Neapolitan Pizza Dough: Recipe, Calculator & Step-by-Step Guide
What is Neapolitan pizza dough?
Neapolitan pizza dough is a traditional dough from Naples, made from only four ingredients: flour, water, salt and yeast. The official specifications are defined by the AVPN Disciplinare (Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana). Characteristic features are a high, airy rim (cornicione), a thin, soft base and short bake times of 60-90 seconds at 450-500°C.
Unlike Romana, New York Style or pan pizza, Neapolitan dough is soft, stretchable and wet - it is shaped by hand, not rolled. The high water content (typically 60-65 %) and long fermentation (at least 8 hours, ideally 24-48 hours) produce an open crumb with large, irregular pores.
The AVPN values (simplified)
- Flour: Tipo 00 or Tipo 0, W 280-320, P/L 0.50-0.65
- Water: 1 litre per 1.6-1.8 kg flour (= 55-62 % hydration)
- Salt: 40-60 g per litre of water (≈ 2.5-3 % of flour)
- Yeast: 0.1-3 g fresh yeast per litre of water (depending on fermentation time)
- Fermentation: at least 8 hours at 20°C, split into 6 hours bulk and 2 hours ball ferment
- Dough ball: 200-280 g for a 30 cm pizza
- Bake temperature: 430-485°C, bake time 60-90 seconds
If you want it strict, read the full AVPN Disciplinare. For home practice the grid above is enough - with two adjustments: hydration closer to 65 % for more moisture and longer bake times in a regular oven (3-6 minutes at 250-280°C), since few home ovens hit 450°C.
Quantities for 4 pizzas (250 g balls)
For 4 pizzas at 250 g per ball, Neapolitan, 65 % hydration, 24 hours cold ferment:
| Ingredient | Quantity | Baker’s % |
|---|---|---|
| Tipo 00 (W 280) | 605 g | 100 % |
| Water (cool) | 393 g | 65 % |
| Salt | 15 g | 2.5 % |
| Dry yeast | 0.3 g | 0.05 % |
| Total | ~1013 g |
These are the values PizzaPlan computes for you with a precision of 0.05 g - using a built-in yeast curve that interpolates the correct yeast amount for any fermentation time between 4 and 72 hours. At 4 hours of direct fermentation you would need 4-5 g of dry yeast instead of 0.3 g.
Step by step: Neapolitan dough in 24 hours
- Weigh out water (393 g, cool). Dissolve the salt completely in the water. Dissolve the yeast separately in a small portion of the water.
- Add the flour and mix roughly by hand or in a stand mixer.
- Work in the yeast mixture. Knead for 5-7 minutes in a mixer or 12-15 minutes by hand until the dough is smooth, shiny and elastic (windowpane test: thin enough to see light through without tearing).
- Bulk ferment: 30-60 minutes covered at room temperature.
- Refrigerate: in a covered container at 4°C for 18-22 hours.
- Bring back to room temperature: take the dough out 2-3 hours before baking.
- Form dough balls: divide into 4 equal pieces (260 g per ball for a small safety margin), shape into rounds and let them rest separately in a covered container.
- Ball ferment: 2-4 hours at room temperature, until the balls have visibly grown and slowly push back when you press them.
- Shape by hand: place the ball on semola, press with fingertips from the centre outwards, leaving the cornicione (a 1-2 cm rim) untouched. Do not roll - rolling pushes the air out.
- Top and bake: at 450-500°C for 60-90 seconds, or in a regular oven with stone/steel at 250-280°C for 4-6 minutes.
Which flour works best?
- Caputo Pizzeria (W 280-300): the all-purpose choice for Neapolitan pizza in a home oven. Stable, easy to shape, forgives beginner mistakes.
- Caputo Cuoco / Chef (W 300-320): slightly stronger, suited for 24-48 h ferments.
- Le 5 Stagioni Napoletana (W 280-310): used by nearly every Neapolitan pizzeria, very balanced.
- Molino Grassi Tipo 00 (W 320): protein-rich, fits longer fermentations.
- Petra 5063 (W 280-300): an Italian stone-milled flour with slightly more character in the aroma.
At a regular supermarket, German Type 550 flour or French T55 also works as a substitute - the gluten structure is different, but absolutely fine for first attempts. PizzaPlan Pro has profiles for over 50 specific flour brands with individual hydration ranges.
Common problems and fixes
- Dough sticks while shaping: hydration too high or not enough flour/semola on the work surface. Fix: drop hydration to 62 %, use semola instead of flour to dust.
- Base stays soft, no leoparding: bake surface too cool. Fix: preheat the stone or steel for at least 45 minutes at max temperature, in a home oven let it rest under top heat for another 10 minutes after preheating.
- Crumb tears apart, flat cornicione: dough not fermented enough or not kneaded enough. Fix: at least 24 h cold fermentation, at least 12 minutes by hand (6-8 minutes by mixer).
- Pizza sticks to the peel: hydration too high or dough sat on the peel for too long. Fix: semola on the peel, top quickly and launch within 30 seconds.
- Bitter-sweet, alcoholic taste: over-fermented. Fix: less yeast or shorter fermentation. PizzaPlan calculates the yeast amount based on planned fermentation time.
Direct vs. cold fermentation
| Variant | Total ferment | Dry yeast | Aroma | Digestibility |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Direct express | 4-6 h | 1-1.5 g/kg | flat, yeasty | medium |
| Direct standard | 8-12 h | 0.3-0.5 g/kg | mildly sweet | good |
| Cold standard | 24 h | 0.1-0.2 g/kg | nutty, complex | very good |
| Cold long | 48-72 h | 0.03-0.08 g/kg | very complex | excellent |
The classic Naples version is typically 8-12 hours at room temperature. At home, 24-48 hours cold is the sweet spot: maximum aroma while still plannable (mix the night before or two days ahead, relaxed pizza day).
Who is behind PizzaPlan?
PizzaPlan comes from Forstinning near Munich, written by Christoph Bimmer - home pizza baker with his own wood-fired oven and an Effeuno P134H. The numbers in this article are the same he uses for his weekend pizzas; no simplifications, no marketing figures. More about the app on the about page.
The app is free for Android and iOS. PizzaPlan Pro for a one-time €2.99 (no subscription) unlocks pre-ferments (Biga, Poolish - see the dedicated page on Biga and Poolish), 50+ flour brands and all future pro features. Play Store · App Store.