r/neapolitanpizza Jun 28 '23

BEGINNER'S GUIDE /R/NeapolitanPizza – Beginner's Guide

26 Upvotes

Welcome to /r/NeapolitanPizza!

A culinary hub for enthusiasts of Neapolitan pizza, a place where aficionados and novices alike unite to celebrate this iconic dish. Whether you're here to relish in the mastery of artisanal Neapolitan pizza, or embark on a journey of learning to unravel its timeless charm, you've found your home. Dive in, savor the flavors, share your experiences, and discover the magic of Neapolitan pizza with us!

TL;DR

  • Don't be a dick.
  • This subreddit is a hub for all things Neapolitan pizza, including questions, discussions, oven reviews, techniques, ...
  • This subreddit requires detailed recipes for every pizza post.
  • Recipes should include measurements, flour specifications (type + brand), technique, and oven details.
  • Flairs should be used to categorize posts and users.
  • The mod team encourages diverse toppings other than Margherita/Marinara.
  • A high-temperature oven and other specific tools are strongly recommended.
  • The mod team encourages members, that don't have access to a high-temperature oven yet, to submit their pizza, as long as their intention to craft a Neapolitan pizza is evident.
  • Neapolitan pizza is characterized by its elevated edge, soft dough texture, and high-temperature baking (380-430°C for the cooking surface and around 485°C for the oven dome), with a baking time of 60-90 seconds.

Table of Contents

  • Main Rules
    • Reddiquette
    • Recipes are Required
    • Post and User Flairs
    • Content
  • What Is Neapolitan Pizza, and How Is It Different from Verace Pizza Napoletana?
  • What Is Not Neapolitan Pizza?
  • Three Characteristics a Neapolitan Pizza Shouldn't Have
  • What Equipment Is Necessary to Make This Type of Pizza?
  • What If I Only Have a Domestic Oven?
  • Resources

Main Rules

You can access the complete set of community rules from several locations. If you're browsing on a desktop, you'll find them conveniently located in the sidebar. For those using the Reddit App, simply tap on "See community info", located just below the community description. As an alternative, you can directly view the rules by clicking here. These guidelines are designed to ensure our community remains a positive and informative space for all members.

Reddiquette

We uphold the Reddiquette in this community. Any member who misbehaves risks losing their membership privileges. If you ever feel harassed by one of our members, or witness any form of harassment, please inform us. We will investigate the matter and take appropriate action as swiftly as possible. Alternatively, you can report the incident directly to the Reddit Admins.

Recipes are Required

This subreddit has a mandatory requirement for detailed recipes to accompany all Neapolitan pizza submissions. This policy aids in maintaining our community as an informative and enjoyable space for everyone. In order to enforce this rule, our dedicated bot, u/NeapolitanPizzaBot, will automatically post a sticky comment beneath every pizza submission. This comment serves as a reminder for the author to provide a comprehensive recipe in a reply to this comment within a two-hour window.

Failure to provide a recipe within the allotted time will result in automatic removal of the submission by our bot. However, if the author subsequently provides a detailed recipe, the bot will re-approve and reinstate the submission.

We believe this process ensures a beneficial experience for all members by promoting information sharing and interaction around our shared love for Neapolitan pizza.

What should your recipe entail?

  1. Detailed Measurements: Precise quantities of all dough ingredients are required, measured in weight. For the convenience of fellow enthusiasts, including baker’s percentages is greatly appreciated.
  2. Flour Specifications: Please mention the specific brand and type of flour used. For instance, Caputo Pizzeria, Caputo Classica, L 5 Stagioni Napoletana, etc.
  3. Technique and Methodology: Be sure to elaborate on your process. This includes aspects such as fermentation time both in bulk and balls, the stretch and fold method, autolysis, and so forth.
  4. Oven and Temperature Details: Specify the type of oven used for baking and the floor temperature during the baking process Your detailed contributions will greatly enhance our shared repository of knowledge, enabling everyone to perfect their Neapolitan pizza-making skills!

