What You Should Know About the Authentic Napolean Tomato Pizza from Europe

Without a wood-fired oven, you might not be able to make a truly authentic Neapolitan tomato pizza from Europe at home, but this recipe will come close. The pizza pie from Naples, Italy, is renowned for its straightforward and natural ingredients; the fluffy, somewhat thin crust is topped with more sauce than cheese, which is fresh mozzarella pieces that are scattered on, as opposed to shreds, throughout the pie. The only toppings are basil leaves and a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil; this simplicity is a distinguishing feature of Neapolitan pizza. As a result, for the best outcomes, be sure to use high-quality ingredients.

History of The Tomato Pizza from Europe

The modern pizza (dough topped with tomatoes and cheese) was invented in Naples. Although flatbreads existed before the 1700s, they never had the tomato topping that has come to be associated with pizza. In the 16th century, explorers returning from Peru brought tomatoes to Europe. However, until the poor peasants of Naples started topping their flatbread with them in the late 18th century, many Europeans thought tomatoes were poisonous. The tomato pizza from Europe quickly gained popularity. To sample this regional specialty, many visitors to Naples would even seek out the less affluent areas.

The fact that there is frequently more sauce than cheese is one of its distinguishing qualities. As a result, the pie’s center becomes wet or soggy and is unfit for slicing. Neapolitan tomato pizza from Europe is consequently typically quite small (between 10 and 12 inches), making it more comparable to the size of a personal pizza.

Ingredients required for The Tomato Pizza from Europe

1. For the dough

• 4 cups bread flour, Italian tipo flour,
• or additional flour as necessary
• kosher salt, two teaspoons
• 1 tsp. dry active yeast
• Water, cooking spray, or olive oil, 1 1/2 cups

2. For the Sauce

1 (14-ounce) can of whole, peeled Italian tomatoes, preferably San Marzano, for the sauce

3. The toppings

• 12 ounces of fresh mozzarella, sliced thinly or torn into chunks.
• fresh basil leaves, 2 ounces
• divided 1/4 cup virgin olive oil

How to Make It Tomato Pizza from Europe

1. For the Dough

• Get the ingredients ready. In the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment, combine the flour, salt, and yeast. To combine, blend. Water added, stirred together.
• Knead the dough for the tomato pizza from Europe for 10 minutes at a low speed. As it is kneaded, the mixture ought to come together into a cohesive mass that just barely adheres to the bottom of the bowl. If the dough is sticking, add additional flour to the mixer while it is running, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the mixture barely clings to the bowl. If the mixture is too dry, add a tablespoon of water at a time while the mixer is running.
• Refrigerate for a minimum of 8 hours and a maximum of 72 hours with the bowl tightly covered with plastic wrap. When you are prepared to make the tomato pizza from Europe, move the dough to a work surface dusted with flour. Create four equal sections out of the pizza dough. Apply nonstick cooking spray or olive oil to 4 small bowls or containers.
• Each section should be rolled into a ball with floured hands. Put 1 dough ball into each bowl or container that has been coated. Each dough ball for the tomato pizza from Europe should be lightly sprayed with nonstick cooking spray or oiled. Each bowl or container should be tightly covered in plastic wrap before letting it rise for two hours at room temperature. The volume of each dough ball should double

2. Make the Sauce

To make the sauce, simply pulse the tomatoes in a food processor or run them through a food mill until a chunky liquid is produced.

3. Set up the pizza

• Gather the ingredients for the tomato pizza from Europe. If your oven can handle it, preheat it to at least 475 F. If you are using a pizza stone, heat it up in the oven as well. Each dough ball should be rolled out into a 10-inch circle and placed onto a lightly dusted surface. If necessary, use a rolling pin dusted with flour. The dough does not need to be a perfect circle.
• Make sure to lightly flour the area of the pizza peel where the dough will be placed. One rolled-out piece of dough should be placed on the peel, and it should be gently shaken to prevent sticking.
• A half-inch of the dough’s edge for the tomato pizza from Europe should be left empty as you spread about a third of a cup of sauce over it. Add 1/4 of the mozzarella slices on top of the sauce. Add a few basil leaves that you have torn into pieces and drizzled with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Arrange the leaves however you like. Olive oil and basil can also be added after the pizza has finished cooking.
• Gently shake the peel back and forth until the pizza slides all the way onto the hot stone to transfer it from the peel to the stone. Bake for the tomato pizza from Europe for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the crust is lightly charred and the cheese is bubbling. Repeat with the remaining ingredients and dough balls.

