watery pizza 

·       Use fresh mozzarella cheese and slice it into varied thick pieces for topping. 

·       However, if it had still a lot of moisture, wrap it into the towel for 10 to 15 minutes to soak the excess water.  

Summing up, this perfect pie isn’t just the combination of ingredients- it’s the accuracy of the craft. You will need a precise hand to construct the perfect dough and make it delicious. 

In Naples, most of the people go to the pizza school to master the skill of preparing Neapolitan style pizza. But here we have pulled your attention to the details of making this pizza so unique. If you are mouth-watering yet. Consider hopping into other articles to take a look at some other pizza options.   

And please! Do try the Neapolitan style pizza as you will feel yourself around the coastline of Italy.

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