New York Meets Neapolitan Pizza: The Ultimate Hot Honey Pepperoni Recipe
What Is Neapolitan Pizza?
Neapolitan pizza is a traditional Italian pizza known for its airy, soft crust, leopard-charred edges, simple tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, and high-temperature baking in a wood-fired or pizza oven.
How This Pizza Combines Two Iconic Styles
- Thin New York-inspired base
- Puffy Neapolitan cornicione
- Crispy pepperoni cups
- Sweet and spicy hot honey drizzle
- High-hydration artisan dough
What kind of tomatoes are best for Neapolitan pizza sauce?
San Marzano tomatoes are considered the gold standard because they have low acidity, balanced sweetness, fewer seeds, and create a bright, fresh-tasting pizza sauce.
Neapolitan pizza
Ingredients
Biga
- 450 g flour Wessex Mill Pizza Flour
- 198 g Water
- 0.3 g Instant Yeast
Dough
- All of the Biga torn into small pieces
- 550 g Flour
- 472 g cold water
- 27 g salt
- 8 g sugar
- 1.2 g instant yeast
Instructions
Make the Biga
- Dissolve the yeast in the water.
- Add the flour.
- Mix just until no dry flour remains—it should look like coarse crumbs, not a smooth dough.
- Cover loosely.
- Leave at 18–20°C for 16–18 hours.
The finished biga should smell sweet and nutty, not sour.
Final Dough
- Add to the mixer:All of the biga (torn into small pieces)550g flour472g cold water 27g salt20g olive oil5g diastatic malt (or 8g sugar)1.2g instant yeast
Mixing Order
- Tear the biga into walnut-sized pieces.
- Add about 300g of the water and mix until the biga starts breaking down.
- Add the remaining flour.
- Gradually add the remaining water.
- Add the salt.
- Add the olive oil last.
- Mix until the dough is smooth, glossy, and passes a windowpane test.
Target dough temperature: 23–24°C.
Bulk Ferment
- Rest for 45–60 minutes at room temperature.
- Perform one stretch and fold after 30 minutes if the dough feels slack.
Divide
- For Pizzas to fit a ooni oven, each dough ball should be 250-300g
- Round them tightly and place into lightly oiled dough boxes.
Cold Fermentation
- Refrigerate at 3–5°C for:48–72 hours
(72 hours gives the best flavour and texture).
Before Baking
- Remove from the fridge 3–4 hours before baking.The dough should:Feel light.Be puffy.Jiggle when you gently shake the container.Spring back slowly when lightly pressed.
Stretching
- Dust with fine semolina or 00 flour.Press from the centre outwards, keeping a 2–3cm rim.Lift and stretch gently over your knuckles.
Baking
- Ooni / GozneyStone: 430–450°CBake: 90–120 seconds, rotating every 20–30 seconds.
- Pizza steel preheated for at least 1 hour.Bake at the highest temperature available.Finish under the grill if needed for extra colour.
Home Oven
- Pizza steel preheated for at least 1 hour.
- Bake at the highest temperature available.
- Finish under the grill if needed for extra colour.
