Neapolitan Pizza Dough: How to Make It Right

Neapolitan pizza dough is dead simple: flour, water, salt, yeast. Four ingredients. No oil. No sugar. The magic comes from the fermentation time and the oven temperature. Get those right and you'll make pizza that beats most restaurants.

The Formula

Real Neapolitan pizza follows strict rules set by the AVPN (Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana). The dough is straightforward:

The yeast amount depends on your fermentation time. More time = less yeast. For a 48-hour cold ferment, use about 0.3g of instant dry yeast per kilo of flour. Our calculator handles this math for you — just tell it when you want to eat.

Choosing Your Flour

Tipo 00 is the standard. It's milled finer than regular flour, which gives you that smooth, elastic dough that stretches thin without tearing. Look for 11-13% protein content.

The go-to brands: Caputo Pizzeria (blue bag) is what most home bakers use. Caputo Nuvola is airier. Molino Grassi is another solid option. They all work.

If you can't find Tipo 00: bread flour is your best substitute. It has more protein (12-14%) so the texture will be slightly chewier, but the pizza will still be good. Regular all-purpose flour works in a pinch, but the dough won't stretch as thin.

Hydration: How Wet Should It Be?

Start at 60% if you're learning. The dough will be manageable and forgiving. You can shape it without fighting it.

Once you're comfortable: move to 63-65%. Higher hydration gives you more oven spring, a more open crumb, and better char. But it's stickier and harder to handle. The tradeoff is worth it.

Don't go above 65% for Neapolitan. Unlike New York style (which goes up to 70%+), Neapolitan dough needs to hold its shape on a peel and cook in under 90 seconds. Too wet and it sags or sticks.

Fermentation: Where the Flavour Lives

This is the single biggest difference between forgettable and incredible pizza. Skip this step and you'll get bread with sauce. Nail it and people will ask for your recipe.

Same-day (4-8 hours at room temp)

It works. The pizza will be fine. But the dough won't have much flavour beyond flour and yeast. Use more yeast (0.3% instant dry) and let it rise at room temperature.

24-hour cold ferment ⭐

Noticeably better. The dough develops a subtle sweetness and the texture opens up. This is where most home bakers should start with cold fermentation.

48-hour cold ferment ⭐⭐

The sweet spot for Neapolitan. Complex, slightly nutty flavour. Silky texture. The dough practically stretches itself. Most pizzerias in Naples use something close to this timeline.

72 hours

Maximum flavour with slight tanginess. Beautiful leopard-spotted crust in a hot oven. But the dough gets fragile — you need strong flour (W280+) to hold up this long. For experienced bakers.

Oven Temperature

This is where home bakers hit a wall. Real Neapolitan pizza bakes at 450-500°C (850-930°F) for 60-90 seconds. Your home oven maxes out at 250-275°C. The pizza still works, but the experience is different.

If you're serious about Neapolitan at home, a pizza oven (Ooni, Gozney, Roccbox) is the single best investment you can make. Check our gear guide for recommendations.

Step by Step

1. Dissolve yeast in water. Room temp water (20-22°C). Let it sit 5 minutes.
2. Add flour and mix. Stir until no dry flour remains. Don't knead yet — let it rest 20 minutes (autolyse).
3. Add salt. Sprinkle on top, then knead for 8-10 minutes until smooth and elastic.
4. Bulk rise. Cover with a damp cloth. 1-2 hours at room temp until slightly puffy.
5. Divide and ball. Cut into 250g pieces. Shape into tight balls by tucking the edges underneath.
6. Cold ferment. Place balls in individual containers (oiled), cover, fridge for 24-48 hours.
7. Warm up. Take out of fridge 60-90 minutes before baking. Cold dough = tears.
8. Stretch and top. Press from center outward, leaving a 1cm rim. Flip onto knuckles and let gravity stretch it. Top with San Marzano sauce and fresh mozzarella.
9. Bake. Hottest oven you've got. Don't open the door.