Great pizza is barely a recipe — it's four or five ingredients and a very hot oven. Which means there's nowhere to hide: the flour, the tomatoes, and the mozzarella are the pizza. Use 00 flour instead of all-purpose, real San Marzano instead of mystery tomatoes, and fresh mozzarella instead of the shrink-wrapped brick, and a home pizza goes from fine to unforgettable — before you've learned a single trick. Here's the method, and exactly where to buy the three things that matter.
By Vince Gonzalez · Published July 2026 · Sourcing verified 5 Jul 2026
Prep30 min + cold ferment
Cook
Makes4 pizzas
CuisineItalian
Cost$
Vegetarian
Contains dairy · gluten
Make it vegan: use plant milk, oil, or a vegan cheese for the dairy.
Make it gluten-free: swap in a gluten-free flour blend (check the other labels too).
The Ingredients — and where to get them
Cook for4pizzas
Tipo 00 flour
The foundation. Finely milled 00 stretches thin, holds a long cold ferment, and blisters into a chewy, leopard-spotted crust — all-purpose can't do this.
A little in the dough, a drizzle before baking, a finish after. A real single-estate extra-virgin brings a peppery, green note that matters more than you'd think.
About as virtuous as dinner gets. · plan ahead — needs marinating, soaking, or resting time
EffortA project
Cook it with
Air fryerSheet pan
The Method
Make the doughDissolve the pinch of yeast in the water, then mix in the 00 flour and salt. Knead until smooth and elastic. Bulk rise about 2 hours, divide into 4 balls, and — this is the secret — cold-ferment them in the fridge 24 to 72 hours. Time does the flavor.
Make the sauceCrush the San Marzano tomatoes by hand, add a pinch of salt, and stop. Neapolitan sauce is raw; it cooks on the pizza. Resist the urge to add anything else.
Preheat hardPut a pizza steel or stone on a high rack and heat the oven as hot as it goes for at least 45 minutes. (A dedicated pizza oven at 800–900°F is the dream, but a steel under the broiler gets you shockingly close.)
Stretch by handBring a dough ball to room temperature, then stretch it to about 12 inches with your hands, leaving a puffy rim. Never a rolling pin — it presses out the air that becomes the crust.
Top lightA thin layer of sauce, torn mozzarella scattered (not blanketed), a drizzle of olive oil. Overloading is the most common home mistake — less is more.
Bake hot and fast60–90 seconds in a pizza oven, or 5–8 minutes on a steel under the broiler, until the rim is puffed and leopard-spotted and the cheese is just melted.
FinishStraight out of the oven, add fresh basil and a last drizzle of olive oil. Eat it immediately — pizza waits for no one.
Can you make Neapolitan Pizza in an air fryer? — Yes
Yes — this is exactly what an air fryer does well. Work in a single layer so the air can move, and shake or flip halfway for even crisping. It runs a touch faster than the oven, so check early.
Can you freeze Neapolitan Pizza? — Yes
Yes — it freezes well. Cool it fully, portion into airtight containers, and it keeps a few months; thaw in the fridge and reheat gently.
Can you make Neapolitan Pizza ahead of time? — Yes
Yes — it needs the chill time to set, so making it ahead is the whole point.
Is Neapolitan Pizza gluten-free? — Not as written
Not as written — it contains gluten. Make it gluten-free: swap in a gluten-free flour blend (check the other labels too).
Is Neapolitan Pizza vegan? — Vegetarian, not vegan
It’s vegetarian but not vegan as written — it has dairy. Make it vegan: use plant milk, oil, or a vegan cheese for the dairy.
Community Notes
Cooked it? Changed something that worked? Leave a note for the next person — first-name basis, no account.
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