NEAPOLITAN PIZZA DOUGH

Dinner, Italian by Cafe Christina

So I’m going to let you in on a little secret…IT’S ALL ABOUT THE FLOUR.  To find 00 flour around town is quite difficult I realized. I checked everywhere. All the grocery stores and  farmers markets within the city limit. I had no luck. So I ended up getting online and ordered a 16 lb. bag of Caputo Pizzeria 00 Flour from amazon (linked below). I know, I know, 16 pounds is a lot. In my defense, I just wanted to be ready for any and all pizza cravings in the future. This flour is essential when creating neapolitan style pizza. In Italy and most neapolitan style pizza places in the US…this is what all the restaurants use for their pizza. It gives it that soft airy texture with a bit of crunch and chew. another main element necessary in creating neapolitan style pizza? The oven.

Sure, you can use any regular oven…but you will not get the same results as a high temperature pizza oven. Once I finalized my dough recipe…I had to invest in a pizza oven. I bought the OONI KODA PIZZA OVEN. This is a gas powdered pizza oven that reaches a high temperature of 932 degrees F (500 degrees C). It cooks neapolitan style pizza in just 60 seconds. How crazy is that? Pizza comes out of the oven so fast you won’t be left waiting for long. The Koda comes in a medium sized box with a pizza stone and instruction book inside. You simple flip the legs down, hook it up to a gas tank and you’re ready to go. It takes some trial and error to figure out how to cook the perfect pizza. By the 5th pizza I made, I was pretty much an expert. You will get to know the oven pretty quickly and be able to know when it needs to be flipped and turned.

The Koda is one of a few ovens that this company has expertly built. The other ovens (from what I’ve read) are equally efficient but different in their own way. If you’re looking for a wood burning oven.. look no further. Ooni has you covered. I’m so impressed with my Koda oven that I want to invest in the Ooni Pro wood fired oven as well. Great investment in my opinion.

For any other information regarding this oven, you can visit the Ooni website through this link OONI PIZZA OVENS

00 Caputo Pizzeria Flour: 00 CAPUTO PIZZERIA FLOUR

Check out SPINACH AND ARTICHOKE PIZZA for a tasty recipe using this dough

PRODUCTS I LOVE:

Made in the OONI KODA OVEN for 2 minutes at 900 degrees:

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Made in an oven on a pizza stone for 8-10 minutes at 550 degrees F:

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NEAPOLITAN PIZZA DOUGH

Prep time: 15 minutes

Total time: 2-12 hours (see recipe)

Makes: 4 medium size pizzas

INGREDIENTS:

  • 4 cups Caputo pizzeria 00 flour
  • 1 3/4 cup warm water
  • 1 tsp active dry yeast
  • 2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1.5 tsp sugar

+ corn meal for assemble

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Place flour and water into a stand mixer bowl. Let the water and flour sit untouched for 5 minutes. Sprinkle in yeast and let yeast activate in the water (about 5 minutes). The yeast will look fuzzy in texture when its activated. Add in salt and sugar. Fix the mixer with the dough hook attachment. Turn the mixer on low speed for one minute until dough has formed. Turn the mixer up to high and let mix for 10 minutes.
  2. Once done, the texture of the dough should be smooth and somewhat elastic. You’ll see strands on gluten throughout.
  3. Form dough into a ball and place in a large oiled bowl. Tightly cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 2-6 hours in room temperature or overnight in fridge. If putting in the fridge, place dough in a large oiled sealable bag. Double bag it for extra measure.
  4. NOTE: If dough is developed in fridge, take the dough out 1-2 hours before using.

ASSEMBLY and COOKING of PIZZA:

  1. Preheat oven to 550 degrees, or as hot as it gets. Place pizza stone inside the oven while it heats. You want the stone to be hot when you slide the pizza onto it. This insures a good crusty bottom.
  2. NOTE: If using an OONI KODA, heat on high for 25-30 minutes until temperature registers 900+ degrees F.
  3. Once the dough is developed, cut the ball of dough into four even pieces. Form each piece into a ball.
  4. Flour the surface of a clean counter top and press down on dough with your palm to flatten it out. Once in the shape of a disk, use the tips of your fingers and push down all over the disk. It’s should slowly start to become larger and flatter.
  5. Pick up the large disk of dough with both hands and gently begin to stretch it out. Turn the disk like a wheel and let gravity do most of the work. The weight of the dough itself will then begin to stretch as you keep turning it in a circle.
  6. Once the dough is stretched to your desired thickness, lightly dust the surface with corn meal of a pizza peel. Place pizza dough on top of flour and add toppings. Then gently slide pizza onto pizza stone in the hot oven. Let cook for about 8-12 minutes. Some ovens are different than others, so the pizza may cook faster or slower. Keep an eye on the pizza while it’s cooking.
  7. NOTE: If using an OONI KODA, slide the pizza into the oven and turn every 20 seconds for a minute to two into pizza is cooked, cheesed toppings are bubbly and edges are bubbled and charred slightly.

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