We love making our own pizza, and the best way to do that is in a real pizza oven. Luckily, we have one at our holiday home that you can use.
You’ll also need firewood for the pizza oven. Only small kindling fits, so you might need to chop some from the firewood outside the house. We have a small axe for this.
Ingredients:
To make a classic Neapolitan pizza, you’ll need:
- Flour
- Yeast
- Water
- Salt
- Tomato sauce
- Mozzarella
- Pizza spices
Ooni Pizza Dough Calculator:
It’s best to download the Ooni Pizza app to calculate exactly how much flour, water, yeast, and salt you need.
Download here for iOS and here for Android.
Preparation:
We recommend a water content of no more than 60%. This way, the dough is not too wet and is easy for beginners to handle. For a higher water content, you should already have some experience with the pizza oven.
- Put the flour and salt in a bowl. Pour the water over the flour and knead with the dough hooks of a hand mixer for at least 5 minutes (with hands for at least 10 minutes). Finally, continue kneading with your hands for a few more minutes until the dough is firm and elastic. Cover the dough with a kitchen towel and let it rise in a warm place for about 2 hours or until it has doubled in volume.
- Divide the dough into equal pieces as indicated in the Ooni app. We recommend 250 g per piece. Place each piece of dough in a separate bowl or dish, cover it with a kitchen towel, and let it rise in a warm place for another 30-60 minutes until it has doubled in volume.
Tip: Always start with a perfectly rounded dough ball to maintain the round shape when rolling it out.
- Before rolling out and topping the dough, turn on the pizza oven and let it preheat for 15-20 minutes.
- When the dough is ready, place the ball on a lightly floured work surface, flour your hands, and press the dough into a small, flat disc with your fingertips. Press the dough with spread fingers from the center outward to make the disc larger. Take the dough and carefully stretch it all around so gravity pulls it down into a circle (“spinning the wheel”). The Neapolitan pizza base is so thin you can see through it when held up to the light. Be careful not to tear it.
This can be a bit tricky the first time. It’s best to watch this video on the Ooni YouTube channel.
- Once the dough is fully rolled out, lightly flour the pizza peel and place the base on it. If you see small holes in the dough, gently press them closed. Top the base with your chosen toppings. Less is more – our favorite recipe is classic with tomato sauce and mozzarella.
- When the oven is hot enough, slide your pizza into the oven and bake it for 1 to 2 minutes, turning it every 20 seconds to bake evenly.
- Remove the pizza from the oven, cut it into slices, serve, and enjoy!
