Leo's Neapolitan

From Leo Spizzirri’s Authentic Neapolitan Pizza (VPN-Approved). The original uses 1g of fresh yeast; this page swaps in the equivalent instant yeast.

Notes on the source:

• The yeast is very low on purpose: 0.06% fresh yeast, which is about 0.02% instant. That’s what lets the dough sit out for up to a day without a fridge.
• It says it makes 10–15 pizzas of 10–14 inches, but the only ball size it gives is 180g for a 10-inch. The whole batch makes 15 of those; use the size buttons for bigger pies.

Measuring the yeast: amounts this small are too light for most kitchen scales. Either use a 0.01g jeweler’s scale, or dissolve 1g of instant yeast in 30g of water and use 30 times the yeast amount in liquid. This batch needs [[yeast]] of yeast. For example, 4 balls of 260g need 0.13g, which is about 4g of the liquid. Take the liquid you use out of the recipe’s water.

Mix (by hand)

1. Salt water. Stir the [[salt]] sea salt into the [[water]] cold water in a large bowl until it dissolves.
2. Start the batter. Add roughly a tenth of the [[flour]] flour and mix it in with your hand until it looks like pancake batter. Add the [[yeast]] yeast and mix until it disappears.
3. Add the rest of the flour about a tenth at a time, mixing each addition in before adding the next. A few small beads of flour are fine.
4. Rest 20 minutes, covered.
5. Knead on a clean, unfloured counter until smooth, then rest 15 minutes, covered.

Ferment (no fridge)

1. Portion. Pull off a log-shaped piece of the dough at a time and weigh out [[count]] pieces of [[weight]].
2. Ball. Shape each into a tight ball, set them in a dough tray and cover.
3. Room temperature, 8–24 hours. A warm room is fast, a cool room is slow. With this little yeast, plan on the longer end in a normal room. They’re ready when they’ve roughly doubled and feel light and airy.

For the sauce, toppings and the bake, see the pizzas below.