Pizza is not comfort food.
Pizza is timing, temperature, fermentation and execution under pressure.
Not just ingredients.
Not just vibes.
Here’s a realistic, no-bullshit blueprint to cook elite Neapolitan-style pizza at home (2 pizzas).
1. Understand the Goal (This Is NOT Casual Pizza)
This pizza must be:
Soft and elastic inside
Leopard-spotted outside
Explosive oven spring
Light in the hand
If you want thick, dry or bready pizza — stop here.
2. Dough System (Exact Formula – 2 Pizzas)
Ingredients
Flour (00 or strong bread flour)
→ 320 g
Water (room temp)
→ 205 g (≈ 205 ml)
Salt
→ 8 g (≈ 1½ tsp)
Instant dry yeast
→ 0.5 g (¼ tsp very flat)
Hydration ≈ 64%
No oil.
No sugar.
3. Mixing & Kneading (10–12 minutes total)
Step
Add water to bowl
Add flour
Mix with spoon or hand
Rest (autolyse)
→ 20 minutes
Add:
Salt + yeast
Knead:
→ 6–8 minutes
Goal:
Smooth
Elastic
Not sticky
4. Bulk & Balling (Exact Timing)
Bulk rest at room temperature:
→ 60 minutes
Divide into 2 balls:
→ ~265 g each
Ball tightly.
Put into lightly floured box.
5. Fermentation Engine (Non-negotiable)
Cold ferment:
→ 24 to 48 hours in fridge (4°C)
Before baking:
Take balls out of fridge
Rest at room temp:
→ 90–120 minutes
Cold dough will not open correctly.
6. Opening the Dough (2 minutes each)
Flour the ball.
Press only the center.
Push air to the rim.
Leave the edge untouched.
Final size:
→ 26–28 cm
No rolling pin.
Ever.
7. Sauce & Topping (Exact Measures)
Tomato base (for 2 pizzas)
Crushed tomatoes
→ 160 g
Salt
→ ½ tsp
Olive oil
→ 1 tsp
Mix. Done.
Cheese
Fresh mozzarella (well drained)
→ 140 g total
→ 70 g per pizza
Cut into cubes.
Drain on paper towel 10 minutes.
8. Oven Setup (Home Oven – Realistic)
Oven on MAX.
Target:
→ 270–300°C
Use:
Pizza steel or stone.
Preheat:
→ 45–60 minutes
The steel must be fully saturated.
9. Baking Execution (Critical)
Build pizza.
Launch.
Bake time:
→ 5–7 minutes total
After 3–4 minutes:
Move pizza closer to top grill / broiler (if possible)
You want:
Fast rise
Fast color
Fast melt
10. If You Use a Real Pizza Oven
Floor:
→ 430–450°C
Dome:
→ 450–500°C
Bake time:
→ 60–90 seconds
Turn every 15–20 seconds.
11. Texture Reality Check
Correct pizza feels:
Light
Soft inside
Elastic
Crisp only on the outside skin
If your pizza is:
Dry → too long bake
Flat → bad fermentation or crushed rim
Pale → steel not hot enough
Wet → mozzarella not drained
Structure never lies.
12. Finish
Olive oil:
→ ½ tsp per pizza
Basil (optional)
Serve immediately.
13. The Pizza Code (Fixed)
64% hydration.
24–48h fermentation.
45 min steel preheat.
6 minute bake window.
Zero rim pressure.
Stretch softer.
Launch faster.
Bake hotter.
Repeat cleaner.