Napoletana Dough for Pizza or Calzone
- 500 grams flour (use Molino Caputo Tipo 00)
- 325 grams water (65% hydration)
- 3 grams active yeast
- 10 grams salt
- I highly recommend cooking by weight.
- It is fast, and easy to get the exact hydration (flour to water ratio) and dough ball size you want.
- For pizza dough being exact counts.
- Nothing works better than a digital scale.
- Remember to press the conversion button in this app to use grams with the metric system.
- The version in cups isn't precise.
- Remember to use only Caputo flour 00.
- Prepare the active dry yeast using its packaging instructions.
- Put all the flour in the mixing container and add the prepared yeast (dissolved in water) to it.
- Use your hands to mix with only the prepared yeast at first, then add water little by little.
- If you are using a stand mixer, mix it slowly for two minutes, until you have made a ball.
- Let the dough rest for 10 minutes, as it will allow the flour to absorb the water.
- Add the salt to the dough.
- Mix at a low speed for 7 minutes
- Shape the dough into a ball, place it in a slightly oiled bowl and cover it with a humid towel.
- Let it rise until double.
- Usually, for 1 1/2 - 2 hours.
- Observe how the dough is extensive and soft.
- Punch it down and push out the air bubbles.
- Form the dough into a large ball, then cut it into 4-5 equal pieces.
- Each piece should have approximately 260 grams.
- Make your pizza balls by shaping each piece of dough.
- Gently shape your dough pieces into a ball, then stretch the top of the ball down and around the rest of the ball, until the outer layer wraps around the other side.
- Pinch the two ends together to make a smooth ball with a tight outer "skin".
- Set your ball seam-side down where it can rest.
- Dust your pizza balls with flour and store them under a damp towel.
- This will prevent the outside of the ball from drying out and creating a crust that will become difficult to work.
- The top of the pizza ball should be soft and silky.
- The pizza balls will need to rest for about an hour to become soft and elastic, so that they can be easily stretched into a thin crust pizza.
- If you don't need your pizza balls in one hour, you should refrigerate them and bring back out of the refrigerator for one hour or so before you use them.
- Try making your pizza balls the day before.
- Overnight refrigeration helps the dough develop more flavor.
- A fully developed dough browns better in the oven.
- It is very extensible.
- The flour is selected and milled to be easily shaped into a pizza base.
- You should not over work the dough.
- It will spring in the oven.
- The soft, well-hydrated, extensible dough will puff around the outside rim of the pizza where you do not have sauce.
- It's very silky and soft.
- Observe that after the process you can see bubbles inside of the dough.
- You need to work manually otherwise the bubbles will go away.
- Never use a roll pin.
- The secret of napoletan pizza is in the way you stretch the dough before putting in the oven.
- The secret is to do it manually and stretch from the center to the borders so that the air inside of the dough goes to the borders.
- Borders with air is the secret!!
- Never press the dough with a roll, otherwise you will lose the precious air bubbles.
- OVEN PREPARATION: As an engineer, i tried all the possibilities to achieve the best result.
- I use a cast iron pizza "stone", and use the broil with hi temperature.
- If you don't have cast iron, the metal dish give better results than a pizza stone.
- For doing margheritta: put the tomato sauce on top of the stretched dough and put it in the oven, add the mozzarella after you see the dough is ready.
- That way you make it sure to not overcook the mozzarella cheese.
- Here are some ideas about authentic italian toppings.
water, active yeast, salt
Taken from cookpad.com/us/recipes/355031-napoletana-dough-for-pizza-or-calzone (may not work)