Friselle
Puglian wheat-and-semolina bread rings are baked, split, then dried in a second bake; briefly moisten and top them before serving.
Neapolitan pizza dough
Impasto per la pizza napoletana · AVPN Neapolitan dough · Vera Pizza Napoletana · Verace Pizza Napoletana
An AVPN regulation formula for Neapolitan pizza dough uses wheat flour, water, salt and fresh brewer’s yeast. Flour absorption and proofing conditions determine the exact dough point and yeast dose.
A regulated dough formula
The Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana (AVPN) publishes a regulation for the collective trademark Verace Pizza Napoletana. Its 2024 edition describes a direct dough of wheat flour, drinking water, salt and yeast. Fat and sugar are excluded from this dough. The regulation describes a source-specific standard; it does not claim that every Neapolitan pizzeria uses an identical batch.
The formula starts with 1 litre of water and allows 1,600–1,800 g of flour depending on absorption. Salt is 40–60 g. Fresh brewer’s yeast is 0.1–3 g, with the amount adjusted to temperature, humidity and timing. Those are the published ranges, not a fixed hydration or a single yeast dose. The source permits type 00 or type 0 flour; this version records type 00 as the named choice and retains the alternative in the method.
The formula produces dough, not finished pizzas. The regulation portions it into 200–280 g balls for 22–35 cm bases. It gives no fixed count for the litre-water batch because the flour amount varies.
Mixing, fermentation and hand shaping
Add the flour gradually after the salt and yeast have been diluted in the water. AVPN warns against leaving salt in direct contact with yeast for more than five minutes. It allows hand mixing or a fork, spiral or plunging-arm mixer. Flour incorporation takes about ten minutes in its description; kneading may continue for up to twenty more minutes, depending on the mixer. Stop when the dough is compact, moist, soft, plastic and no longer sticky. More kneading is not automatically better: the regulation warns that excessive mechanical heating can damage dough structure.
Cover the first dough rest with a damp cloth so the surface does not dry out. Once it has rested enough to portion, shape balls by hand and place them in food-grade proofing boxes. AVPN gives 12–24 hours for total fermentation and maturation, with the two stages changing according to flour absorption and environmental temperature and humidity. It lists 18–20°C and 60–70% relative humidity as ideal controlled-chamber parameters. These are process directions for this regulation, not a claim that a fixed clock time fits every flour and room.
When ready to use, shape by hand with fingertip pressure from the centre outward, rotating and stretching the dough so the air moves toward the rim. Use little dusting flour. AVPN prohibits a rolling pin for its protected style. Top and bake the disc as a separate next stage.
The standard and the bake
Vera Pizza Napoletana names one defined style, not every pizza made in Naples. The association says it first wrote its rules down in 1984. An earlier statement of the standard on the association's Italian page gives a fermentation window of 8 to 24 hours, where the 2024 regulation used above gives 12 to 24; the two are different editions and are not merged here.
The same standard bakes the pizza in a wood-fired oven at 430 to 480 C for 60 to 90 seconds. That is the association's stated bake, outside this dough recipe. A separate chronology from another Neapolitan association lists later formal recognitions of Neapolitan pizza; those milestones are not evidence of where or when the food began.
Sources for this section
History
The Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana says its regulation codifies Neapolitan pizzaioli rules first written down in 1984 and updated in the 2024 International Regulations. This records the association's account of its regulation; it does not establish a first date for pizza or dough.
Ingredients
Scaling: source batch only
Drinking waterNon-carbonated; AVPN lists 16–22°C as an optimum operating temperature.
1000 mL
Wheat flour, type 00Add gradually; the regulation also permits type 0 flour.
Amount not stated
1,600–1,800 g, depending on absorption.Coarse sea saltDissolve in the water.
Amount not stated
40–60 g per 1 litre water.Fresh brewer’s yeastSaccharomyces cerevisiae; add in succession with the salt.
Amount not stated
0.1–3 g per 1 litre water; the AVPN regulation varies the dose with temperature, humidity and timing.Method
Risks and precautions · Standard risk
Raw flour dough
Raw flour may carry germs, and this preparation remains uncooked dough until it is baked as pizza.
