Dough recipe· 4 ingredientsno ratings yet

72-Hour Neapolitan Dough

The reference dough. Soft 00 flour, modest hydration, almost no yeast — time is the actual recipe.

by@joemaci

⏱ Total

48–72 hours

✋ Active

25 min

◆ Difficulty

Intermediate

Intro

The platonic ideal. Soft 00 flour, modest hydration, almost no yeast, and a long cold ferment. The dough is tender and extensible — never crispy. The autolyse and the fridge do the work; kneading just sets the structure. 72 hours beats 48 every time. Plan ahead.

◆ How many × 417g balls?

× 417g balls

◆ What tools do you have?

↳ Speeds 2–8

Ingredients

For 2 × 417G BALLS

00 flour (Caputo Pizzeria preferred)

500 g4 1/8 cup · 17.6 oz

note · King Arthur 00 works but ferments slightly faster.

Water (room temp)

325 ml1 3/8 cup · 11.0 fl oz

note · 65% hydration. Bottled or filtered if your tap is heavily chlorinated.

Fine sea salt

10 g1 3/4 tsp

note · 2% of flour weight.

Instant dry yeast

1 g1/4 tsp

note · 0.2% — very small. Use a 0.1g scale.

The process

1
Combine dry
Whisk the flour 500 g and yeast 1 g in the bowl of your stand mixer.
2
Hydrate
Add the water 325 ml. Mix on low (Stir/1) for 2 minutes until no dry flour remains.
⏱ Mix02:00
3
Autolyse
Cover and rest 20 minutes. The flour fully hydrates and the gluten starts to organize itself before you knead.
⏱ Autolyse20:00
4
Salt + knead
Add the salt 10 g. Knead on speed 2 for 8 minutes. Dough should pass a windowpane test — stretch a piece thin enough to see light through.
✶ Pizzaiolo tip
A slack, wrinkly seam means your ball wasn't tight enough. Practice — the tenth ball is better than the first.
⏱ Knead08:00
5
Bulk ferment
Cover and rest at room temp for 1 hour.
⏱ Bulk60:00
6
Divide & ball
Divide into two 417g balls. Pinch seams underneath, smooth side up. Pull each ball taut.
7
Cold ferment
Refrigerate 48–72 hours in oiled, sealed containers with room to grow.
✶ Pizzaiolo tip
72 hours beats 48. Plan ahead — the difference in aroma and lift is dramatic.
⏱ Cold ferment2880:00
8
Warm up
Pull dough 2 hours before stretching so it comes up to room temp.
⏱ Warm-up120:00