Mini Neapolitan Pizzas

Neapolitan pizza, or Pizza Napoletana, is not just food; it’s a symbol of Italian culture and culinary artistry that hails from the vibrant city of Naples. This coastal metropolis, nestled in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius, is steeped in history and is recognized as the birthplace of one of the world’s most beloved dishes: the pizza!!!! ;D

So what todo with leftover napolitan style dough, well its not going to waste! ;D And yes i did the very traditional combo with buffalo mozzarella and basil, its the tradition because its amazing!!!! Sometimes simplicity makes the diference, but of course you can add whatever topping you want, its your pizza, make it your way, but since this was a leftover im adding the dough recipe so this recipe should give you 4 balls of dough, each ball gives you 1 normal pizza or 4 mini pizzas like i did here.

Ohhh did you know, that in Naples, pizza is kinda a purists game and altough you can find more types of pizzas and topping, you kinda only have two types of pizza. The first is the Pizza Marinara, topped with San Marzano tomatoes, garlic, oregano, and extra virgin olive oil, yes you heard me, its a “cheese-less” pizza. The second is the world-renowned Pizza Margherita, with San Marzano tomatoes, mozzarella di bufala, fresh basil, and a drizzle of olive oil, the origin was to celebrate the visit of Queen Margarita and since she was so found of the Italian flag the pizza has all the colors hehehe.

Like i said, this pizza recipe will give you about 10 to 12 mini pizzas, easy, let’s check the recipe! ;D This

Mini Neapolitan Pizzas

Servings: 4-8
Time: 2hr 30mins
Difficulty: Normal
Rating: ★★★★★
Print

Check this delicious recipe to make home made neopolital style mini pizzas, perfect for

Ingredients

Water – 500ml (lukewarm)
Olive Oil – 25ml
Flour – 750gr (Bread 00 Type)
Honey – 1 Spoon (+/- 5ml or Sugar)
Baker’s Yeast – 15gr (1+1/2 Package)
Salt – 12gr
Tomatoes – 2 cans 400gr (preferably San Marzano)
Mozzarella di Bufala Cheese – 400gr (Or “Fior Di Latte”)
Basil – 12 leaves
Olive Oil – A drizzle
Pepper – A pinch
Salt – A pinch

Directions

After the 5 minutes check and the water should start bubbling or making foam, that is a good sign that the yeast is good.
Add the rest of the water followed by 500gr of flour, mix and shape into a dough, then cover and leave to rest for 1 hour covered in a warm place.
After the hour, add remaining 250gr of flour, the olive oil and salt, shape and knead the dough for about 5 minutes until you create a smooth, consistent ball of dough, grease a large bowl with olive oil, cover with a cloth and leave to rise for another 1 hour.
When its time to use, remove the dough from the bowl it should be double the size, knead it a little more and cut it into 3 or 4 balls of dough, if you need to use a little sprinkled flour, then cover the tray with the balls of dough with cling film, let them rise for at least 8 to 12 hours in a warm place or store in the fridge and let them rise for 24 hours up to 3 days, and yes you can also just wait for 1 hour and use, but the dough wont be as tasty.
Finally, remove a ball of dough and it’s ready to stretch out to make a pizza or divide into 3 or 4 smaller balls and stretch to make the mini pizzas.
Preheat the oven to 200ºC with a pizza stone with baking paper or line a baking tray with baking paper.
Make the tomato sauce with the crushed peeled tomatoes (or tomato pulp), salt, pepper and olive oil and cook for 5 minutes, you don’t need to over cook it, because it will finish cooking on the pizza, when its done, let it cool down before using.

Divide the ball of dough into 3 or 4 and stretch each piece to create a disk on a sheet of non-stick paper.

Pour a little tomato sauce on each pizza, on two add buffalo mozzarella, basil and a drizzle of olive oil.
Bake for 10 to 14 minutes until crispy and done, enjoy! ;D

Notes: There are a million tips to make pizzas at home, and i’ll add some below, but the main one is to try different recipes until you find one that words for you, since its a simple recipe small things will make big differences, it’s not just a good recipe like this one, the water you use, the yeast you use, how warm is the weather, small things like this are important!

So here some more tips and tricks to make perfect neopolitan pizzas!

Start with the Dough – The authentic Neapolitan pizza dough is a blend of wheat flour, water, salt, and yeast. It’s essential to knead the dough by hand or with a low-speed mixer and let it rise properly to achieve the characteristic soft and airy crust. Good Tomatoes for the Sauce – The tradition is to use San Marzano tomatoes, but a good quality tomato will make a nice and sweet sauce that complements the mozzarella. There is only one Cheese – It has to be mozzarella di bufala, i know its tradition also to use fior di latte, but for me mozzarella di bufala is the rock star for that authentic melty experience, parmesan and all other cheeses are great, just not in a neopolitan pizza. High Temperature Baking – A wood-fired oven is ideal for achieving that perfect char and flavor, but a high-temperature domestic oven will suffice, just aim for a baking temperature of around 480°C and just a couple of minutes, so keep watch!

This recipe for Mini Neapolitan Pizzas was originally created on BakeAfter.com. Esta receita de Mini Pizzas foi publicada em português no Iguaria.com.