Neapolitan Pizza Dough (24-Hour Cold Ferment)
This is a classic Neapolitan-style pizza dough designed for a hot oven and quick bake: soft, extensible, and lightly chewy with a puffed, airy cornicione (rim). A 24-hour cold ferment builds flavor and makes the dough easy to stretch without tearing. It’s ideal for a home pizza oven or the hottest home oven setup you can manage, and it scales easily for a pizza night with friends.
- pizza
- dough
- italian
- neapolitan
- baking
Ingredients
- Dough (makes 4 dough balls, ~250 g each)
- •620 g 00 flour (or bread flour; see notes)
- •403 g cool water (about 65% hydration)
- •18 g fine sea salt
- •0.6 g instant yeast (about 1/4 tsp; scant)
- For baking
- •Extra 00 flour or semolina, for dusting
- •Crushed tomatoes, mozzarella, and toppings of choice
Instructions
Mix
In a large bowl, dissolve the salt in the water.
Add about 10% of the flour and whisk to make a loose slurry, then sprinkle in the yeast and whisk again.
Add the remaining flour and mix with your hand or a sturdy spoon until no dry flour remains and you have a shaggy mass.
Knead + first rise
Turn the dough onto an unfloured counter and knead 8–10 minutes, until smooth and elastic; it should feel tacky but not wet. If it’s sticking heavily, dust the counter lightly with flour (use as little as possible).
Cover the dough (in a bowl or on the counter under an inverted bowl) and let rest 20 minutes.
Knead 1 minute more to tighten the surface.
Place in a lightly oiled container, cover, and let sit at room temperature until it shows slight activity (a few small bubbles and a subtle rise), 1–2 hours depending on room temp.
Cold ferment
Refrigerate the covered dough 18–24 hours.
Ball the dough
Remove dough from the fridge.
Divide into 4 pieces (~250 g each).
Shape each into a tight ball: cup your hands and drag the dough against the counter until the surface is smooth and taut.
Place in a lightly floured dough box or covered containers, leaving space between balls.
Final proof (room temp)
Let the dough balls proof at room temperature until puffy, relaxed, and very extensible, 3–5 hours.
Sensory cue: a gentle fingertip press should leave a dent that slowly springs back; the dough should feel airy and “alive,” not tight.
Stretch + bake
Heat your pizza oven to 430–480°C / 800–900°F (or heat a baking steel/stone in your home oven at maximum for 45–60 minutes; place it high in the oven).
Dust the dough ball and the counter lightly with flour/semolina. Flip the dough so both sides are coated.
Press from the center outward, leaving a 1–1.5 cm rim; then stretch over your knuckles to about 10–12 inches, keeping the rim thicker.
Top quickly (go light—Neapolitan hates overload) and launch.
Bake until the rim is leopard-spotted and the underside is browned: 60–120 seconds in a pizza oven, or 5–8 minutes in a home oven (finish under the broiler if needed).
Tip: If the dough resists stretching and snaps back, cover it and rest 10–15 minutes, then try again.
Tip: If your home oven can’t fully color the top before the bottom is done, switch to the broiler for 30–90 seconds at the end—watch closely.
Notes
Flour: 00 flour is traditional and stretches beautifully. Bread flour works well at home (slightly chewier, often easier in lower-heat ovens). Yeast: If using active dry yeast, use the same weight but dissolve it in the water 5 minutes before mixing; if using fresh yeast, use 1.8 g. Temperature: Fermentation speed depends on room temp; if your kitchen runs warm (>24°C/75°F), reduce yeast slightly. Same-day option: Increase yeast to 2 g (about 3/4 tsp) and skip the cold ferment. Bulk 2–3 hours, ball, then proof 2–3 hours until airy. Storage: Dough balls keep 2–3 days cold; flavor improves on day 2. Freeze dough balls after 1–2 hours of balling/proofing; thaw overnight in the fridge, then proof at room temp until relaxed.