Cookbooks
Never Say Never to Dolce
A brand-new collection of 50 approachable homemade desserts – from iconic Cannoli to Dolci al Cucchiaio and more – that proves there’s always room for a little sweetness.
Manuela’s Sweet Temptations
A collection of 50 irresistible dessert recipes, from classic Italian treats to modern favorites—including gluten-free options.
The Complete Italian Cookbook: Essential Regional Cooking of Italy
A collection of 50 irresistible dessert recipes, from classic Italian treats to modern favorites—including gluten-free options.
How to Make Authentic Neapolitan Pizza Dough (Pizza Napoletana)
Bring your pizza night to the next level with a traditional and authentic Neapolitan Pizza (Pizza Napoletana) made from scratch in your own home… just like Italians do!
With its thin and light crust at the base and pillowy, thick and bubbly crust around the edges, Neapolitan pizza is a one-of-a-kind mouthwatering pizza that you won’t easily forget.
You will recognize a pizza Napoletana by those unique charred spots all around the crust, that you get with a light and airy dough that puffs up when quickly baked at extra high temperatures, and possibly in a wood fire oven.
Neapolitan pizzas are generally topped with light and simple ingredients.
What makes Neapolitan pizza different from any other pizza (Romana, NY style … ) is mainly the crust.
How to make the dough for Pizza Napoletana:
Traditionally this pizza dough is made by hand using a “madia” (large wooden rectangular container with raised edges, where dough is kneaded and prepared).
Start by dissolving the salt into lukewarm water.
If after 5 minutes of mixing the dough looks dry, add a tablespoon of water. If still too wet, add a tablespoon of flour. The dough should feel slightly sticky, with all flour absorbed and side of the bowl clean. No dry crumbs in the bowl.
Leave the dough in the bowl, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise at room temperature for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
How to roll out the dough for Pizza Napoletana:
To make each piece of dough into a smooth ball, pinch the sides and tuck under. Repeat a few times.
VIDEO: How to roll pizza dough
Place each ball onto the counter or a baking sheet generously covered with regular and semolina flour. Sprinkle with regular flour and cover with plastic wrap and a towel. Let rise for 6 to 8 hours at room temperature.
To roll the pizza, stretch out the dough with plenty of flour+semolina flour on the counter. Start from the middle, press with your fingers down the center of the dough towards the edges. Move the air from the middle to the outside, while keeping the crust nice and thick. Turn the dough over and repeat. Use your fingers to work the air towards the edges, hold the dough with one hand and stretch outward with your other hand. No touching the edges: we want a thin crust in the middle with thick edges. You should end up with a pizza of about 10inches in diameter.
How to bake a Neapolitan pizza:
VIDEO: how to make Neapolitan Pizza
Here are some TIPS when cooking your pizza on a fire oven:
👉🏻Fire it up: use natural firestarters together with a few small pieces of wood. Add more fuel gradually and don’t overcrowd.
Make sure to have enough airflow to reach optimum temperatures, and space around the oven. You can always adjust the airflow with the inbuilt chimney vent.
👉🏻 Check the oven temperature with an infrared thermometer: aim for at least 750°F in the center of the stone before launching a pizza in the oven.
👉🏻Have your best pizza dough ready, divided in buns.
When the oven is ready (only then, NOT before) stretch out the dough with plenty of flour+semolina flour on the counter. Add toppings but keep it light (not too much sauce, not too much mozzarella … just enough!)
Quickly pick up the pizza with the peel, making sure there’s plenty of semolina flour on the peel so the dough won’t stick. And swiftly launch into the oven.
Don’t let the rolled out pizza sit on the counter (it will stick) or on the pizza peel (again – it will stick), and it will be a mess to move it off and into the oven.
👉🏻 Keep the oven door close when baking. Open and rotate the pizza every 20-30 seconds. It should be ready between 60 and 90 seconds. Top with the rest of your ingredients and devour as fast as you can.
👉🏻 Don’t forget: top up your fuel and wait a couple of minutes before adding your next pizza…. I’m sure you won’t stop at one.
>PRINTABLE RECIPE: Authentic Neapolitan Pizza Dough
How to Make Authentic Neapolitan Pizza Dough (Pizza Napoletana)
Bring your pizza night to the next level with a traditional and authentic Neapolitan Pizza (Pizza Napoletana) made from scratch in your own home… just like Italians do!
Servings:
4
Prep Time
30 min
Cook Time
2 min
Resting Time
10 hr
Total Time
10 hr, 32 min
Ingredients
- 11 oz (330 ml) warm water
- 1/2 tablespoon salt
- 2 cups (240 gr) all-purpose flour, divided
- 2 1/3 cups (280 gr) bread flour
- 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- semolina flour and more all-purpose flour for the counter
Instructions
- Dissolve the salt into the lukewarm water.
- In a stand mixer bowl, add 1 cup of all-purpose flour (save the rest for later), yeast and salty water. Start the mixer and mix this very liquidy mixture for about 10 minutes.
- Add the teaspoon sugar and the remaining flour ( all-purpose and bread flour). Continue mixing at low speed with hook attachment for at least 15 minutes. If after 5 minutes the dough looks dry, add a tablespoon of water. If still too wet, add a tablespoon of flour. The dough should look slightly sticky, all flour absorbed and side of the bowl clean. No dry crumbs in the bowl.
- Remove the dough, make into a ball. Drizzle the bowl (same mixer bowl or any large one) with the olive oil, place the dough inside, turn on all sides to oil. Leave the dough in the bowl, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise at room temperature for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
- Move the dough to the counter, divide into four equal parts. You can weight each to make sure they are all the same size. Mine were about 8 oz (225 gr) each.
- Knead each ball of dough: flatten it out with your hands, fold in half, turn 90 degrees and fold again. Repeat a few times. To make each piece of dough into a smooth ball, pinch the sides and tuck under. Repeat a few times. Place each ball onto the counter, place one hand over and cup the dough in your hand. Move your hand in circles on the counter while rolling the pizza dough under. Place each ball onto the counter or a baking sheet generously covered with regular and semolina flour. Sprinkle with regular flour and cover with plastic wrap and a towel. Let rise for 6 to 8 hours at room temperature.
- Turn on the oven and preheat until you reach a temperature of at least 750F in the center of the stone (measure the temperature with a infrared thermometer if you have one). If you don’t have a pizza oven, you can use your regular oven. Preheat to the highest temperature you can. Remember: your pizza will need more time to bake if using a regular oven.
- When the oven is ready (only then, NOT before) stretch out the dough with plenty of flour+semolina flour on the counter. To roll the pizza, start from the middle, press with your fingers down the center of the dough towards the edges. Move the air from the middle to the outside, while keeping the crust nice and thick. Turn the dough over and repeat. Hold the dough with one hand and stretch outward with your other hand. No touching the edges: we want a thin crust in the middle with thick edges.
- Add toppings but keep it light (not too much sauce, not too much mozzarella … just enough!). Quickly pick up the pizza with the peel, making sure there’s plenty of semolina flour on the peel so the dough won’t stick. And swiftly launch into the oven. Rotate the pizza every 20-30 seconds. It should be ready between 60 and 90 seconds for the pizza to be ready. Top with the rest of your ingredients (fresh basil, prosciutto, rucola, burrata …), drizzle with olive oil, and devour as fast as you can. Buon appetito!