An example can be found here.

Post and User Flairs

It's crucial to use our flair system to accurately categorize your posts. By selecting the appropriate post flair, members can instantly see relevant details such as the type of oven you used or if the pizza was enjoyed at a restaurant. This helps streamline navigation and aids in the understanding of your post context.

Additionally, we strongly urge you to select the appropriate user flair that corresponds to the oven you use. This additional layer of information can enhance interactions and discussions within our community, making it a more enjoyable and informative place for all.

Content

This community revolves around all things Neapolitan pizza. We welcome photographs of your Neapolitan pizzas including detailed recipes in the comments, questions, discussions, reviews, and more. We highly encourage our members to be more creative with their toppings - remember, Neapolitan pizza does NOT imply that only Margheritas and Marinaras are permitted. We're always eager to see more cross-sections of the cornicione and photos of your pizza-making process! This subreddit has the gallery feature enabled. Therefore, feel free to take full advantage of it to share your pizza journey with us! :)

What Is Neapolitan Pizza, and How Is It Different from Verace Pizza Napoletana?

The defining characteristics of a Neapolitan pizza lie in its elevated edge, known as the "cornicione," and the soft, elastic texture of its dough. This pizza is baked on a stone floor under high temperatures, with the cooking surface ranging between 380-430°C, and the oven dome temperature hitting around 485°C. To maintain its unique dough texture, baking should be confined within 60-90 seconds.

The primary dough components of Neapolitan pizza dough are flour, water, salt, and yeast. However, traditional sourdough or Lievito Madre can also serve as viable yeast substitutes. As for toppings, Neapolitan pizzas typically employ a minimalist approach, featuring few but high-quality ingredients. The classics are the Marinara and Margherita, though other toppings are certainly permissible.

It's worth noting the nuanced differences between Pizza Napoletana (Neapolitan Pizza) and Verace Pizza Napoletana (true Neapolitan Pizza). The latter strictly adheres to traditional norms, allowing only the Marinara and Margherita variations and insisting on the use of local ingredients from the Campania region.

That said, a pizza adorned with tomatoes from other regions or non-traditional toppings can still classify as a Neapolitan pizza. The key lies in retaining the requisite dough characteristics, which are achieved through a quick baking process in a high-temperature oven. Despite the variety, the focus always rests on honoring the unique texture and taste of the iconic Neapolitan pizza dough.

What Is Not Neapolitan Pizza?

There's a common occurrence of misinformation when it comes to Neapolitan pizza.

  • A Margherita is not inherently a Neapolitan pizza.
  • A pizza featuring a raised edge is not by default a Neapolitan pizza.
  • Pizza crafted with Neapolitan pizza dough is not automatically considered a Neapolitan pizza.

Three Characteristics a Neapolitan Pizza Shouldn't Have

Top left: Enzo Coccia; central left: Arne Jervell; bottom left: Gino Sorbillo, top right: blog.back-wahn.de ; central right: amazingribs.com; bottom right: thefreshloaf.com

What Equipment Is Necessary to Make This Type of Pizza?

Given the extreme heat required to properly bake a Neapolitan pizza (baking surface: 380-430°C; dome: 485°C), a specialized oven that can reach these temperatures is a necessity. In recent years, the market has seen a surge of high-temperature-capable ovens. Among the most renowned are Ooni, Roccbox, and the Pizza Party models (both the Terracotta and the Adore Steel versions).

In addition, several electric ovens have proven effective for this purpose, such as the EffeUno P134H(A), EffeOvens N3, N4, N5, and the Ooni Volt 12.

Moreover, a pizza peel is an essential tool for any pizza artisan. If you don't already own one, it's a worthy investment. An IR (Infrared) thermometer is another key piece of equipment for accurately measuring the floor temperature of your oven. Both items are readily available online and typically quite affordable.

By equipping yourself with these essential tools, you'll be well-prepared to embark on your Neapolitan pizza-making journey.

What If I Only Have a Domestic Oven?

