How to Make Pizza Dough for a Wood-Fired Oven

Good pizza dough is not complicated, but it does require time. The difference between a same-day dough and one that has cold-fermented for 48 hours is significant: slower fermentation develops flavour, improves extensibility, and produces a lighter, more digestible crust. This guide covers the ingredients, the method, and what to do with the dough once it is ready to use in a wood-fired oven.

The Ingredients

Neapolitan-style pizza dough uses four ingredients: flour, water, salt, and yeast. Nothing else. The quality of each matters more than any technique.

Flour is the most important variable. Use type 00 flour milled specifically for pizza. 00 refers to the fineness of the grind, and pizza-specific 00 flour is formulated with the right protein content and strength rating for the fermentation and stretching that pizza dough requires. All-purpose or bread flour will work in a pinch but will not produce the same result. Dallagiovanna La Napoletana 00 is milled specifically for Neapolitan pizza and is the flour we recommend for this recipe. The standard Dallagiovanna Pizza Flour 00 works well too, particularly for fermentations up to 48 hours.

Water should be cold, particularly for a long cold ferment. Cold water slows yeast activity from the start, which is what you want. If your tap water is heavily chlorinated, use filtered or bottled water as chlorine can inhibit yeast activity.

Yeast. Use instant or active dried yeast. For a long cold ferment, you use very little: a small amount of yeast over a long time produces more flavour and a better texture than a lot of yeast over a short time. Fresh yeast works too if you can get it; use approximately three times the weight of instant yeast.

Salt strengthens the gluten network and controls fermentation. Add it after the yeast is incorporated, never directly on top of the yeast as it will inhibit it.

The Recipe

This recipe makes four 250g dough balls, enough for four 12-inch pizzas.

65% hydration is a good starting point for a wood-fired oven. Lower hydration dough is easier to handle and launches more cleanly off a peel. Once you are comfortable with the process, you can experiment with higher hydration for a more open crumb.

Method

Day One: Making the Dough

Dissolve the yeast in the cold water and leave it for a few minutes. Add roughly two thirds of the flour and mix until a rough dough forms. Add the salt, mix it in, then gradually add the remaining flour until the dough comes together into a shaggy mass.

Tip onto a clean surface and knead for 10–15 minutes until the dough is smooth, elastic, and springs back when poked. It should feel slightly tacky but not sticky. If it is tearing rather than stretching, keep kneading. If it is sticking to everything, add a small amount of flour, but be conservative: adding too much flour at this stage tightens the dough and makes it harder to stretch later.

Shape the dough into a ball, cover with a damp cloth or cling film, and leave at room temperature for 2 hours. This initial rest, called bulk fermentation, gives the yeast a head start before the cold slow it down.

Dividing and Balling

After the bulk fermentation, divide the dough into four equal portions of around 250g each. Shape each portion into a tight ball by folding the dough under itself repeatedly until the surface is smooth and taut. The tension in the ball matters: a well-shaped dough ball holds its structure in the fridge and is easier to stretch later.

Place each ball into a dough box with a lid. Dough boxes keep the balls from forming a skin during the cold ferment and make them easy to store and transport. The ZiiPa Spetina stackable boxes are designed specifically for this and fit four dough balls comfortably. For a single batch, the 30 x 40cm dough box works well.

Cold Fermentation: 24–72 Hours

Place the covered dough boxes in the fridge. The dough will ferment slowly over the next 24–72 hours. The longer the ferment, the more flavour the dough develops and the more extensible it becomes.

• 24 hours: good results, noticeably better than same-day dough
• 48 hours: the sweet spot for most home cooks, good flavour development and easy to work with
• 72 hours: maximum flavour and the most extensible dough, but requires a confident hand when stretching as the gluten is very relaxed

If using Dallagiovanna Pizza Flour 00, 48 hours is the recommended maximum for that flour. The La Napoletana flour handles longer fermentation well.

Before You Cook: Bringing the Dough to Temperature

Remove the dough from the fridge at least 1–2 hours before you plan to cook. Cold dough is tight and difficult to stretch without tearing. Leaving it at room temperature allows the gluten to relax, making it easier to open out by hand.

Do not use a rolling pin. Rolling pins compress the gas bubbles in the dough that cause the crust to puff in the oven. Open the dough by hand instead: press from the centre outwards with your fingers, then use your knuckles to stretch it gently until it reaches 30cm across. If the dough keeps springing back, cover it and leave it for another 15 minutes before trying again. Resistance means the gluten needs more time to relax.

Launching Into the Oven

Flour or semolina the peel generously before building the pizza on it. Semolina gives slightly better release than flour. Build the pizza quickly and launch it soon after, as the longer it sits on the peel the more the base absorbs moisture and the greater the risk of sticking.

Test the slide before opening the oven door: give the peel a gentle shake to confirm the pizza moves freely. If it sticks, lift the edge carefully and add more flour underneath. Once satisfied, open the door and use a short, sharp forward-then-back motion to deposit the pizza onto the stone.

At 400°C, the pizza cooks in 60–90 seconds. Use the ZiiPa Piana's rotating stone dial to keep the base cooking evenly without opening the door mid-cook.

Ingredients to Finish

For a classic Margherita: good quality crushed or blended Italian tomatoes, fior di latte or buffalo mozzarella, and fresh basil added after the cook. The tomatoes matter as much as the dough at this level. Browse our range of Italian tomatoes and Italian ingredients at Pasta Kitchen.