Make Ahead

Neapolitanish Pizza Dough From 'Pizza Night'

April 29, 2024
5
1 Ratings
Photo by Eva Kolenko
  • Prep time 36 hours
  • Cook time 8 minutes
  • makes four 245-to 250-gram balls
Author Notes

If you live in a humid environment or are new to pizza making, start with 425 grams of water. The dough may feel dry immediately after mixing, but as the dough rises, the flour will continue to hydrate, and when you turn out the dough to portion it, it will feel much wetter and stickier. If you are an experienced pizza maker and don’t mind working with a higher hydration dough, you can use 450 grams of water to start.
Alexandra Stafford

Test Kitchen Notes

From “Pizza Night” Copyright © 2024 by Alexandra Stafford. Photographs copyright © 2024 by Eva Kolenko. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Crown Publishing
—The Editors

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Neapolitanish Pizza Dough From 'Pizza Night'
Ingredients
  • 550 grams (about 4¼ cups) bread flour or all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
  • 15 grams salt
  • 2 grams (about ½ teaspoon) instant yeast
  • 425 to 450 grams (1¾ to 2 cups) cold (about 60°F) water
  • Extra-virgin olive oil
Directions
  1. Mix the dough: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and yeast. Add the water and use a spatula to mix until the dough comes together, forming a sticky dough ball. If the dough is dry, use your hands to gently knead it in the bowl until it comes together. Cover the bowl with a towel and let rest for at least 15 minutes and up to 30 minutes.
  2. Stretch and fold: Fill a small bowl with water. Dip one hand into the bowl of water, then use the dry hand to stabilize the bowl while you grab an edge of the dough with your wet hand, pull up, and fold it toward the center. Repeat this stretching and folding motion 8 to 10 times, turning the bowl 90 degrees after each set. By the end, the dough should transform from shaggy in texture to smooth and cohesive.
  3. Pour about 1 teaspoon of olive oil over the dough and use your hands to rub it all over. Cover the bowl tightly and let the dough rise at room temperature until it has nearly doubled in volume, 6 to 10 hours. The time will vary depending on the time of year and the temperature of your kitchen.
  4. Portion the dough: Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and use a bench scraper to divide the dough into 4 equal portions, roughly 245 to 250 grams each. Using flour as needed, form each portion into a ball by grabbing the edges of the dough and pulling them toward the center to create a rough ball. Then flip the ball over, cup both your hands around the dough, and drag it toward you, creating tension as you pull. Repeat this cupping and dragging until you have a tight ball.
  5. Store the dough: Place the dough balls in individual airtight containers and transfer to the fridge for 1 to 3 days.

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I write the blog alexandra's kitchen, a place for mostly simple, sometimes fussy, and always seasonal recipes. My cookbook, Bread Toast Crumbs is available everywhere books are sold.

2 Reviews

cindy May 8, 2024
Made this dough tonight with a green and white pizza! I think it was the best dough I ever made. Used about 435 grams of water, - it was wet... but I just worked it and may have added more flour as I "kneaded" it. Thank you for the recipe! Baked the pizza at 550 for approx 6-7 min. Wonderful!
garrett T. May 5, 2024
I would caution people against trying this pizza in anything other than a home oven. As written, the hydration level is 77% or higher, which will result in burnt pizza if a pizza oven is used.