Neapolitan Pizza Dough

Dough

• 4 cups Bread flour or Tipo 00 flour
• 1 1/2 cups Water, room temperature
• 1/4 tsp Instant yeast — yes, only a quarter teaspoon
• 2 tsp Salt

Dough

1. Whisk the flour, yeast, and salt together, then stir in the water until a shaggy dough forms. Knead until smooth and elastic.

Bulk

1. Cover and let ferment at room temperature until roughly doubled.

Ball

1. Divide into 4 equal pieces, shape each into a tight ball, and place in individually covered containers.

Cold ferment

1. Refrigerate for at least 24 hours, up to 72. (Tip: This long, slow, cold stretch is where most of the flavour develops — a same-day dough will taste noticeably flatter by comparison.)

Prep

1. About an hour before baking, take the dough balls out to come to room temperature. Put a pizza stone or steel in the oven and heat it as hot as it will go, at least 260°C (500°F). (Tip: The stone or steel needs real preheating time, ideally 45 minutes to an hour, to build up enough stored heat to properly sear the base of the pizza.)

Shape

1. Stretch each ball out by hand into a thin round, leaving a slightly thicker rim for the crust.

Bake

1. Top lightly and slide onto the hot stone. Bake until the crust is blistered and charred in spots and the base is cooked through. (Tip: A home oven can't reach true wood-fired temperatures, so this bakes longer than the traditional 90 seconds — accept the trade rather than trying to force it faster.)