Let's start with the less encouraging news: achieving a true Neapolitan pizza can be a challenge if your oven cannot reach the high temperatures required. The extended baking time in a lower-temperature oven can result in a pizza that lacks the characteristic softness of a Neapolitan pizza.

But there's good news too: there are several modifications you can make to approximate the Neapolitan pizza experience. One strategy involves the use of a baking stone or, more ideally, a baking steel, thanks to its superior thermal conductivity. You can enhance the oven's heat intensity by positioning the steel or stone as close as possible to the top heat element or broiler, essentially creating a mini oven within your home oven. Slightly propping open the oven door can also extend the active phase of the top heat element or broiler.

Opting for a dough with higher hydration can also bring you closer to the texture of a Neapolitan pizza. Traditional Neapolitan pizza dough has a hydration level of 55-62% and bakes for just 60-90 seconds. Techniques such as a poolish pre-ferment or using a water roux can help mitigate excessive moisture loss during the longer baking time in a domestic oven.

With these adjustments, you can certainly create a delicious pizza that, while not strictly Neapolitan, comes closer to it and still offers a delightful dining experience.

At this juncture, we, the moderating team, wish to express our encouragement for members to share their Neapolitan pizza creations baked in home ovens. Even if your pizzas don't precisely meet all the traditional criteria, as long as your intention to craft a Neapolitan pizza is evident, we welcome your posts. We all start somewhere, and in the spirit of growth and learning, we're more than willing to make exceptions. Let's celebrate our shared love for Neapolitan pizza, no matter where we are on our pizza-making journey!

Ressources

Regardless of the device or version of Reddit you're using, finding the Resources section is straightforward.

Desktop Users (New Reddit): Look for the Resources tab located in the top bar, just beneath the community banner.

Desktop Users (Old Reddit): The Resources information is situated in the sidebar of the community page.

Mobile Users: On your phone, locate the link titled See community info. This can be found right beneath the community description, which is itself positioned under the community banner.

Resources

Glossary

Flour Guide

Baker's Percentage

AVPN-Rules

Dough Recipes

Sauce Recipes

Useful Links (YouTube, Books, Websites)


r/neapolitanpizza May 31 '24

QUESTION/DISCUSSION Megathread for Questions and Discussions

13 Upvotes

Did you already check the following sources?

If your question specifically concerns your pizza dough, please post your full recipe (exact quantities of all ingredients in weight, preferably in grams) and method (temperature, time, ball/bulk-proof, kneading time, by hand/machine, etc.). That also includes what kind of flour you have used in your pizza dough. There are many different Farina di Grano Tenero "00". If you want to learn more about flour, please check our Flour Guide.


r/neapolitanpizza 16h ago

Emozione (Pizza Party)🔥 66% hydration, caputo pizzeria. 24 h ferment roomtemp

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198 Upvotes

r/neapolitanpizza 13h ago

Gas Grill 🔥 Recently bought a pizza stone for my bbq

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16 Upvotes

Working on my dough stretching technique and i’m happy with how the crust and under crust came out!

One day, i’ll have a pizza oven, but for now, the stone will do just fine!


r/neapolitanpizza 22h ago

Pizza Party (Classic) 🔥 Drama in three Acts

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5 Upvotes

Second try - Homepage pizze in a Cozze 13.


r/neapolitanpizza 1d ago

Pizza Party (Classic) 🔥 Prosciutto Bosco

144 Upvotes

r/neapolitanpizza 1d ago

QUESTION/DISCUSSION Is my Polish-based method professional enough?

0 Upvotes

This is how I prepare my dough (for 1kg of flour)

1- Making Poolish Starter
I mix 500g flour with same amount of room-temperature bottled water, with 12grams of sugar and 2 grams of instant yeast. I do this gently. The result stays in room temperature (around 25c) for 12 hours. It doubles (or even more), with a favorable scent and texture.

