Neapolitan-Style Sourdough Pizza Dough

Close-up of Neapolitan-style sourdough pizza slices with cheese and toppings.

Neapolitan-Style Sourdough Pizza Dough

This Neapolitan-style sourdough pizza dough delivers everything you want in a homemade pizza: a light, airy crust with beautifully puffed edges, an open crumb, and incredible flavor from a long, slow fermentation. Made with active sourdough starter and high-protein Manitoba flour, the dough develops strength through a series of stretch and folds before resting in the refrigerator for about 48 hours. The result is a soft, extensible dough that's easy to stretch into thin, crisp-yet-chewy pizzas with a classic Neapolitan-style crust. Whether you're baking on a pizza stone, baking steel, or an inverted baking sheet, this dough produces delicious, artisan-quality pizza right from your home oven.

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Prep Time 30

Cook Time 12

Total Fermentation Time 2 2 45

Total Time 2 3 27

Servings 6 servings

Calories 267

Ingredients

400 g flour Manitoba
300 g water + 30 g additional water for later
80 g active sourdough starter
9 g salt
8 g olive oil

Instructions

In a large bowl, mix the flour, sourdough starter, and 300 g water until a shaggy dough forms. Cover and let rest for 15 minutes.
Add the salt, olive oil, and the remaining 30 g water. Pour the water in gradually while mixing, allowing the dough to absorb it little by little until it becomes smooth and elastic. The dough will be quite wet and sticky at this stage. Don't worry. The stretch and folds and fermentation will strengthen it considerably.
Over the next 2 hours, perform 4 sets of stretch and folds, spaced 30 minutes apart. A dough scraper can help release the dough from the bowl. Wetting your hands before handling the dough will make the process easier.
After the final set of folds, cover the bowl and let the dough rest at room temperature for another 1 to 2 hours, or until it shows signs of fermentation and has become noticeably puffier.
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and divide it into 2 equal portions. Shape each portion into a tight dough ball.
Lightly oil two containers or bowls. Place one dough ball into each container, cover, and refrigerate until baking day. For the best flavor and texture, refrigerate for about 48 hours.
At least 2 hours before baking, remove the dough balls from the refrigerator and allow them to come almost to room temperature (I find that to be the sweet spot; colder dough is hard to shape, but room temperature dough can be tricky. However, both are possible to work with if you’re in a pinch!
Preheat your oven with a baking steel, baking stone, or inverted baking sheet inside to 250°C (480°F) or the highest temperature your oven can reach.
Take the dough out of the bowl, and try to stretch it a bit before putting it down onto a well-floured piece of parchment paper or a pizza peel (see attached video!). Using your fingertips, stretch and press around the edge of the dough, leaving about 2 cm (¾ inch) untouched to create a raised crust. Stretch the center of the dough as thinly as possible while keeping the outer rim intact.
Add your toppings, keeping sauce and toppings away from the edge so the crust can rise properly. Avoid overloading the pizza, as too much topping can weigh down the dough.
Transfer the pizza onto the preheated baking surface and bake from 6-12 minutes, depending on what’s the temperature you’re about to bake at, or until the crust is puffed and deeply golden. Adjust the baking time as needed for your oven.

Video

Notes

This is a high-hydration dough, so it can feel sticky and challenging to handle. The reward is an exceptionally light, airy crust with large bubbles.
The dough is at its best after about 48 hours of cold fermentation. For example, mix on Friday and bake on Sunday.
Pizza bakes best at the highest temperature possible for the shortest amount of time. Longer bakes tend to dry out the crust.
The shaped dough balls can stay in the refrigerator for 1 to 3 days. Longer fermentation will develop more flavor and make the dough easier to stretch.

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