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Desidero Pizzeria — Cucina Italiana
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Neapolitan pizza dough: the 48-hour slow fermentation

The secret behind our light, airy crust is not an ingredient: it is time. This is how we make our Neapolitan dough with a 48-hour fermentation.

Published on

Neapolitan pizza with an airy crust fresh out of the wood-fired oven
Prep time
2920 min
Cook time
6 min
Total time
2926 min
Servings
6 people

True Neapolitan pizza is recognised by its cornicione: that puffed, feather-light rim full of air pockets that only patience can create. At Desidero we let our dough ferment for 48 hours before it ever touches the oven. This is the recipe we use every day, adapted so you can make it at home.

Ingredients (6 pizzas)

  • 1 kg strong bread flour (W 260–300, ideally tipo 00)
  • 650 ml cold water
  • 25 g fine sea salt
  • 2 g fresh yeast (yes, just 2 grams: time does the rest)

Method

1. Autolyse (30 minutes)

Mix the flour with 90% of the water until no dry flour remains. Cover and rest for 30 minutes. This step hydrates the flour and develops gluten effortlessly.

2. Kneading (15 minutes)

Dissolve the yeast in the remaining water and add it to the dough. Add the salt last. Knead for about 15 minutes until the dough is smooth, elastic and comes away from the bench.

3. First fermentation (24 hours)

Place the dough in a lightly oiled container, cover it and put it in the fridge. The cold slows the yeast down and lets enzymes build flavour and aroma.

4. Balling and second fermentation (24 hours)

Divide the dough into 270 g portions and ball them with tension. Place them in a floured airtight container and return them to the fridge for another 24 hours.

5. Stretching and baking

Take the balls out 2 hours before baking. Stretch each ball with your fingertips, from the centre outwards, never touching the rim: that is where the cornicione's air lives.

In our wood-fired oven the pizza bakes at 430 °C in about 90 seconds. At home: preheat your oven at maximum with a baking stone or steel for 45 minutes and bake the pizza on the highest shelf for 4–6 minutes.

The three most common mistakes

  1. Too much yeast. The dough rises fast but tastes of little. Less yeast, more time.
  2. Rolling pin. Never. It expels the gas you spent 48 hours cultivating.
  3. A lukewarm oven. Neapolitan pizza needs a violent blast of heat; a cold tray produces shoe leather.

You can watch our wood-fired oven at work every evening at the pizzeria. If curiosity gets the better of you, ask for the pizzaiolo: he loves talking dough.

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