Neapolitan Pizza
-makes 2 large or 3 medium pizzas
Neapolitan pizza is defined by its pillowy, chewy crust, its droopy center and perfect flavor lend by mildly sweet and sour San Marzano tomatoes. It is unique and recognizable at first glance - its blistery rim (cornicione), a circular puddle of red sauce (sugo) dotted with white melted Buffalo mozzarella and fresh green basil leaves - like the flag of Italy painted all over a lightly charred piece of dough.

Ingredients for Neapolitan Pizza

For the dough
450g Tipo 00 flour 
50g whole-wheat four
10g salt
1 teaspoon instant dry yeast
335ml lukewarm water
Semolina, for sprinkling

For sauce
200g tinned San Marzano tomatoes or good tomato passata
salt & pepper, a good pinch each
1 x tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, & extra for drizzling

Topping for Margherita
Extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
Freshly grated Pecorino or Parmesan (use about 1-2 tablespoons per pizza)
1 x ball fresh Buffalo mozzarella (use about 85g per pizza)
A few fresh basil leaves

Topping for Parma Ham (Prosciutto) & Rocket
Extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
1 x ball fresh Buffalo mozzarella (use about 85g per pizza)
Freshly grated Pecorino or Parmesan (use about 1-2 tablespoons per pizza)
4 x slices of Parma ham (per pizza)
Handful of rocket (per pizza)
Juice of ½ lemon

Special equipment
Pizza baking trays OR pizza stone & peel
Oven

Recipe
  1. Prepare dough: Dissolve the yeast in 1/2 cup lukewarm water. Combine flour and salt in a large bowl followed by yeast mixture. Gradually add remaining water, mixing well until you obtain a shaggy dough. Place dough on a lightly floured work surface and knead for about 10 minutes or until smooth. Cover with a cloth or cling film and leave to rest in a warm place for at least an hour until the dough has doubled in size.
  2. Take the dough, knock it back, then divide into 2-3 equal pieces. To make dough balls, pinch the corners of a dough chunk together to form a ball. Place the pinched side facing down on the counter top and rotate the dough a quarter turn. Repeat 4-5 times until a nice smooth ball has formed.
  3. Once you have made the dough balls, place them in a flat oiled air-tight container. Leave the container at room temperature until double in size. Ideally the dough should be refrigerated for 24-75 hours. Letting the dough ferment slowly will make it more easily digestible. 
  4. Bring your pizza dough to room temperature by resting the balls on your kitchen counter covered in semolina, for at least 30 minutes before making pizza.
  5. Preheat your oven to its highest setting 250-300C, preferably with a pizza stone, for at least 30 minutes. (Traditional Neapolitan pizzas are baked at very high temperatures in brick ovens for less than 90 seconds)
  6. For the sauce, place tomatoes or passata in a tall cup, season well with salt & pepper, and stir in 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. Blend it all together using a hand blender. Split into 2-3 equal portions as per the number of pizzas.
  7. Sprinkle some flour or semolina onto a clean work surface, gently lift each ball of dough and place on the semolina pile. With your fingers, spread into a roughly round shape with a border (cornicione), flipping and turning the dough to keep it covered in semolina, to prevent sticking. Make the dough as thin as you can but be careful not to tear it. Sprinkle some semolina or flour on a flat pizza tray (or on a pizza peel if using a pizza stone) and place the pizza base on it. You can also use parchment paper to prevent sticking.
  8. Drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil over each base (optional).
  9. To make pizza Margarita, spread the tomato mixture evenly all over the base, sprinkle with pecorino, scatter a few basil leaves over and top with mozzarella.
  10. To make Parma ham pizza, spread the tomato mixture, arrange mozzarella and pecorino all over.
  11. Place the pizza tray into the middle rack of the hot oven and bake for 8 – 10 minutes. (If using a pizza stone, you will need to place the pizza on a peel lined with semolina and quickly slide the fully topped pizza on to the hot stone).
  12. Meanwhile, toss the rocket in a little extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice.
  13. Remove the pizzas from the oven and serve immediately. Top the Parma ham pizza with parma ham and rocket before serving.
​Note: If using a real high heat pizza oven at 480C, the cooking time will be less than 5 minutes.
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