Hazard sourceDo not taste raw dough. Bake the dough as part of the finished pizza before eating, and wash hands, bowls, utensils and work surfaces after handling raw flour or dough.
Control sourceThis recipe prepares raw pizza dough only; it does not include toppings or a pizza bake.
The fermentation schedule is the AVPN product method, not a validated shelf-life instruction.
- Measure 1 litre of drinking, non-carbonated water. The AVPN regulation gives 16–22°C as an optimum water operating temperature.
- Dissolve 40–60 g coarse sea salt in the water. Add 0.1–3 g fresh brewer’s yeast in succession; choose within the source’s range according to the temperature, humidity and timing of the batch. Do not leave salt in direct contact with yeast for more than 5 minutes.
- Add the type 00 wheat flour gradually, using 1,600–1,800 g according to how much the flour absorbs. The regulation permits type 0 flour as an alternative. Continue until the dough reaches the source’s compact, moist, soft, non-sticky and plastic consistency.
- Mix by hand or use a fork, spiral or plunging-arm mixer. The regulation estimates about 10 minutes to incorporate flour and allows up to 20 further minutes of kneading depending on mixer technology. Stop when the dough reaches the described consistency; avoid excessive mechanical heating.
- Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let the first fermentation proceed until the dough has settled and rested. The source does not assign a separate duration to this stage.
- Divide the dough with a spatula and shape balls by hand. The regulation specifies 200–280 g portions for pizzas 22–35 cm across.
- Place the balls in food-grade proofing boxes for the second fermentation and maturation. The regulation gives an overall fermentation time of 12–24 hours, with the split between stages varying with flour absorption, temperature and humidity. For a controlled proofing chamber, it lists 18–20°C and 60–70% relative humidity as ideal parameters.
- When ready to assemble, remove a ball with a spatula and use only a little flour to prevent sticking. Press with fingertips from the centre outward, rotate and stretch the dough by hand into a disc, moving air toward the rim. Do not use a rolling pin for the AVPN-style base. This preparation ends before topping and baking.
Conditions
Fermentation12–24 h
Temperature18–20°C
Temperature controlAmbient, monitored
Places
Naples, Campania
Traditional preparation · Locality evidenceThe AVPN regulation codifies the Neapolitan pizza method and is issued by the association based in Naples; this names the documented style association, not a precise birthplace for pizza.
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Sources
Associazione Verace Pizza NapoletanaMethod · History · Geographic context
AVPN International Regulations for obtaining use of the collective trademark Verace Pizza Napoletana (Vera Pizza Napoletana)The 2024 regulation specifies a direct wheat-flour dough using 1 litre water, 40–60 g salt, 0.1–3 g fresh brewer’s yeast and 1,600–1,800 g type 00 flour depending on absorption.
It describes gradual flour incorporation, mixing and kneading, a covered first fermentation, 200–280 g hand-shaped dough balls, and a second proof in food-grade boxes.
It gives 12–24 hours overall fermentation, varying with flour, temperature and humidity; a controlled proofing chamber’s ideal parameters are 18–20°C and 60–70% relative humidity.
It describes hand-opening the dough disc, forbids rolling pins for the AVPN-style base, and limits this dough preparation before topping and baking.
AVPN says its regulation was first written in 1984 and the inspected source is the 2024 international regulation; this is not a claim about the historical origin of pizza.
Cited in: A regulated dough formula; Mixing, fermentation and hand shaping
Centers for Disease Control and PreventionSafety
Raw Flour and DoughRaw flour can carry germs; do not eat raw dough; wash hands, bowls, utensils and surfaces after handling flour or dough.
Associazione Verace Pizza NapoletanaMethod
Il disciplinare dell’Associazione Verace Pizza NapoletanaMethod order: dissolve salt in water, add some flour and yeast, then the remaining flour; hand-shaped dough balls proofed in boxes
An 8 to 24 hour fermentation window
Baking in a wood-fired oven at 430 to 480 C for 60 to 90 seconds
Cited in: The standard and the bake
Associazione Pizzaiuoli NapoletaniHistory
Laws and regulationsChronology of later formal recognitions of Neapolitan pizza, which are not evidence of the food's origin
Cited in: The standard and the bake