Simple Napoletan Pizza

Ingredients

For the dough (1 pizza)

  • 160g tipo 00 flour (or white flour if you don’t have tipo 00)
  • 90mL water
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • 1g of fresh yeast

For the sauce

  • 1 can of San Marzano tomatoes
  • 2 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon of pureed garlic
  • 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of dried oregano
  • salt
  • pepper

Toppings

  • Mozzarella di Bufala (don’t use cow milk mozzarella)
  • 40g pecorino romano cheese (or other sheep milk cheese if you cannot find pecorino)
  • 5 fresh basil leaves

Directions for sauce

  1. Heat up 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a saucepan
  2. Add your garlic and fry until golden at medium heat
  3. Add your San Marzano tomatoes (crushed) and simmer for 15mn while continuously stirring
  4. Once it has reduced to two-thirds of its original volume, add another tablespoon of olive oil, oregano, salt, and pepper
  5. Stir, let it cool down, and set aside

Directions for pizza

  1. Dissolve the salt in the water and add 50g of your flour
  2. Mix well and add the yeast
  3. Mix well and let it sit for 5 minutes
  4. Add the rest of the flour gradually while continuing to mix for 20 minutes (you can use a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment or you can knead by hand)
  5. When the dough is round and forms a ball, cover, and let it rise at room temperature for 2 hours
  6. After two hours, transfer your dough to an air-tight container and let it ferment in the fridge for 2-3 days
  7. Remove the dough from the fridge, dust a flat surface with flour, and shape your dough into a pizza shape
  8. Tip: do not use a rolling pin for that process, but rather the flat part of your fingers (the edges have to be higher than the centre)
  9. Strech the dough to make it thin in the middle
  10. Pre-heat your oven at its maximum temperature (between 500-1000C is ideal; you can use a pizza stone to help you increase the temperature of your domestic oven)
  11. Add a thin layer of sauce at the center of the pizza, grated pecorino, mozzarella, and fresh basil leaves
  12. Cook for 15 minutes in the oven
  13. Savour this delicious dish while watching a football match with your friends!