The Perfect...

Pizza dough

The perfect Neapolitan pizza dough is a light, airy dough that, when cut in the middle, reveals bubbles inside, like an Aero bar. A real Neapolitan pizza crust should be soft, and it should spring back without cracking when it’s pressed.

A wood-fired oven that can reach 500°C gives a restaurant a distinct advantage, unless the home cook is lucky enough to have a wood-fired pizza oven outside. A domestic oven heated to the maximum will work, however.

For mixing your dough, we recommend a mixer with a bread-paddle attachment. For cooking the pizza, we recommend using a pizza stone, which will hold the heat better than a baking tray.

The rising process requires the first two-hour leavening of the dough, followed by staglio a

mano, which means dividing it up into dough balls. Once each ball (panetto) is formed, the second leavening lasts for at least four hours.

Use a highly refined flour which has been milled to standard 00, and is completely free of any bran or germ. We use Caputo 00 flour, which is available from Little Italy on North King Street, Dublin 7.

People go wrong by using too many and poor-quality toppings on a pizza. Very high-quality San Marzano DOP tinned tomatoes combined with a little salt are best for your sauce. Strain your mozzarella for several hours to release all its water. Real Neapolitans use one heaped tablespoon of tomato sauce for a margherita pizza and a little extra if you are using additional toppings.