Neapolitan Pizza Dough

Stir yeast into cool water (18–20 °C / 65–68 °F) until no granules float on the surface.

Add flour to the slurry. Stir with a wooden spoon until no dry flour remains.

Cover and let the dough rest 20–30 minutes at room temperature. The flour will fully hydrate and gluten will begin organizing on its own.

Sprinkle salt across the surface. Pinch and fold until it disappears into the dough.

Perform stretch-and-folds at 30-minute intervals: lift one side, stretch up, fold over. Rotate. Repeat across four rounds (about 2 hours total), then let the dough relax 15–20 minutes before the bulk rise.

Cover. Let rise at cool room temperature (18–20 °C / 65–68 °F) for 8–12 hours — or 4–6 hours at a warm 24–26 °C / 75–79 °F — until the dough has roughly doubled and is jiggly when nudged.

Divide into equal portions (about 250–280 g each for a 30 cm pizza). Tuck each into a tight ball under cupped hands, sealing the seam underneath, then cover and proof 4–6 hours at room temperature (or cold-proof in the fridge 24–48 hours, returning the balls to room temperature about 2 hours before stretching) until puffy and relaxed.