What is authentic Neapolitan pizza?
Authentic Neapolitan pizza originates from the birthplace of pizza, Naples. It involves simple ingredients and traditional methods that have been largely forgotten for quite a while. Luckily it is bouncing back, with many people finding this beautiful style of pizza for the first time.
American style pizza has mostly taken over Italian pizza with takeaways across the world. But fortunately, the traditional Italian pizzas are making a resurgence.
That’s not to say that American style pizzas can’t be nice because they can. But for me, and many more people like me, nothing comes close to an authentic Italian Neapolitan pizza.
Whilst there are no strict rules for the production of American style pizza, this is not the case for Neapolitan style pizza. There are strict guidelines set out by the Neapolitan Pizza Association(AVPN). Pizza cannot be officially classified as Neapolitan unless it closely follows he rules.
I suppose this could be compared to the production of Champagne. In order to be officially called Neapolitan, the pizza maker has to use traditional ingredients and methods.
I can understand why to some people this may seem pretentious. But to me, this is a great thing because it protects the Neapolitan pizza and prevents it from dying out. For myself, and many other people who have tried it, Neapolitan pizza is the ultimate.
What makes Neapolitan pizza different?
The key characteristics of a perfect Neapolitan pizza are a really thin base with a crispy but light and airy crust. The classic Neapolitan pizza is the Margherita. This is typically topped with tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella cheese, fresh basil, and extra virgin olive oil. Parmesan cheese is also a popular addition as well as many other ingredients.
Meat is not actually a common ingredient in Neapolitan pizza, with cheese being the star of the show. However, there are many more Neapolitan style meat pizzas around today. The most common meat is generally some form of Italian salami.
The other main characteristic of an authentic Neapolitan pizza, the true classic, is that it’s wood fired. This means that it’s cooked in a traditional pizza oven that uses wood as fuel.
The flames lick over the pizza as it’s cooking, producing some charring and a slightly smoky taste, not unlike barbecuing. What’s more, the extreme heat produced allows for oven temperatures of up to 500 degrees Celsius (over 900 degrees Fahrenheit)!
To find out more about exactly what wood fired ovens are all about, check out my article on wood fired pizza here.
This extreme heat allows for exceptional rise in crust, allowing for a crispy yet light and soft pizza at the same time! It really is pizza heaven!
But aren’t pizza ovens expensive and impractical?
Well, yes and no. A traditional brick wood fired oven is very large and heavy, and expensive to buy or construct. So in that sense they probably are impractical for most people.
However, there are many affordable and compact pizza ovens on the market these days. My favourites are the excellent range of pizza ovens made by a company called Ooni.
They are small, portable, and reasonably priced. What’s more, they make amazing pizza! They reach temperatures of 500C/900F and cook Neapolitan style pizzas in under 90 seconds!
They have both gas and solid fuel options depending on your preference. I own one that runs off wood pellets, which I absolutely love. Though it can be more time consuming managing the fire, which is why many people prefer the gas ones.
Excellent pizzas can still be made in a regular oven but in my view they can’t match a pizza made in a pizza oven!
The only downside is that you’ll want to eat lots of pizza!
By clicking any of the Ooni links and purchasing from Ooni, you would be supporting this website. I’ve been using their ovens for a long time now and I wouldn’t recommend them if I didn’t believe in their products.
What makes a Neapolitan pizza?
For me, what makes a Neapolitan pizza is that it’s made with quality ingredients, time tested methods, and artisan techniques. But most of all, it’s the fact that it’s made with love! When you make Neapolitan pizza, the perfect Neapolitan pizza, you make it with a passion!
Many people say “isn’t pizza just pizza?”.
Well… No! It isn’t!
It’s not just pizza, it’s a taste and texture sensation that’s amongst the most rewarding foods in the world to make and eat.
The dough is always made from scratch with the best quality ingredients. Also, the pizza is always shaped by hand using traditional methods.
This approach, along with a long proof time, allows for exceptional flavour and texture in the dough. It can be compared to artisan sourdough bread making. In fact, you can also make Neapolitan pizza with homemade sourdough!
Feel free to check out my sourdough pizza articles here if that’s something you’re interested in.
Is Neapolitan pizza thin crust?
Neapolitan pizza is not typically thin crust. It tends to have a thin base with a large, well-risen crust. The thin base is extremely important as it allows the pizza to become crispy and soft at the same time.
Also, since the pizza is cooked at very quickly (less than 90 seconds) a thick base often leads to undercooked dough.
If you are thinking of thin crust pizza, you are probably thinking of a style called Romana pizza (Roman pizza).
However, Neapolitan pizza has a thick crust, and is not to be confused with the very crispy and thin crust Romana pizza.
What is the difference between Neapolitan style pizza and Roman style pizza?
