Neapolitanish Pizza Dough
"Neapolitanish" describes this dough, which produces a pizza that is Neapolitan in spirit: thin but not paper thin, with a slightly ballooned rim. (See notes, below.)
Servings: 4 10-to-13-inch round pizzas or 1 to 4 pan pizzas
Ingredients
- ~4½ cups (550g) bread flour or all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 2½ tsp (15g) salt
- ~½ tsp instant yeast
- 1¾-2 cups (425-450g) cold water (about 60℉)
- extra-virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Mix dough: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and yeast. Add water and use a spatula to mix until dough comes together, forming a sticky dough ball. If dough is dry, use your hands to gently knead it in the bowl until it comes together. Cover bowl with a towel, and let rest for at least 15 minutes, and up to 30 minutes.
- Stretch and fold: Fill a small bowl with water. Dip one hand into bowl of water. Use dry hand to stabilize bowl while grab an edge of dough with your wet hand, pull up, and fold it toward center. Repeat this stretching and folding motion 8 to 10 times, turning bowl 90° after each set. By the end, dough should transform from shaggy in texture to smooth and cohesive.
- Pour about 1 teaspoon water over dough, and use your hands to run it all over. Cover bowl tightly, and let dough rise at room temperature until it has nearly doubled in volume, 6 to 10 hours. Time will vary, depending on time of year and temperature of your kitchen.
- Position dough: Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface, and use a bench scraper to divide dough into 4 equal portions. Using flour, as needed, form each portion into a ball by grabbing edges of dough, and pulling them toward center to create a trough ball. Flip ball over, cup both your hands around dough, and drag it toward you, creating tension as you pull. Repeat this cupping and dragging until you have a tight ball.
- Store dough: Place dough balls in individual air-tight containers, and transfer to fridge for 2 to 3 days.
- Transfer dough from its storage container to a roomier, lightly floured, covered container. Allow it to proof at room temperature for 1½ to 2 hours.
- Preheat oven to 550℉, or as high as your oven will go. Dust a pizza peel lightly with flour.
- Lightly dust a work surface with flour. Using lightly floured hands, pat dough gently to flatten. Stretch one ball of dough into a 10- to 11-inch round by laying it on back of your hands, and gently rotating it, taking care not to depress the beautiful air pockets in the dough. If dough begins resisting, set it down on work surface to rest for 5 to 10 minutes, and then continue stretching. Transfer stretched dough to prepared peel, and give it a shake to ensure it's not sticking.
- Top crust with desired sauce and toppings. Bake until edges begin to char (This may take anywhere from 6 to 10 minutes, depending on your oven.)
Notes
If you live in a humid environment, or are new to pizza making, start with 1¾ cups of water. The dough may feel dry immediately after mixing, but as the dough rises, the flour will continue to hydrate. 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 2 cups of water to start.