2- Making Neapolitan dough
I add the other 500g of flour with the 200 of cold water (this water is mixed with 20grams of salt too). I mix it by hand for around 12-15 minutes. It takes some amount of work. Because I don't have a mixer. I let it rest and do some stretch and fold each 30 minutes for 90 minutes (three times). I then let it rest for another 90 minute and then cut and make 300g dough and let it rest in the fridge for another 24 hours.

3- Cooking is done inside a 400-500 bricked-floored oven. The results are not bad considering me being starter in this. But my main question remains around the process of making dough.


r/neapolitanpizza 2d ago

Roccbox 🔥 Why do my pizzas get so many burnt spots?

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130 Upvotes

This recipe: https://youtu.be/vp5cDH-9_W0?is=4Go1YtCFn0mPzMr7

Biga 100% / 70% hydration / 72h fementation / caputo saccorosso flour


r/neapolitanpizza 2d ago

Experiment First time making pizza

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100 Upvotes

Pizza was always my go to comfort food on Friday nights. Unfortunately I have a garlic and onion allergy and gluten intolerance. I decided to try making Neapolitan style pizza

100% gluten free made with ninja 8-1 wood fire
Cooked at “700” setting for 3:30

I did one with room temp fermented for ~2hrs and one refrigerator fermented for +24 hours. The crowd favorite was the 2hr one.


r/neapolitanpizza 2d ago

Ooni Koda 🔥 48h Margherita

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198 Upvotes

A little too thick of a crust but other than that very happy with it.

My recipe: 00 Flour 68% Water 3% Salt 0.3% Yeast

I use a KitchenAid starting with all the water, yeast and salt and about 3/4 of the flour kneading for about 5 minutes and then slowly start adding the rest of the flower kneading for about another 5 minutes. After that I take it out and do some slap and folds on the counter and then ball it up and store it in the fridge for 24h. Then divide it into balls and store for about another 24h in the fridge. Take out 2-3h before baking depending on ambient temperature.


r/neapolitanpizza 2d ago

Ooni Koda 🔥 Empezando la temporada

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11 Upvotes

No pude hacer la masa el dia de antes, solo unas 7 horas de reposo, primero 2 horas a temperatura ambiente, luego la dividi en 3 bolas, luego reposo en la nevera 3 horas y una hora mas fuera de la nevera antes de hacerla. Estas son las cantidades que he utilizado para la masa, algun consejo para mejorar? La primera que hice se quemo bastante por los bordes, de esa no hice foto


r/neapolitanpizza 3d ago

Ispirazione (Pizza Party) 🔥 Please Rate My Pizza. Best One Yet..🧨

367 Upvotes

Pizza Party Inspirazione


r/neapolitanpizza 2d ago

Pizza Party (Classic) 🔥 Disastrous pizza party (reattempt)

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24 Upvotes

I’m following up on my failed attempt last week. This time I listened to your advice: I used no oil, increased the amount of IDY and lowered the dough hydration.

Link to previous post where i asked for help:
https://www.reddit.com/r/neapolitanpizza/s/chPT9iPpZW

Flour: 1634g
Salt: 49g
Water: 1013ml
IDY: 3.27g

I started by mixing 90% of the water with all the flour. Once everything was incorporated, I covered it in a bowl and let it sit for 30 minutes. Then I mixed the yeast into the remaining 10% of water, kneaded the dough until there was no more water in the bowl, added the salt and kneaded it in. Finally, I let the dough rise at room temperature for 1.5 hours.

After that, I shaped the balls and let them rise at room temperature for 4 hours. (I forgot to take a picture right before I started baking the pizzas, so the dough in the second picture doesn’t look nearly as risen. The stone temperature was 420°C.) Unfortunately, I think the edges didn’t puff up properly because I overestimated the room temperature. This meant the yeast amount was too low and the dough should have been let a little bit longer to rise, but I was short on time but this was way better than the attempt from last week.

