Pizza Napolitana

Make your own fantastic, slow raising, classic Napolitan style pizza in your ordinary kitchen oven. I have "tuned" this recipe on and off for almost 20 years, so enjoy :-)

(2 pizze)

• 500 gr Flour, tipo ”00”, pref. ”Antico Molino Caputo Pizzaria” if you can get it
• 325 ml Water, use cool water, to avoid killing the yeast
• 10 gr Yeast, fresh, or dry in equivalent amount, standard supermarket is fine
• 4-6 gr Salt, standard type is fine

---

• 400 gr Tinned pealed tomatoes Pref. San Marzano if you can get it, but qual. passata is good too

---

• 1 bag of Buffalo mozzarella, standard supermarket type is usually fine also
• Olive oil, Extra virgin, Best qual. you have, good qual usually 15$+ pr 500 ml
• Parmesan, find good quality parmesan, always Reggiano, freshly grind
• Salt, standard type fine, but flaky salt may be preferable
• Pepper, fresh grind
• Basil, fresh big leaves
• Capers, small type on glass. Optional for taste, if no other toppings.

Dough
In a big bowl put in 500 gr of flour + the 4-6 gr salt. Stir good with a wisk. Measure the water and pour some of it in a small bowl with the yeast and put the rest in the flour. Stir the yest bowl until dissolved and rest for a bit. Knead the dough a bit and then add the yeast. Keeping kneading until firm lump. Put it on the table add some extra flour and knead repeatedly by stretching the dough for at least 10 minutes. Separate into two lumps and fold them (special technique) until smooth round balls. Put in box with a lid, preferably spray with some olive oil, and raise in the fridge for ca. 24 hours.
After raising, take 1 or 2 doughs out and knead them slightly to a round ball. Let them temperate for an hour or so. Put the dough on the table with flour. Press your fist into the middle of the dough to create flat center but big “lips” on the pizza. Hold the pizza between your fingers while stretching the outer part going round. This way the lips should be preserved while making the diameter of pizza bigger. Make it around 25 cm in diameter, not larger. Keep big lips all around if possible.

Tomato
Tinned tomatoes should be drained for water in a sieve, cut the tomatoes open a bit to let water out. Mash the pulp up to a passate.

Preparing the pizza
Oven at highest possible temperature and with fan if possible and let a steel plate heat up with it. Put the dough on a spade if you have. Otherwise laying it on baking paper is mandatory, before adding any toppings. Add a little olive oil in a circular motion from the centre. Add passate with a soup spoon and spread it out in a circular motion from the middle. Do not add too much tomato or oil, the dough should be partly visible through. Put on a good pinch of salt if drained tomatoes or a little pinch if passate. Sprinkle with some ground parmesan, not too much. Grind some pepper on. Split the mozzarella in two and break of pieces and spread out evenly (½ mozzarella on each pizza). Put on 4-5 leaves of basil. Add a bit of olive oil if needed. Add some capers for taste if wanted.

Baking
Make sure the oven is heated up. If pizza on baking paper, take out the steel plate and pull the paper with the pizza on it over on the plate and put it in the top of the oven. If pizza on a spade, just slide it unto the steel plate and put in the top of the oven. If on baking paper, open and pull out the paper from underneath the pizza, when it is baked enough, so it finishes directly on the steel. Keep watching the pizza, if fan you may need to turn it 180 degrees at one point to even the heat. The lips should be raising high and become brown and preferably with “burned” spots (that is where the true napolitan taste lies). It is important to trust the high temperature, which is the most important aspect of napolitan pizza (500 degr cent. is the correct one but is unobtainable in a standard oven). Then take out. Add additional toppings if needed. Let it rest for 5 mins or so, cut it up and serve with a nice glass of red wine or ice cold cola for the non-drinkers.

Important aspects for success:

• Correct flour type
• Slow raising
• Very high baking temperature
• Small amount of tomato and toppings

BUON APPETITO :-)