Neapolitan Pizza Dough (Flour to Water to Salt to Yeast)

100%

Tipo 00 flour (W260–300) — Fine-milled, moderate-protein (11–12.5%); strong enough for cold ferment, extensible enough to stretch by hand without tearing

60–65%

Water — 60% for firm, traditional Neapolitan; 63–65% for slightly easier hand-stretch; water temperature controls final dough temp (23–24°C target)

2–3%

Fine sea salt — AVPN spec is 2.5–3%; salt tightens gluten, slows enzyme activity, and shapes fermentation flavor curve

0.1–0.3%

Fresh (cake) yeast — Dried instant yeast ≈ 0.03–0.1%; tiny amounts for slow cold ferment; more yeast collapses the dough before the ferment period ends

Dissolve salt in water (never combine salt and yeast directly — salt kills yeast cells). Add about 10% of the flour to water and mix to a thin slurry. Crumble in fresh yeast, then add remaining flour gradually while kneading — total knead time 20–25 minutes by hand to full windowpane. Final dough temperature: 23–24°C. Bulk ferment 2 hours at room temperature. Divide into 250–280g balls; cold retard in covered tray at 4–6°C for 24–72 hours. Remove dough balls 2–3 hours before baking to temper. Open by hand only — never a rolling pin.

• Never let yeast contact salt directly in the bowl — mix salt into water, then add yeast separately to the wet flour slurry.
• Dough temperature on the bench is a dial: cold water slows fermentation, warm water accelerates it. Target 23–24°C out of the mixer regardless of season.
• The 24-hour minimum cold retard is not negotiable for flavor — enzymatic proteolysis during that time breaks down peptide bonds and creates the extensibility that lets you hand-stretch a 280g ball to 30cm without springing back.
• Leopard spotting (the small black blisters) is a direct function of oven temperature: below 400°C you get browning, not the explosive steam blisters of a true 450°C+ pizza oven.
• Use the heel of your hand to open the dough ball from the center outward, rotating; never compress the cornicione (rim) — the air trapped there inflates into the signature puffed crust.
• If dough tears when stretching, it is either under-fermented (too young), too cold (needs more tempering time), or over-proofed (dough collapses rather than tears). Each failure mode looks different.

• Pizza Romana (scrocchiarella)

  Higher hydration 70–80%; longer cold ferment 48–72 h; baked in rectangular trays; thinner, crispier, less charred rim — the teglia romana style

• Al taglio hydration

  75–85% hydration; very slack dough baked in steel trays at lower temperature (300°C); focaccia-like open crumb

• Poolish-enhanced Neapolitan

  50% of flour pre-fermented in 100% hydration poolish; main dough adjusted down; increases flavor complexity without altering AVPN ratios for the final mix

• Warm-ferment same-day

  0.5–1% yeast, 8-hour room-temperature ferment; produces edible pizza but lacks the depth and extensibility of cold retard

• Focaccia Dough Hydration

  Sister olive-oil dough, 75–80% hydration; oil replaces the 'dry' lean character of Neapolitan

• Sourdough Bread Hydration (Wheat)

  Similar flour type, similar hydration range but longer ferment arcs and different handling

• Churro Dough Ratio

  Also choux-adjacent piped dough — contrast shows the spectrum of water-to-flour ratios across fried versus baked

1. 1.The Elements of Pizza — Ken Forkish
2. 2.Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana (AVPN) Disciplinare, 2022
3. 3.Pizza: History, Recipes, Stories — Lori De Mori & Jason Lowe
4. 4.Modernist Pizza — Nathan Myhrvold & Francisco Migoya

Confidence: high