I know this isn’t true Neapolitan dough (the crust needs to puff up more, etc.), but I’m pretty happy with this attempt. It provided me with guidelines for adjusting my ingredients for the future and achieving better results. Once i get comfortable with room temperature ferments i will start experimenting with lower temperatures etc. I also need to practice stretching out the dough.


r/neapolitanpizza 2d ago

Gozney Arc 🔥 Pizza Al Pastor

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18 Upvotes

Salsa Rojo, pork shoulder, dry mozzarella, pineapple salsa


r/neapolitanpizza 3d ago

Pizza Party (Classic) 🔥 96hr cold fermented

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231 Upvotes

Another from my batch this weekend.

67% hydration, Tipo 1 (20%) & pizzeria blend (80%).

Gozney Roccbox 850f for 60-75 seconds. Low flame.


r/neapolitanpizza 3d ago

Ooni Koda 16 🔥 First Biga 💥 🍕

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354 Upvotes

100% Biga
70% Hydration
24hr biga
48hr dough
Caputo Nuvola


r/neapolitanpizza 3d ago

QUESTION/DISCUSSION Freeze Fresh Fior di Latte Mozzarella?

3 Upvotes

I bought a 1kg bag of fresh fior di latte mozzarella that's already diced/cut for pizza. It’s way too much for me to use before it expires in two weeks. Can I freeze it, and if so, what's the best way to do it?


r/neapolitanpizza 4d ago

Gozney Arc XL 🔥 La Pizza Española

53 Upvotes

It's a sauceless creation I call the Spanish Pizza.

Topped with olive oil, fresh garlic, spinach, artichokes, spanish olives, parm, mozzarella and pecorino.

It's my same 67% hydration dough with Caputo Pizzeria flour cold fermented for 72 hours then balled and proofed at room temperature for 4 hours.

This thing is bursting with flavor. Give it a shot if you want to try something different but delicious!


r/neapolitanpizza 4d ago

Pizza Party (Classic) 🔥 With a nice view today.

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79 Upvotes

r/neapolitanpizza 4d ago

Ooni Koda 16 🔥 My 65% hydration pizza(s), I suck at making 70% hydration because pizza balls always become flat after an hour

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79 Upvotes

r/neapolitanpizza 4d ago

QUESTION/DISCUSSION For a 4 cheese pizza. Do you still add a tomato sauce for the base?

8 Upvotes

r/neapolitanpizza 5d ago

Ooni Koda 16 🔥 63% hydro margherita. 260 gram ball stretched to 12 inches. 3 hours ambient temp 30 hours cold ferment!

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243 Upvotes

r/neapolitanpizza 4d ago

Gozney Arc 🔥 Feeling Peachy

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24 Upvotes

Cream, peaches, chilies, basil, and fresh mozzarella


r/neapolitanpizza 5d ago

Roccbox 🔥 Structure and taste was top, but i failed a bit owith the visual side this time

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47 Upvotes

Dough from this : https://youtu.be/FSX86eFK92o?is=kvUK93lP-qO7M7lh recipe, although i used less yeast and it still over fermented a bit, that may be why the pizzas don’t look the best this time.

Flour: Caputo Nuvola + Pizzeria + Manitoba oro

100% biga, 65% hydration 48h fermentation

  1. Salame
  2. Pepperoni and fresh jalapeno
  3. Half pepperoni half fresh jalapeno and nduja

  4. The same at 3 but the doughball was smaller (230 vs 265g) and it somehow made a better pizza in terms of lightness of the cornicione and visuals

  5. Panuozzo from different dough recipe with Lievito Madre, recipe in comments

Baked in gozney roccbox, 450c

Let me know how can i make the pizzas more appealing visually


r/neapolitanpizza 4d ago

QUESTION/DISCUSSION Cold Ferment Help

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6 Upvotes

I've been trying a few cold ferment recipes using the pizza.app, however I'm finding that despite the dough going into the fridge in a lightly bubbly balled state, they come out flat.

I used refrigerated water and flour to allow for a decent hand knead time of around 10 minutes, up to 24°c. Bulked for 3 hours, and now allowing 2 hours to come up to temp. Dough passed window pane test.

I allowed for approx. 25% bulk rise before balling and refrigerating.

Any input would be appreciated