Neopolitan Pizza

Ingredienser

**For the polish**

200 g water

5 g honey

5 g yeast

200 g 00 Flour (or AP flour)

**For the dough**

300 g Manitoba flour (or bread flour)

200 g 00 Flour (or AP flour)

300 g water

20 g salt

**For the pizza**

1 28oz can whole peeled tomatoes

1 tbsp salt

8-10 fresh basil leaves for the sauce, plus more to top

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1 lb Fresh, low moisture mozzarella

Freshly grated parmesan

Vejledning

**Make the poolish**

Pull out the scale and a sealable container (if you plan to freeze, use plastic). Measure out the water, then honey, then yeast. Stir well to combine. Add the flour. Stir again to form a very sticky dough.

Let the poolish sit 15 minutes uncovered. Then cover, and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour. refrigerate overnight, or up to 16-24 hours. Do NOT exceed 24 hours or the poolish becomes acidic and will not work.

**Make the dough**

Pull out the scale again. Let the poolish sit for 1 hour at room temperature before continuing.

Combine water and salt in a small bowl or large measuring cup.

Then, add the poolish to a large bowl, over your scale. Add the Manitoba flour and 00 Flour to the large bowl. Working with your hands, Integrate the flour into the poolish. Then, slowly add the water until you've incorporated it all. 10-15 minutes of kneading in the bowl. The dough will be very very sticky.

Turn the dough out onto a clean countertop or work surface. Do not flour your surface, or you'll change the hydration of the dough, which we don't want. Work the dough with two hands, breaking and agitating the gluten in the dough.

When you stop feeling lumps of flour inside, switch to a slap and fold motion (pick up the dough with two hands, slap it down, fold over the dough sticking to your fingers). You should see the dough becoming more elastic at this point.

Scrape up the extra from the counter with your bench scraper, form a rough ball (it won't be smooth yet), and then add some olive oil over top (with a little pat). Let rest, uncovered, at room temperature for 15 minutes.

Tap tap tap to get some olive oil on your hands. Use your scraper to gently detach the dough from the counter. Gently form a smooth ball: pick up the dough, fold it over itself and in, keeping the seam on the bottom, until you have a smooth ball.

Place a humid towel on top, and rest at room temperature for 1 hour.

**Make the sauce**

Meanwhile, while the dough is resting, combine the tomatoes, salt, basil and olive oil in a bowl. use your hands to break up the tomatoes and incorporate the other ingredients. You want to keep some texture in the tomatoes.

Slice the mozzarella into uniformly thick round slices, 1/2 inch. Then, cut the round slices into strips or cubes.

**Portion the dough**

Cut the dough into 4 uniform portions. For each, round over gently in your hands, being careful not to break the smooth skin from the original ball. Use the smooth skin as the top and fold everything under, pushing it inside. Pinch off the bottom of you need to to fi sigh each dough ball. Then lay them out on a baking sheet or proofing tray, 4 fingers width apart. Cover well with plastic wrap, then rest for 1 more hour at room temp. Using the Kamado Joe, make sure you get it up to temperature now.

**Make the pizza**

Working 1 at a time, lightly flour the dough ball. Flour your work surface. Make sure to seal off the remaining dough from the air.

Begin by pressing the middle of the dough with your fingers. Leave a puffy crusy. You're pressing to get the air to the crust. Flip over and do the same on the other side, pressing the middle with your fingers and forming a puffy crust at the edges. Then, use 1 hand to press the middle, and the other two gently stretch the edge. Repeat, turning slightly each time, to form your pizza to the size you want.

Add some sauce, spread it thinly over the middle. Add fresh parmesan. Add mozzarella. Add a few whole leaves of basil at this point, you'll add more after it's done. To keep the basil from burning, add a little olive oil over each basil leaf.

Cook the pizza using very high heat. Turn it to brown evenly.

As it cooks, check the bottom. If it's cooking too fast, you can finish it on the pizza peel, elevated from the stone a little. If it's too white, move it to another spot on the stone, which will be hotter since the pizza hasn't stolen it's heat. If it's where you want it, turn it in place and let it finish.

Finish the pizza with more fresh parmesan, fresh basil, and a light drizzle of olive oil.

Notater

**What is poolish?**

Poolish is a pre-fermented dough that is the secret for a nice light neopolitan style pizza. From elsewhere on the internet, "A poolish is a pre-fermented dough that is mixed with water before being allowed to ferment. Poolish becomes like sourdough, giving some of the savory flavors and textures found in bread over time. It’s not just for baking bread; it can also be used as a starter culture when making beer or wine."

**Can you freeze Poolish?**

It can also be frozen for up to 6 months, removing from the freezer and allowing to thaw fully (about 12-16 hours at room temperature, (24-36 hours in the fridge depending on the dough’s volume) before using it to levin a batch of bread.