Neapolitan Pizza - The Secret of the Dough Revealed!
Want the biggest secret of pizza? There isn't one! Yes, good pizza is just two components: the right recipe and high temperature in the oven. That's it, if you have them, rest assured that all your loved ones will beg you to make pizza again and again.
Eldar revealed the secret of the right dough to me, in his pizzerias " Pizza22cm " he prepares one of the most delicious Neapolitan pizzas. It turned out that there are no magic ingredients, no complicated techniques, all that is required is just attention to detail and that's it! In the recipe, I will tell you all the important steps, show you the ingredients, and you will even be able to see all the important stages and stages of preparation. Neapolitan dough is the right one, which is prepared in Italy - it is a dietary dough, in which only useful elements remain. They say that this dough even helps you lose weight. It turns out fluffy, crispy, with a beautiful leopard crust and, most importantly, it is convenient to make at home, you can put it aside for later and even freeze it (here Eldar will scold me).
There is a recipe, now component number two - the oven! Of course, we do not have a special masonry oven, which is almost entirely brought from Italy and assembled on site by the most experienced craftsmen. We do not have special firewood that is made from unique types of wood. And we do not have heat of 500 degrees and higher. But a good home oven can cope with this task to the maximum. My NEFF oven , for example, has a maximum temperature of 275 degrees. Not everyone can boast such a high value. And this means that bread, pizza and other types of baking are ideal in it. If you use a baking stone that accumulates heat inside, you will get a result close to a deck oven - you will be unstoppable!
Andrey Rudkov
Shop in Moscow, courier delivery in Moscow and the world.
If you need any ingredient, confectionery equipment and equipment, visit my shop — dvemorkovki.ru . The most convenient shop for those who love to cook. Up-to-date showcase, many payment and delivery methods (all over the world), there is pick-up from the shop in Moscow and goods that I select myself and ingredients that I use in the blog. Visit !
There is no "secret recipe", Neapolitan pizza is simply the right proportions of flour, water, salt and yeast.
First, prepare all the ingredients. Live yeast (0.8 g) is best weighed on precise molecular scales . Usually, pressed yeast is taken three times less. But, the guys say that the result is much different and not for the better.
Water (250 g) can be weighed using regular scales.
Take live yeast (0.8 g) in your hand, rub it between your palms and add to the bowl.
Mix the mixture well with your hand.
Constantly stirring the dough, add the remaining flour . The main thing is to knead the dough correctly with your hands, although the dough can also be kneaded in a mixer (hook attachment), but at medium speed.
Gradually the dough will begin to come together.
Knead the dough until it comes away from your hands. Ideally, you should get a soft and elastic dough.
The dough has not yet become smooth.
If you mix the dough for too long, it will start to tear and will no longer be smooth (see photo). Be careful.
Watch the video to help you.
Form a ball and leave the dough to rest for two hours at room temperature. To prevent the dough from drying out, cover it with a slightly damp towel or napkin.
The dough should noticeably increase in volume.
After two hours, form 4 balls from the resulting dough. Use, for example, a plastic spatula for this.
See how smooth and beautiful the dough turned out.
This is how the future balls are made. We sort of fold the dough inward in a circle.
The balloon is ready.
Here is its front side.
Video.
And here are our beauties.
Place them in a tray, cover with cling film and put them in the refrigerator for 12-24 hours (cover with cling film). This is necessary so that the dough becomes light and bakes quickly.
Interestingly , fermented dough is less caloric than dough that is not aged.
Compare - small balls are our preparations, large pancakes are exactly the same balls that have been in the refrigerator for the right amount of time!
This is how they are stored in the pizzeria, right next to the oven. One container covers the other so that the dough does not dry out.
If you tear the dough apart, you'll see this incredible gluten network!
Take the dough out of the refrigerator 30 minutes before cooking and let it warm up. Form a circle with your hands (the base of the future pizza).
Important! Forget about the rolling pin – it drives carbon dioxide out of the dough, and we don’t need that!
You need to stretch the dough to the side and rotate it. In doing so, you leave a fluffy edge.
Use your fingers to help shape the future pizza. By the way, its diameter is 22 cm, Neapolitan pizza is always a portion for one!
Watch the video.
Next comes the formation of the pizza.
Two pizzas are considered classic in Naples: Marinara and Margherita. Let's make the most popular of them, namely, Margherita pizza. For this, you will need tomato sauce, mozzarella, parmesan, olive oil and basil.
Spread tomato sauce on top of the dough. To do this, take tomatoes in a jar (without skin) and carefully chop them with a food processor (draining the juice first). The idea is that if you chop the tomatoes too much, you will get watery juice, if you chop less time, you will get a paste-sauce.
The master said to look for the word PELATI on the can.
Spread the sauce over the pizza.
Add mozzarella and basil.
Like this.
The cheese is also left in a sieve to remove excess moisture.
We send the pizza into the oven.
Look how beautiful it is.
And here is the pizza ready. This leopard-print coloring of the sides is a sign of quality of Neapolitan pizza.
The temperature inside is over 450 degrees.
There is firewood on one side of the stove.
And the rounded arch inside sends the heat in the opposite direction. The pizza bakes in just a minute, and you can bake four pizzas at a time.
Look how porous and beautiful the edge is.
And here we have stretched the dough to the state of a flat cake. You see, the same gluten network. This is the result of correct and long kneading of the dough.
Let's put it in the oven.
Leopard again!
And pizza!
The most common yeast used is the most common one.
The formed dough (after the refrigerator) can be frozen for a couple of weeks. Then let it thaw in the refrigerator and work. I tried and the result was quite decent. Although, of course, to begin with, practice on "fresh" dough.
Oven
Place the pizza in a preheated oven at maximum temperature. To do this, turn on your oven at the moment you take the dough out of the refrigerator, let it heat up.
In order for the pizza to turn out, it is better to use a pizza stone or a special frying pan. Place the grate in the oven at the bottom, if you have a stone, then put it on the grate, heat it for 30-40 minutes at maximum, and only then put the pizza.
Baking time depends greatly on the maximum temperature of your oven, the readiness of the dough, its proofing and hydration. Wait about 7-10 minutes, open the oven and press your finger on the edge of the pizza, if the dough takes the opposite position, then the pizza is ready. As you can see, the heat is not enough to form a leopard pattern, but otherwise - the oven version of pizza is absolutely stunning.
Since the oven temperature is quite high, BUT it is still not enough to bake pizza quickly, I advise you to cheat. Put the cheese when you understand that there are a couple of minutes left until the end of baking. Then it will look more aesthetically pleasing.
Basics
Often you may have questions about ingredients, some cooking techniques, or perhaps you are looking for basic recipes for dough, creams, and sauces. To make the learning process easier, I have a section on my blog called “ Basics ” that contains a lot of useful information. I recommend that you read it before asking questions in the comments to a recipe, there is a good chance that you will find the answers to your questions yourself.
Note to the hostess
Let's clear up some points.
- Freezing.
Pizza dough can be frozen for 2-3 weeks (after it has matured in the refrigerator).
