Neapolitan on your grill

[jehlydonuts]

This is for SheilaAnn in connection with SUWYC. It's likely more detailed than needed, but it's just a copy of my notes. Let me know if you try it and how it comes out. I see no reason you couldn't use this for the oven, but I never have.

1 kg Caputo Red 00 flour (Blue Caputo flour seems to produce thicker crust. Use red for more Neapolitan style )
600 ml warm water (~75F)
2 tsp Caputo yeast, which you can buy packaged with the flour (or use ~2 g fresh yeast)
30 g salt (not Kosher salt, you want the smaller crystals)

• I like to start this in the late afternoon the day before the cook
• Making dough (I use a standing mixer with a bread hook):
  • Pour water into mixer bowl
  • Melt yeast in water, mixing with spoon or hands
  • When yeast has melted, start mixer on lowest setting
  • Pour 1/2 of flour into water/yeast
  • Mix on low speed for 3 mins or until the water has been absorbed
  • Add salt slowly, allowing it to get absorbed into dough each time
  • Add remaining flour
  • Mix no more than 15 minutes in total, scraping sides of bowl occasionally
  • When finished, everything in the bowl should be absorbed into one large dough ball
• First proof
  • In the mixer bowl or another large bowl, let dough rest 2 hours at room temp, covered with damp cloth
  • Dough should rise to 1.5x-2x original size
• Second proof
  • Place risen dough on a lightly-floured surface
  • Divide dough ball into 7 smaller dough balls, approx 235g each (pick a method from Youtube videos on how to roll, tuck, crimp, pinch, etc. into the perfect pizza dough ball)
  • Place pizza dough balls into lightly-floured large, flat, airtight, lidded containers. If the balls touch, it's OK, but easier in the next stage if the container is big enough so that they don't)
  • Cover and place in cold oven (or other non-drafty, room temperature, dark place) overnight
  • Balls will rise and meld together
• Third proof
  • In the morning, the dough balls in the containers may look like one big blob of wet bubbly dough. If it does, that's good
  • Remake proofed dough into ~235g pizza dough balls, though try to handle as little as possible to preserve the bubbles in the dough
  • Return dough balls to the lightly floured airtight containers, cover, and refrigerate until ~4 hours before cooking
  • Remove balls from refrigerator (if they haven't risen more, that's ok), remove lid and cover with a damp cloth until ready to make your pizzas
• Grill prep
  • Clean out the firebox of your grill of all ash and fill entire firebox with lump charcoal…let there be a lot of fuel to get and maintain the high temp for over an hour
  • Open all vents to get the "glow" roaring
  • When dome temperature reaches 400F, I add a deflector plate, grate and pizza stone in that order. I think it is important that the pizza stone not be directly exposed to the "glow" and flames, so on a Weber I have used 2 pizza stones with spacers on top of the grate
  • When the dome temp reaches 500F or more you are ready to cook. I generally use a Kamado and like to cook them at 700F-750F
• Making pizzas
  • Dust a pizza peel with corn meal or flour or semolina. Be sure to dust the tip of the peel as you are going to have to slide it off onto the pizza stone and don't want it getting stuck
  • If your pizza balls are touching, use a spatula or knife to cut them away, being careful to not squish the dough ball (save that for the next step)
  • Place a pizza ball in the middle of the pizza peel and start pressing down on top of the dough ball starting about 1" from edge closest to you. This may cause large bubbles to form…that's good, too
  • Gently press forward and outward until there is a 1" raised crust edge all around.
  • Place right hand down so that pinky is inside the crust edge and pull gently with other hand, then flip to forearm and back (Di Francesco's Youtube video on this is good)
  • When you reach your desired size (I aim for 12" in diameter), place down and add pizza/tomato sauce (3-5 tsps) and other toppings
  • Note that if you get a hole in the bottom of the crust, don't panic…you can patch it back together with a pinch of dough from the outside, thick crust
  • 9-12 mins at 500F/ 6-7 mins at 600F/4-5 at 750F/2 mins at 900F
  • Add basil after removed from oven

[barelfly]

This is great! Thank you for sharing this! If you can’t tell - we hear at The Pit love details! The more the better!

[SheilaAnn]

Wow…..

[FireMan]

Yup, great lookin pizza & great splainin of how to do it.

[Michael_in_TX]

As I commented in the other thread, this is the cutest pizza I have ever seen!

[treesmacker]

That is a great recipe write up - thanks! I may try that when I want to go with packaged yeast.

I recently asked ChatGPT how I should make neopolitan pizza using sourdough starter and I'll post that recipe... I have those dough balls in the fridge now and in a couple of days we'll see how they do in my Ooni Koda pizza oven...

