Italian (Neapolitan)
Neapolitan-Style Cold-Fermented Sourdough Pizza Dough
Authentic pizzeria-grade sourdough pizza dough made with finely ground Italian Tipo 00 flour, 65% hydration, 15% active levain, and a 48-hour cold maturation that relaxes gluten for effortless hand-stretching and a blistered, leopard-spotted cornicione rim.
The good part
Fermentation Science & Baker’s Notes
If baking in a 500°F–550°F home oven rather than a 900°F wood-fired oven, blending 15–20% malted American bread flour into unmalted Italian Tipo 00 flour ensures the crust caramelizes and blisters instead of baking up pale. For deeper fermentation diagnostics, Desired Dough Temperature math, and starter ratios, consult our Mastering Sourdough Fermentation & Temperature and the master Vegan Sourdough & Wild Fermentation Pillar Hub.
Storage, Freezing & Refreshing
Store crusty artisan sourdough loaves cut-side down on a wooden board or inside a linen bread bag at room temperature for up to 3 days (avoid sealed plastic bags, which trap moisture and soften the blistered crust). For longer storage, slice the cooled loaf completely, place parchment squares between slices, and freeze in an airtight freezer bag for up to 3 months; toast straight from frozen or refresh whole loaves in a 375°F oven for 8 minutes.
Nutrition, Digestibility & Swaps
48-hour cold sourdough fermentation makes pizza night remarkably light on digestion with zero post-meal heaviness. Want to adapt another family bakery recipe to 100% plant-based sourdough? Open our interactive Vegan Baking Converter.
Gather
Ingredients
- 500g (4 cups) Italian Tipo 00 pizza flour (or 400g Tipo 00 + 100g high-protein bread flour for home ovens)
- 100g (3/4 cup) unbleached bread flour (adds malted barley browning for 550°F home ovens)
- 390g (1 2/3 cups) cool filtered water at 72°F (65% hydration)
- 90g (scant 1/2 cup) active peaked sourdough levain (15% inoculation)
- 15g (2 1/2 tsp) fine sea salt (2.5% baker’s percentage for authentic Neapolitan flavor and gluten tightness)
- Semolina flour, for dusting the pizza peel
- For topping (optional): 1 can (28 oz) hand-crushed San Marzano tomatoes with 1 tsp sea salt, 8 oz pourable or fresh cashew mozzarella, fresh basil leaves, and extra virgin olive oil
Make
Method
- 01Mix & Knead to Smooth Ball: Dissolve 90g peaked levain in 390g water. Add the 500g Tipo 00 flour and 100g bread flour, mix into a rough ball, cover, and rest 30 minutes. Add the 15g sea salt and knead for 5 minutes until smooth and satiny.
- 02Short Bulk Fermentation (3.5 Hours): Cover and ferment at 75°F for 3.5 hours, performing 2 sets of stretch-and-folds at Minutes 30 and 60, until risen by roughly 35% to 40%.
- 03Divide Into 4 Tight Dough Balls: Divide the dough into 4 equal 270g pieces. Tuck the edges underneath each piece and roll against an unfloured counter under your cupped palm to form 4 seamless, tight balls.
- 04Hour Cold Maturation: Place the balls spaced apart in lightly oiled lidded proofing boxes (or individual oiled bowls) and refrigerate at 38°F for 24 to 48 hours. Cold enzymatic activity breaks down starches into simple sugars and makes the gluten silky-extensible.
- 05Temper & Hand-Stretch: Remove dough balls from the fridge 2 hours before baking. Dust a ball in semolina, press from the center outward leaving a 3/4-inch untouched outer rim (the cornicione), and stretch over your knuckles into an 11-to-12-inch round.
- 06Bake on Screaming-Hot Steel or Pizza Oven: Slide onto a 550°F preheated baking steel (preheated 60 minutes, switching to high broil for the final 2 minutes) for 5 to 6 minutes—or bake 90 seconds at 850°F in an outdoor pizza oven—until charred and bubbly.
Keep cooking
Swaps, storage, and useful next steps.
48-hour cold sourdough fermentation makes pizza night remarkably light on digestion with zero post-meal heaviness.