Both Neapolitan style pizza and Roman style pizza are renowned for their excellence. A Romana pizza appeals to those like a really crispy thin crust and a Neapolitan pizza appeals to those that like a thicker crust that is soft in the middle but still crispy on the outside.
For me, the Neapolitan pizza is the best as you get the really thin base with a crispy crust, but with the added benefit of a soft, baguette-like interior to the crust.
Of course, this mostly comes down to personal preference. I think everyone should try both styles of pizza before deciding which they prefer. Both Neapolian style and Roman style pizzas are delicious!
How do you make Neapolitan pizza dough from scratch?
First the dough is made, and often mixed by hand. Then the dough is proved for around 24 hours. Yes, I know this sounds like a long time but it makes for a much tastier dough with an improved texture.
Then the dough is balled, before being shaped into a pizza, topped, and then loaded into the oven.
I’ve been working on a Neapolitan pizza from scratch series which features videos. Feel free to check it out if you like learning by watching.
What is the best flour to make Neapolitan pizza?
All great dough starts with quality flour and Neapolitan pizza is no different. The best type of flour to make Neapolitan pizza is generally considered to be 00 flour.
00 flour (double zero flour) is an Italian flour which is finely milled (this is what 00 refers to). This leads to a very soft dough that produces a pizza with a delicate, easy to eat, texture.
Typically, the best flour to make Neapolitan pizza is not just any 00 flour. Generally, specialist 00 pizza flour is used. These 00 pizza flours have been formulated by the producers to produce the ideal characteristics in pizza dough.
Flour for Neapolitan pizza should produce a stretchy and strong dough. This is because the pizza has to be stretched very thinly and proofed (fermented) for a long time.
Probably the most commonly available “professional” 00 pizza flour is called Caputo Pizzeria. It is made by a company called “Caputo” is used by many Neapolitan style pizzerias. I have used this flour for a long time so I feel like I’m in a good position to recommend it.
You can often get Caputo flour on Amazon, click here to check. If you can’t get Caputo any 00 or 0 pizza flour should work well. They are finer flours that also create a lot of strength and stretchiness in the dough.
Buying a large chef bag usually offers the best value but you can often get small 1kg bags too. If you make pizza fairly regularly though you’ll probably get through a bag before it’s use by date (probably 8-12 months). I also use it to make fresh pasta.
Neapolitan pizza with instant yeast
As with any great pizza, or bread for that matter, the magic ingredient is yeast! There really is no substitute for yeast, it makes the pizza rise and gives it lovely light and airy crust. Fortunately, you can make amazing Neapolitan pizza with instant yeast that is easy to get hold of.
Instant dried yeast is really easy to work with and usually lasts for many months in a cool cupboard or the fridge. Even if you intend on using a different type of yeast, it’s always good to have some dried yeast as a backup.
Below I’ve provided a link to some dried yeast on Amazon. You won’t need a lot, just 1 tub will be fine. This is because when we make Neapolitan pizza with instant yeast we only use a tiny amount, due to the long proof time.
The other type of yeast that I recommend is fresh baker’s yeast. It’s also known as cake yeast because of it’s consistency (not because it’s used in cakes!). I find that this yeast produces a little more flavour in the dough but it doesn’t keep as well. Although, you can freeze it.
In general, an easy recipe conversion is to multiply the dried yeast required by 3 to get the required fresh yeast.
Check out my article here to find out whether you should be using fresh yeast instead of dried yeast.
Does authentic Italian pizza have cheese?
Most authentic Italian pizzas are typically topped with some form of cheese. The most common cheese is Mozzarella, closely followed by Parmesan. In fact, the two are often used together.
Only good quality, fresh cheese is used, which is typically much more tasty and nutritious when compared to the cheese used on American style takeaway pizzas.
Fortunately, delicious mozzarella is fairly readily available these days. Mozzarella often comes in a bag with a brine solution to keep it fresh. The only downside is that you need to remove the moisture from the mozzarella to avoid a soggy pizza. The quickest way is by using kitchen paper.
However, you can also buy low moisture mozzarella which has the perfect moisture content for pizza. This is defeinitely the easiest way to go.
Below is an example of some low moisture mozzarella which you can check out on Amazon. This type is great for beginners since it prevents soggy pizza.
Parmesan is also fairly readily available. Parmesan or Parmigiano Reggiano, to give it it’s real name, usually comes in a little packet in the shape of a wedge. Feel free to check out an example on Amazon below.
Is Neapolitan pizza healthy?
Whilst Neapolitan pizza is not necessarily a healthy meal, in comparison to a takeaway pizza, it is typically considered a much more nutritious meal.Check out my article here about this to find out how healthy Neapolitan pizza really is.
