To cook Neapolitan style pizza in your regular home electric oven, just follow the simple instructions in this post.
Can you make authentic Neapolitan pizza without a fancy wood-fired oven?
The short answer is: Yes.
It must be said that a regular home oven (which usually tops out at 250°C – 300°C) will not give the same result as a real pizza oven that hits 400°C+. However, with a pizza stone and the right steps, you will get an awesome result that is crispy, tasty and guaranteed to impress you and your friends.
What You Need
- A Pizza Stone: This is a very strong recommendation to get a crispy result. It retains heat and cooks the bottom. Luckily they are not expensive and you usually get a pizza peel with it which you will also need.
- A Pizza Peel: To slide the pizza onto the hot stone.
- Proper Dough: For a good pizza, you need good Neapolitan pizza dough. Go to: Easy DIY Neapolitan Pizza Dough Recipe to learn how to make the dough.
The Secret: The “Two-Stage” Bake
In a professional pizza oven, the temperature is very high so the pizza cooks in 90 to 180 seconds. In a home oven, it takes longer. If you cook everything at once for 10 minutes, your mozzarella will dry out or burn before your crust is brown and crispy.
The solution? Cook the dough first, add the cheese last.
Step-by-Step Guide
1. Max Out Your Oven
Place your pizza stone on the middle rack. Turn your oven to its maximum temperature (usually 250°C/500°F or higher). Let it preheat for at least 45 minutes to 1 hour. The stone needs to be scorching hot.
2. Prepare the Pizza Base (Without Cheese)
Stretch your Neapolitan dough ball. Add your tomato sauce and any other toppings you want but do not add the cheese yet. If you want a more aesthetic look, you can also brush the edge (crust) of the pizza with olive oil.
3. Place the pizza into the oven without taking the stone out
Don’t take the pizza stone out of the oven because it will loose heat fast. Use your pizza peel to get the pizza onto the stone. You can slide the oven rack out a bit to make placing the pizza slightly easier. Try to do it fast to minimize heat leaving the oven.
4. The First Bake
Cook until the pizza looks almost ready and the crust is golden and starting to turn brown. This usually takes about 5–7 minutes or could be more, depending on your oven. If ready, use your pizza peel to take the pizza out.
5. Add the Cheese
Now is the time to add your cheese, mozzarella or other. Try to do it quickly and minimize the time pizza is out of the oven. Use your pizza peel to re-enter the pizza into the oven.
6. The Second Bake
After you put the pizza back into the oven, watch it closely while the cheese melts. This will take a couple of minutes depending on your oven and the temperature. Again, the key here is to take the pizza out before the cheese gets dry or starts bubbling.
7. Serve
Take it out, sprinkle some grated paremesan cheese on top, maybe some fresh basil and a drizzle of olive oil. Slice it up and enjoy!
You can actually build your own DIY brick pizza oven to get that wood fired pizza oven result. Check it out: How To Build An Outdoor Pizza Oven – Easy Step By Step Guide