Enjoy.

Why Does 00 Flour Work Better for Pizza Making?

The flour’s texture is indicated by the number, whether it be 00, 0, or 1. Because 00 is so fine, it makes for a soft pizza crust. Additionally, this wheat flour contains 12.5% gluten, which results in a chewy crust with puffy edges that is perfect for a Neapolitan tomato pizza from Europe. The pizza needs to bake at a high temperature when using 00 flour in the dough, so if your oven can only reach 450 F, it might not be worthwhile to spend the extra money on this expensive flour.

How to Move Dough from Peel to Stone

It can be difficult at times to slide the pizza from the peel to the stone. If simply flouring the peel is not working, try adding cornmeal to create a coarser barrier between the dough and the peel. An even simpler method for tomato pizza from Europe is to place a piece of parchment paper under the dough on the peel, allowing it to slide easily onto the stone. Remove the paper halfway through the cooking time by gently pulling it out from under the pizza.

Authentic Requirements for Tomato Pizza from Europe

The crust is the first official requirement of an authentic Neapolitan tomato pizza from Europe. The dough must be made with highly refined Italian wheat flour (type 0 or 00), Neapolitan or fresh brewer’s yeast (not dry yeast), water, and salt. It must be kneaded by hand or with a low-speed mixer before being formed by hand without the use of a rolling pin. The dough is topped with raw, pureed Italian San Marzano tomatoes. It can only use two kinds of mozzarella cheese.

The first is fior di latte, which is made from cow’s milk, and the second is mozzarella di Bufala, which is made from water buffalo milk and is typically raised in Italy’s Campania and Lazio marshlands. Finally, fresh basil and extra-virgin olive oil are drizzled over Neapolitan pizza. Natural and fresh ingredients are required. The tomato pizza from Europe is baked in a minimum 800 F stone oven with a wood fire for 60 to 90 seconds (baking time cannot exceed 90 seconds).

Variations of Tomato Pizza from Europe 

There are three official Neapolitan pizza varieties:

• Marinara pizza: Tomato, garlic, oregano, and extra-virgin olive oil on top.
• Margherita Pizza: Tomato, fresh sliced mozzarella, fresh basil, and extra-virgin olive oil on top.
• Margherita Extra: Tomato, sliced mozzarella di Bufala, fresh basil, and extra-virgin olive oil on top of a Margherita pizza.

Neapolitan-style tomato pizza from Europe is served in a lot of eateries and pizzerias. These do not follow the strict guidelines set forth by the VPN association or are not certified merely because they have never applied. The crust of Neapolitan-style pizza is typically thin and soft; if cooked properly at a high temperature, it will bubble up and become partially charred. Fresh mozzarella cheese, fresh basil, and a basic tomato sauce are added as the finishing touches.

Additional Suggestions for Optional Toppings

For instance, a tomato pizza from Europe can still be referred to as “Neapolitan” even if it contains sausage and friarielli, a type of Italian broccoli. Following that, here are some additional pizza topping suggestions:

• sausage and bacon (or Parma ham)
• garlic
• peppers
• olives
• mushrooms
• burrata, pecorino, mozzarella, parmesan, or truffle eggplant cheese

Alternatively, you can use almost anything to create your own works of art!

CONCLUSION

Pizza is Italy’s culinary ambassador to the rest of the world. A warm slice of pizza is like biting into the Italian dream. There are many kinds of pizza available to order, but Neapolitan tomato pizza from Europe stands out from the rest in terms of flavor, heritage, craftsmanship, and ease of preparation. No matter which option you select, don’t pass up a pizza that will become a lifelong memory!