What is the official Neapolitan pizza dough recipe?

The AVPN (Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana) specifies dough made from just four ingredients: for every 1 liter of water, use 1,600-1,800 grams of Tipo 00 or Tipo 0 flour, 40-60 grams of salt, and as little as 0.1-3 grams of fresh yeast, depending on how long you plan to ferment it. That works out to roughly 55-62% hydration. Divide the dough into 200-280 gram balls (250-260g is standard) before the final proof.

How long should Neapolitan pizza dough ferment?

The AVPN's own regulations allow anywhere from 8 to 24 hours of total room-temperature fermentation, controlled almost entirely by yeast quantity — more yeast for a faster 8-hour dough, a tiny fraction of a gram for a slower 24-hour dough with more developed flavor. Many home bakers extend this further with a 24-72 hour cold ferment in the fridge, which isn't in the official spec but is widely used to build flavor without over-proofing at room temperature.

What flour do I need for authentic Neapolitan pizza dough?

Tipo 00 or Tipo 0 wheat flour with a strength rating (W-value) of roughly W250-320, per AVPN regulations. In practice this means a finely milled Italian flour with 12.5-13.5% protein — Caputo's Pizzeria (blue bag) and Cuoco (red bag) are the two most widely used brands that meet the spec. A standard all-purpose flour will work in a pinch but won't hold up the same way under 900°F heat for 60-90 seconds.

Why is my homemade Neapolitan pizza dough tough or dense instead of light and airy?

Almost always one of two causes: not enough fermentation time, or an oven that can't hit true Neapolitan temperatures. Underfermented dough hasn't built the air pockets that create a light, blistered crust, so give it the full 8-24 hours the AVPN spec calls for rather than rushing it. If the dough itself is right, the other culprit is oven heat — true Neapolitan pizza needs a stone around 905°F (485°C) per AVPN spec to set the crust in 60-90 seconds; a cooler oven just slow-bakes the same dough into something denser.

Can I make Neapolitan pizza dough without a stand mixer?

Yes — the AVPN's own method is built around hand-mixing: dissolve the salt in the water, add about 10% of the flour with the yeast, then work in the rest of the flour gradually until the dough comes together. A stand mixer with a dough hook saves effort at higher hydration, but hand-mixing is how the recipe was designed and is genuinely easier at the 55-62% hydration this dough uses than it would be with a wetter, more modern high-hydration style.

Neapolitan Pizza Dough Recipe: The Official AVPN Ratios (2026)

Quick Answer: The AVPN’s (Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana) official Neapolitan pizza dough recipe uses just four ingredients per liter of water: 1,600-1,800g of Tipo 00 flour, 40-60g of salt, and 0.1-3g of fresh yeast — roughly 55-62% hydration. Mix by hand or in a stand mixer, bulk ferment, then divide into 200-280 gram balls (250-260g is standard) and let them proof for a total of 8-24 hours at room temperature, with the exact time set by how much yeast you used. The payoff only shows up if your oven can actually hit Neapolitan heat: a stone around 905°F (485°C) per AVPN spec, which sets the crust in 60-90 seconds instead of slow-baking it dense.

Most “Neapolitan dough” recipes online drift from the actual specification, which is a real, published document from the organization that certifies pizzerias in Naples. Here are the numbers straight from that spec, plus a working recipe scaled for a home kitchen.

The AVPN dough recipe, by the numbers

1,600-1,800g flour per liter of water: the AVPN’s official flour-to-water ratio, which works out to roughly 55-62% hydration depending on where in that range you land.
40-60g salt per liter of water: the AVPN’s salt spec — about 2.5-3% of the total flour weight.
0.1-3g fresh yeast: the AVPN’s yeast range, with the amount used to control fermentation speed — more yeast for a faster rise, a bare fraction of a gram for a slow 24-hour ferment.
200-280g dough balls: the AVPN’s weight range for a single Neapolitan pizza, producing a 22-35cm pie; 250-260g is the standard ball for a classic 30cm pizza.
8-24 hours: the AVPN’s total room-temperature fermentation window, from bulk mix through final ball proof.

The recipe (scaled for 4 pizzas)

Ingredient	Amount	Notes
Tipo 00 flour (W250-310)	~1,000g	Caputo Pizzeria or Cuoco are the AVPN-standard brands
Water	600ml (60% hydration)	Cool to room temperature; AVPN range is 55-62%
Salt	25-30g	Dissolve fully in the water before adding flour
Fresh yeast	0.5-1g (or ~0.3g active dry)	Less yeast = longer, more flavorful ferment

Method: Dissolve the salt in the water, then mix in about 10% of the flour along with the yeast. Gradually work in the remaining flour by hand or with a dough hook until it forms a smooth, elastic ball — this usually takes 15-20 minutes of kneading. Cover and bulk ferment at room temperature for about 2 hours, then divide into 4 balls of 250-260g each, shape them tight, and let them proof for a further 6-22 hours at room temperature (total fermentation time should land in the AVPN’s 8-24 hour window). Stretch by hand — never a rolling pin, which crushes out the air the ferment built — and launch straight onto your hottest stone.

Caputo Pizzeria "00" Flour

The AVPN-standard flour, W-rated for Neapolitan dough

Blue bag, 12.5-13.5% protein — the same flour most AVPN-certified Naples pizzerias use.
Milled specifically for high-heat, short bake times, not general baking.
Pairs with a good fresh mozzarella for the classic margherita.

Check price on Amazon →

If you’re ordering flour and mozzarella together and want them on the counter in two days instead of a week, a free 30-day Amazon Prime trial covers the fast shipping — worth starting before pizza night, not after, since fresh mozzarella doesn’t keep long once it ships.

Fermentation time vs. yeast quantity

The AVPN spec deliberately leaves fermentation time flexible — you control it with yeast, not the clock:

Total ferment time	Yeast needed	Result
~8 hours	Higher end of the 0.1-3g range	Faster, still good — best if you decided on pizza night same-day
~12 hours	Mid-range	Balanced — the most common home target
~24 hours	Bare fraction of a gram	Most developed flavor, most digestible crust
24-72 hours (cold ferment)	Very small amount	Not official AVPN spec, but a common home technique for even deeper flavor

Less yeast and more time consistently produces better flavor and a more digestible crust — it’s the single biggest lever in this recipe, and it costs nothing but patience.

What to bake it in

This dough is built for one thing: very high, very fast heat. A true Neapolitan bake needs a stone around 905°F (485°C) to hit the AVPN’s 60-90 second window — see our pizza oven temperature guide for the full breakdown of why the display number and the stone number aren’t the same thing. A standard home oven tops out near 550°F and will still make a decent pizza in 8-15 minutes (see how long to cook pizza in a pizza oven), but it can’t replicate the 60-second char this dough is designed for.

If you’re shopping for an oven that can actually hit Neapolitan numbers, start with our best Neapolitan pizza oven roundup or the broader best outdoor pizza oven guide. Once the oven’s sorted, a pizza dough proofing box keeps multiple dough balls at a consistent temperature during that 8-24 hour window, and a good pizza peel is what gets this soft, well-fermented dough onto the stone in one piece instead of a folded mess.

FAQ

See the frequently asked questions below for ingredient ratios, fermentation timing, and troubleshooting.

Bottom line: real Neapolitan dough is four ingredients and one variable — time. Follow the AVPN’s flour-water-salt-yeast ratios, give it 8-24 hours to ferment, and match it to an oven that can actually hit the heat this dough was designed for.