Naples - birthplace of pizza

Ah Naples - a city forever linked with pizza, slicked up sunglass-clad Italian stallions, a sordid mafia undercurrent, and perilous driving... nevermind the near 3000 year greco-roman history.  But back to the pizza...

My sister and I arrived fairly late in the evening to Naples to begin our exploration of the Campania region - a tour heavily influenced by food, happily taking 100-mile detours just to seek out the best gelato in one town or an incredible smoked ricotta which was a speciality of another.  As we planned to promptly leave Naples the very next day in search of all this wonderful food, it was our top priority to seek out a proper Napoli pizza that evening.  We headed to Pizzeria Brandi, which claims to be the inventor of the original Pizza Margherita.  We shared some mozarella di bufalo which was creamier and saltier (and far tastier) than any I'd tasted before (though I guess this should be expected since Campania is home of mozarella di bufalo, along with many other amazing cheeses!).  The pizzas had a lovely crisp crust and fresh ingredients.  What I noticed most was that it was much lighter than pizzas I'd had elsewhere in Europe and the US - you come away feeling nicely full without that heaviness that comes with more processed doughs and greasier toppings.

And thus began my love affair with homemade pizza - aiming to bring a little bit of Naples to my very own kitchen table.  Homemade pizza night happens roughly once a month now - and while the toppings continue to vary, I never mess with the dough recipe which consistently gives a crispy, airy and delicious base.  As much as toppings influence the flavour and tasty-goodness of a pizza, the crust is really what gives it that homemade taste...

The recipe comes from Silvana Franco's recipe book aptly called, Pizza.

And here is the recipe I've used, probably over one hundred times...
(The recipe in the book recommends regular unbleached all-purpose flour, but I've since switched to Tipo 00 - an Italian flour especially for pasta or pizza dough - it makes kneading a lot easier!)

Basic Pizza Dough

1 and 2/3 cups (225 grams) Tipo 00 Flour (or all purpose, if Tipo 00 is not available) plus a little extra for kneading
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pack dry yeast (1 and 3/4 teaspoon)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup (140 ml) tepid water

Put the flour, salt and yeast in a large bowl and mix. Make a well in the center.  Add the oil and water to the well and gradually work in the flour to make a soft dough.  Sprinkle with a little flour if the mixture feels too sticky, but make sure it is not too dry: the dough should be pliable and smooth.

Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured work surface.  Knead for 10 minutes (make sure you stick to the 10 minutes - it will make a difference if you knead it for less time), sprinkling with flour when needed, until dough is smooth and elastic.

Rub some oil over the surface of the dough and return the dough to the bowl. Cover with a clean cloth and leave for about 1 hour until dough has doubled in size (again, best not to skimp on time - and hour or more is best).

Pre-heat Oven to 190C Fan or 400F
Remove the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead for 2 minutes, until excess air is knocked out.

At this stage I split the dough into two balls and roll out each one separately.
Once you roll one out, give it some stabs with a fork then place on a baking tray or pre-heated baking stone.
Pop them in the over for 8-10 minutes or when it has some big air pockets and some golden brown colour to it.

Put whatever toppings you like on it and then bake for an additional 10 minutes or more (it's ready when cheese is bubbling and crust is golden).