Rustic Italian Pizza Dough

This Italian pizza dough recipe is as close to Neapolitan artisan-style pizza as you can get! It’s got the absolute best texture and flavor.

Want to make Italian-style pizza in the comfort of your own home? After 10+ years of trips to the best pizzerias in Italy and experimenting over and over with dough, we’ve got the recipe you need. Try this Italian pizza dough recipe! This is the style of pizza dough you’ll find in Naples: supple, chewy, crispy on the outside and doughy on the inside. Bake it up on a pizza stone to perfection and it will taste

Authentic

Here at A Couple Cooks, Alex and I been to Italy several times to study the pizza there. Then we’ve spent time chatting with some of America’s best Italian-style pizza chefs (like Chris Bianco of Pizzeria Bianco and Caleb Schiff of Pizzicletta). Here’s what we’ve learned in our research about what makes the best Italian pizza dough recipe:

Rustic Italian Homemade Pizza Dough Margherita, Top View, Copy Space Stock Photo By Natabuena

This pizza dough recipe is fairly simple to make, but it does take some practice! We’ve got a few videos below to help guide you through the process. Here’s what to expect in the dough making process:

Stretching the dough is the hardest part of making Italian pizza dough! You’ll need to stretch it into an 11-inch circle. Here are a few notes on the process:

The last note about this Italian pizza dough recipe! It’s important to bake it on a pizza stone to get just the right crispy exterior and chewy interior.

Ready Made Authentic Italian Pizza Dough Balls Sourdough Neapolitan An

You probably already have some toppings in mind for your pizza! But here are a few topping ideas that are classic Italian-style:

Cooks everywhere agree: this is the best pizza dough recipe! It’s a trusted resource for how to make pizza dough with the perfect chewy texture—every time.Make the best homemade pizza dough recipe - All you need is 5 simple ingredients to make authentic Italian pizza at home!

My Italian dad was a pizzaiolo for more than 30 years, so I grew up eating lots of pizza. Over the years, I managed to learn all his secrets for the perfect pizza and enjoy every single bite of it.

Quattro Formaggi Pizza (four Cheese)

You can make both a thin crust or thick crust pizza with this recipe, and it makes about 3-4 regular pizzas or 6 slightly smaller ones.

One of the best pizza flour on the market is the Neapolitan Caputo Italian 00 flour, both the blue (pizzeria flour) and the red (chef's flour) labels give amazing results.

If you can't find these specific brands, go for medium-strong flour, which is basically bread flour. Opt for stone-ground organic flour whenever possible.

Rustic Italian Pizza Dough Recipe Video • Ciao Florentina

Strong flour contains more gluten than all-purpose flour, so it gives the dough more elasticity and allows it to rise with a good structure.

Adding a bit of extra-virgin olive oil into the dough helps facilitate the binding of proteins, allowing the formation of a more homogeneous elastic dough.

Fresh active yeast (or brewer's yeast) is usually sold in small cubes and it's easy to find in the refrigerated section of many supermarkets.

Best Rustic Italian Pizza Recipes

So, I find it more convenient to stock up on active dry yeast, and buy fresh yeast only when I'm making pizza in the following days.

When using fresh yeast instead of dry yeast and vice-versa, the rule of thumb isdividing or multiplyingby3 (or to be more exact 3.29):

Note that, depending on the brand, some active dry yeast doesn't need to be dissolved in water before use, in this case simply add it directly to the flour.

Authentic

Recipe For An Authentic Italian Pizza With Pizza Flour

Place lukewarm water in the stand mixer bowl, sprinkle the yeast and a pinch of sugar on top, mix and let it rest until the mixture is nice and bubbly.

After it has rested, divide the dough into 2-3 smaller pieces and form smooth and even balls, and let them rest and raise for an extra 3-4 hours.

After many years of making it at home, I can safely share all the tips you need to make the best pizza dough:

Authentic Neapolitan Pizza Recipe

Prepare the dough and transfer it into a lightly oiled bowl, and gently rub a little extra oil onto the surface of the dough.

Divide the dough into 2-3 pizza balls, and let them rest on a lightly oiled tray covered with a damp kitchen towel.

Let the dough balls rest for 30 minutes, then stretch each ball into the pizza base, top with your favourite ingredients, and bake.

How To Make An Italian Pizza: The Simple, Step By Step Guide

I freeze the dough balls individually. You can put them on a tray and freeze them for 10 minutes, then transfer each ball to a zip-lock bag and keep it in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Whenever you need, simply take the dough out of the freezer, and allow to defrost at room temperature, then proceed to make your pizza.

Homemade

Yes, absolutely! I've been making pizza in the air fryer for quite sometimes and it turns just like out of a pizzeria oven! Check out my recipe for air fryer pizza for all the tips and tricks.

Italian Pizza Dough Recipe

Some active dry yeast brands do not require to dissolve the yeast in water, and can be mixed with flour instead. Always check package instructions.

1) Pay particular attention to the type of flour you use, and to the water temperature. These two aspects are critically important to achieve a really perfect result.

3) It's best to mix the salt with a little bit of the water you'll be incorporating into the dough, and add it as late as possible.

Slice Of Italy: Discovering Authentic Italian Pizza Restaurants

4) Stop kneading when the dough is compact and elastic, moist but not sticky. If you lightly dip your finger into the dough and the hole bounces back slowly, then the dough is ready.

6) Do not over-knead! This may cause it to overheat and the glutinous mass to break, and at that point, the dough will no longer be usable.

I freeze the pizza balls individually. You can put them on a tray and freeze them for 10 minutes, then transfer each ball in a zip-lock bag and keep it in the freezer for up to 3 months.

A Versatile Premix For Rustic Italian Pizza Crust

When needed, simply take the dough out of the freezer, and allow to defrost at room temperature, then proceed to make your pizza.

Best

The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.The best, easy, thin and crispy crust rustic Italian pizza dough recipe you will ever make. Step by step how to video included below.

Best Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe (authentic Neapolitan Style)

With a name like Florentina you would probably be willing to bet that I live La Bella Vita Under the Tuscan Sun and can toss a pizza like nobody’s business. The truth is I do live La Bella Vita but under the California sun and I can’t toss a pizza for the life of me.

Although you can make this authentic Italian pizza dough recipe by hand, it is way easier to use a mixer. Fail proof, No tossing required! Honestly this is the real reason I got a Kitchen Aid mixer and a pizza stone, so we can make the best homemade pizza ever.

After constantly trying new recipes and formulas, and after having gone to Italy in search of the perfect rustic authentic Italian pizza dough, I am even more confident that this is the best recipe out there. Beep-beep!

Authentic Italian Pizza Dough: 5 Ingredients To Delicious

In my humble opinion, an organic unbleached all purpose flour is ideal especially when making a thin Neopolitan crust. No fancy flour is required.

If you are looking for those authentic charred little fire kisses on the edges of your Italian pizza crust but your oven doesn’t go higher than 500″F, I strongly suggest finished it under the broiler, just for the last minute or so. It will give you a similar effect as a wood burning pizza oven with a subtle smokiness. Magical!

What Is Real Authentic Italian Pizza

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