Vito's Neapolitan

Adapted and optimized from Vito Iacopelli’s poolish masterclass for a high-efficiency spiral mixer and high-heat gas pizza oven. Flour is 58% 00 and 42% high-gluten or bread flour.

Part 1: Building the poolish (14 to 24 hours before mixing)

1. Dissolve yeast & honey. In a 1.5-liter (6-cup) or larger Tupperware container, whisk the [[poolish_yeast]] yeast and [[poolish_honey]] honey into [[poolish_water]] room-temperature water (72–75°F).
2. Mix in flour. Add the [[poolish_flour]] 00 flour and stir with a spoon or spatula until no dry flour remains. Scrape down the sides of the container.
3. Room-temp kickstart (1 hour). Snap the lid onto the container and leave it at room temperature for 60 minutes to wake up the yeast.
4. Cold ferment. Transfer the sealed container to the refrigerator for 14 to 24 hours. By then, the poolish should be domed, frothy, and webbed with bubbles.

Part 2: Spiral mixing (~4.5 hours before baking)

Equipment setup: install the spiral dough hook (and breaker bar, if your mixer has one). Keep the poolish cold straight from the fridge to offset mixer friction.

1. Zero-waste container rinse & liquefy: low (~90 RPM) for 1:00
   • Pour the [[water]] primary cold water directly into the cold poolish container. Use your fingers to swish and loosen the poolish from the corners, then dump the entire contents into the mixer bowl.
   • Run the mixer on low (~90 RPM) for 1 minute. The hook will whip the poolish into a uniform, frothy liquid so no dry flour chunks can form.
2. Hydrate the flours: low (~90 RPM) for 4:00
   • Dump all [[bread_flour]] bread flour and [[flour_00]] 00 flour into the bowl at once.
   • Mix on low (~90 RPM) for 4 minutes. Because [[reserve_water]] of water is held back, the dough will quickly grab the hook.
3. Lock in the salt: low-medium (~105 RPM) for 2:00
   • With the mixer running on low-medium (~105 RPM), add the [[salt]] fine sea salt and mix for 2 minutes until the salt crunch disappears.
4. In-bowl relaxation rest: off for 10:00
   • Leave the dough untouched inside the closed bowl with the motor off for 10 minutes. This lets the high-protein flour passively absorb water and build gluten bonds without generating motor friction heat.
5. Bassinage drizzle & gluten polish: medium (~160 RPM) for 3:00 to 5:00
   • Turn the mixer up to medium (~160 RPM). Slowly trickle the [[reserve_water]] reserve cold water down the side of the bowl in 3 to 4 small splashes, waiting ~30 seconds for the bowl walls to wipe clean before adding the next splash.
   • When to stop: prioritize visual gluten cues over temperature. Stop the mixer as soon as the bowl walls wipe completely clean and the dough forms a smooth, satin “pumpkin” (zucca) hugging the hook.
   • Note on temperature: 73–75°F is a heat ceiling, not a minimum. If the bowl is clean and the dough is smooth at 68–72°F, pull it immediately rather than over-mixing.

Part 3: Bulk fermentation & balling

1. Clean extraction. Remove the hook (and breaker bar) first, leaving the bowl in place. Using lightly damp hands, lift the entire dough ball cleanly out of the unobstructed bowl.
2. Bulk rest (1 hour). Shape the dough into a tight, smooth round. Cover it with an inverted bowl or lidded container and let it rest for 1 hour at room temperature.
   • Cool dough tip: if your dough came out of the mixer below 70°F, rest it on a wooden cutting board or a folded dish towel (rather than a cold stone countertop), or place it inside a turned-off oven with the oven light on.
3. Divide & ball ([[count]] balls at [[weight]]).
   • Divide the bulk dough into [[count]] pieces at [[weight]] each.
   • Using barely damp hands (avoid olive oil so bench flour doesn’t clump later), tuck and round each piece into a tight, seamless ball.
   • Place the balls into a lidded proofing tray, leaving roughly four fingers of space between each ball.
4. Final proof (2.5 to 3 hours).
   • Proof covered at room temperature (70–72°F) for 2.5 to 3 hours until the balls have roughly doubled in volume and feel light and pillowy.

Timeline at a glance

Freezing extra dough balls

Never freeze dough balls at 100% proofed, as the core takes ~60 minutes to freeze solid and will over-proof and collapse in the freezer. Use one of these two windows:

1. Option A: 30 minutes after balling. Best oven spring.
   • Let the freshly shaped balls rest covered for 30 minutes so the seams seal and gluten relaxes, then freeze before large gas pockets form.
   • To use later: thaw in a covered dough box in the fridge overnight, then set on the counter 2.5 to 3 hours before baking (or thaw straight on the counter for 4.5 to 5 hours).
2. Option B: at ~75% proofed. Fastest thaw.
   • Pull the balls 2 hours into the final proof when they are puffy and ~75% expanded. The residual warmth will carry them the rest of the way as they freeze.
   • To use later: place directly into a lightly oiled, covered proofing box at room temperature 3.5 to 4 hours before baking.
3. How to wrap for the freezer.
   • Lightly coat the balls in olive oil and set them uncovered in the freezer for 60 to 90 minutes until the outer skin freezes firm.
   • Wrap each firm ball tightly in plastic wrap, place inside a zip-top freezer bag, and store for up to 3 months. Always peel the plastic wrap off while the dough is still frozen solid before thawing.