For instance, unlike the American style pizza, Neapolitan pizza dough does not contain sugar or oil. In an American style pizza, the sugar and oil is used to encourage browning on the crust, since the pizza is cooked at a much lower temperature.
An authentic Neapolitan pizza dough, on the other hand, is made with just 4 ingredients! Flour, water, salt, and yeast.
What’s more, the simple yet perfect Neapolitan pizza sauce doesn’t contain any added sugar. It contains just tomatoes, salt, and pepper. Whilst this may not sound that exciting, only the best tomatoes are used to produce a wonderfully bright and fresh sauce.
Also, a Neapolitan pizza has much less toppings on. One of the reasons why an American style pizza is thicker is so that it can support the extra weight of the toppings.
Since the base is so thin on a Neapolitan pizza, a much more modest amount of toppings are required. In addition, the quality of the dough in a Neapolitan pizza is allowed to shine. Ensuring that the toppings do not overpower the taste of the dough is a key part of the perfect Neapolitan pizza.
For some great healthy topping ideas, check out my article on authentic Neapolitan pizza toppings here.
For more information on the healthiness of Neapolitan pizza, and a breakdown of the calories, check out my in-depth article here.
How long does it take to cook a Neapolitan pizza?
For the perfect authentic Neapolitan pizza, which is cooked in a wood fired oven, the cooking takes just 90 seconds! This is due to the extreme temperatures inside a wood fired oven, which reach up to 500 degrees Celsius (900 degrees Fahrenheit)!
For true Neapolitan pizza, you need to use a pizza oven. You simply cannot replicate the extreme heat and open flames in a regular oven. I can highly recommend the Ooni pizza ovens – this is what I use and the pizza they produce is incredible.
Ooni offer a range of affordable pizza ovens including solid fuel and gas. They can all replicate true Neapolitan pizza, cooking the pizza in as little as 60 seconds!
For more information, check out my article on whether pizza ovens are worth it here.
However, there’s nothing stopping you cooking Neapolitan style pizza in a home oven. It won’t cook quite the same but you can still make delicious pizza. It is important to get the oven and baking tray/baking stone as hot as possible before loading the pizza.
One recommendation I have is getting a quality pizza stone or pizza steel. These retain heat better than a baking tray and should provide you with a better cook in a regular oven.
I’ve provided a link to a pizza steel on Amazon below. The good thing about a pizza steel is that it’s virtually unbreakable. Stones can break unfortunately, especially when you’re taking it in and out of the oven regularly.
In a home oven, a Neapolitan style pizza will probably take around 6 – 9 minutes.
For more information on cooking in a normal domestic oven, check out my article here.
On the pizza above, I added some Prosciutto, which is Italian cured ham. This is a nice option for those meat lovers out there. I’d still recommend trying a Margherita first though, it’s the classic for a reason!
Note: For authentic Neapolitan topping ideas, check out my article here.
How do you eat Neapolitan pizza?
Should an Authentic Neapolitan pizza be eaten with a knife and fork or by hand? This is a maybe pointless (excuse the pun) debate, but it is hotly (do not excuse the pun this time) contested.
In truth, this will largely depend on the particular setting. But for the most part, you can eat your pizza with your hands without worrying. And this is definitely my favourite way of eating pizza! This is also the way it is traditionally eaten in Naples, the birthplace of pizza!
In many pizzerias, the pizza is served unsliced, with a knife and fork. In which case you can cut the pizza into slices yourself and then eat it with your hands.
This is partly done to save time slicing the pizza. But also, the pizza slices better when it has cooled a little.
If the pizza is served with a pizza slicer then I think it’s definitely safe to assume that the pizza is expected to be eaten with the hands.
Some Italians prefer to eat pizza, when it is served as a meal, with a knife and fork. However, many italians also prefer cutting it into slices and then eating it.
I would just do whatever you feel comfortable with. If you are in a very posh restaurant you may want to eat it with the knife and fork (or you may just not care).
You could always ask the waiter to slice your pizza for you when you order it and gauge the reaction. Many restaurants are happy to slice the pizza before serving it if requested.
Personally, I’ll always slice it and eat it with my hands!
Are you supposed to fold pizza?
This is another controversial question for many people! Should a pizza slice be folded or not?! In truth, it is a widely accepted and popular way of eating Neapolitan pizza.
Because authentic Neapolitan pizza is very thin and a bit floppy, it folds very easily. Often, if it isn’t folded, the toppings will slide off and it could be a messy experience!
Folding it is my favourite way of eating Neapolitan pizza. I highly recommend you give it a go! After trying out this recipe below of course!
With that said, let’s get into the recipe.
Making delicious authentic Neapolitan pizza is not easy! However, it is an incredible taste and texture experience. What’s more the whole process is really fun so just enjoy the journey!