[treesmacker]

Here is how ChatGPT suggest making a sourdough Neopolitan pizza dough:

Making Neapolitan pizza dough using sourdough starter can be a delicious and rewarding process. The sourdough starter adds complexity and depth of flavor to the dough. Here's a basic recipe to get you started:

**Ingredients:**
- 250g active sourdough starter (100% hydration)
- 500g Tipo 00 flour (high-protein, finely ground Italian flour)
- 10g salt
- 300g water (adjust as needed)
- Optional: a touch of olive oil

**Instructions:**

1. **Prepare the Sourdough Starter:**
Ensure your sourdough starter is active and fed within the last few hours. It should be bubbly and doubled in size.

2. **Mix the Ingredients:**
In a mixing bowl, combine the sourdough starter, flour, and most of the water (reserve a little for adjustments). Mix until a shaggy dough forms.

3. **Autolyse:**
Let the dough rest for about 20-30 minutes. This helps the flour hydrate and develop gluten.

4. **Add Salt and Knead:**
Sprinkle the salt over the dough and knead it until the salt is fully incorporated and the dough becomes smoother. You can use the "stretch and fold" technique, where you stretch the dough, then fold it over itself.

5. **Bulk Fermentation:**
Cover the dough and let it ferment at room temperature. During this bulk fermentation, you'll perform a series of stretch and folds every 30 minutes to an hour for the first few hours. This helps develop the dough's structure.

6. **Cold Fermentation:**
After the bulk fermentation (usually 4-6 hours depending on your starter's strength and ambient temperature), shape the dough into a ball, place it in a lightly oiled bowl, and cover it. Refrigerate the dough for an extended cold fermentation period, usually 24-72 hours. This develops flavor and texture.

7. **Bring to Room Temperature:**
About 2-3 hours before you plan to bake, take the dough out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature.

8. **Preheat the Oven:**
Place a pizza stone or baking steel in your oven and preheat it to the highest possible temperature (usually around 500-550°F or 260-290°C) for at least 30 minutes.

9. **Shape the Dough:**
On a floured surface, gently shape the dough into a pizza round. Neapolitan pizza is traditionally thin in the center with a slightly thicker edge (cornicione).

10. **Add Toppings:**
Add your desired Neapolitan pizza toppings such as San Marzano tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, basil, and a drizzle of olive oil.

11. **Baking:**
Carefully slide the prepared pizza onto the preheated pizza stone or baking steel using a pizza peel. Bake for about 2-4 minutes, watching closely, until the crust is puffed, charred in spots, and the toppings are cooked.

12. **Enjoy:**
Remove the pizza from the oven, slice, and enjoy your homemade Neapolitan sourdough pizza!

Remember that working with sourdough can be a bit finicky, and you might need to adjust the hydration, fermentation times, and techniques based on the behavior of your starter and the dough.


The number of pizzas you can make from the above recipe depends on the size of each pizza you'd like to create. Generally, a standard Neapolitan pizza size is around 10-12 inches (25-30 cm) in diameter. Here's how you can calculate the number of pizzas you can make:

The total dough weight in the recipe is 1060g (250g starter + 500g flour + 10g salt + 300g water). However, keep in mind that dough weight can vary due to factors like hydration and flour absorption.

Let's assume you're making 12-inch pizzas and you want to allocate about 250g of dough per pizza (this will give you a fairly thin crust). Divide the total dough weight by the amount of dough per pizza:

1060g / 250g = 4.24

This means you can make around 4 to 5 pizzas of approximately 12 inches in diameter using the given dough recipe. Adjust the number of pizzas based on the desired size and thickness of your crust.

If you prefer larger or smaller pizzas, you can adjust the division accordingly. Just keep in mind that Neapolitan-style pizzas are traditionally thin and meant to be enjoyed in smaller sizes, so larger pizzas might require different baking times and techniques.

For cooking Neapolitan pizza, you want to achieve a very high oven temperature to quickly cook the pizza and create the characteristic leopard spotting and blistered crust. The recommended oven temperature for baking Neapolitan pizza is around 800°F (427°C), although traditional wood-fired ovens used in Naples can reach even higher temperatures.

However, most home ovens can't reach such extreme temperatures. To achieve the best results in a home oven, you should preheat it to the highest temperature it can safely go, usually around 500°F to 550°F (260°C to 290°C). Make sure to preheat your oven and your pizza stone or baking steel for at least 30 minutes to ensure they are fully heated.

When the oven is hot and your pizza is ready to be baked, you'll need to work quickly. A Neapolitan pizza typically bakes very fast, often in just 2-4 minutes. Keep a close eye on the pizza as it cooks to prevent it from burning.

If you're using a home oven, you might not achieve the exact same results as a wood-fired oven, but you can still get a delicious and flavorful Neapolitan-style pizza with a nicely charred crust. Just be sure to experiment and adjust your baking time and technique to suit your specific oven's capabilities.