Dough
60–65%
Hydration
Moderate, by modern pizza standards. Soft and extensible, hand-stretches without tearing, holds a tender cornicione.
Style guide · Neapolitan
Neapolitan.
Born in Naples in the late 1800s. The shape every other pizza is measured against — a 60–90 second bake at 900°F, leopard-spotted char, soft pillowy cornicione, wet center you eat with a fork.
01 · History
From the streets of Naples to AVPN.
Pizza traces back to 18th-century Naples — flatbreads sold by street vendors, topped with garlic, lard, salt, anchovies, and basil. Cheap food for fishermen and stevedores, eaten standing up.
The Margherita comes from 1889. Pizzaiolo Raffaele Esposito made three pies for Queen Margherita of Savoy; the one she liked best — red tomato, white mozzarella, green basil — carried the colors of the new Italian flag. The name stuck.
In 1984 the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana codified the rules. By 2009 the EU granted the style Traditional Specialty Guaranteed status — the dough, the toppings, even the oven temperature are written down.
By the rules
00 flour. San Marzano tomatoes from Vesuvius's volcanic soil. Fior di latte or buffalo mozzarella, fresh basil, sea salt, EVOO. Hand-stretched (no rolling pin). Wood-fired at 900°F for 60–90 seconds.
02 · Defining traits
Per pie
250g
Dough ball
Hand-stretched to a 12" pie. Roughly 3mm at the center, swelling to a 2cm cornicione at the rim.
Bake
60–90s
At 900°F
Wood-fired or a high-wattage countertop oven. Extreme top heat gives the leopard-spotted char; the undercarriage stays tender.
03 · Classic recipes
The canon
Margherita
San Marzano tomatoes, fior di latte, fresh basil, EVOO. The flag-colored pie made for a queen in 1889 — and the AVPN-codified standard ever since.
San MarzanoFior di latteBasil
Open the Margherita recipe→
The original
Marinara
Tomato, garlic, oregano, EVOO. No cheese. The older of the two AVPN-approved pizzas — eaten by sailors returning from sea ("marinara" = of the seafarer).
TomatoGarlicNo cheese
04 · Make it
One click into the calculator
Make a Neapolitan dough.
Opens the dough calculator with Neapolitan pre-selected. Pick a pie count and a proof time; we'll handle the math, the ferment timing, and the day-by-day instructions.
Open the dough calculator→
Pair with
Want to top your pie like the AVPN intended? The topping calculator opens with Margherita pre-selected for Neapolitan.
Open the topping calculator→
Equipment
Three questions on budget, space, and how often you bake — we'll recommend a curated equipment build to get you started.
Open the equipment quiz→