Learn how to make a classic Neapolitan pizza with a crispy, thin crust and fresh buffalo mozzarella, sans pizza oven.

Neapolitan Pizza Recipe: How to Make Neapolitan Pizza

Neapolitan pizza hails from Naples, Italy and has a distinctive round, paper-thin crust. Pizzerias typically serve one whole pizza napoletana per person, which is eaten with a knife and fork.
Cooked in a stone or brick oven in mere minutes, the pizza is usually served with classic toppings, as in the case of the ubiquitous margherita pie (tomato, mozzarella, and fresh basil). 

Tomatoes came to Europe in the 1700s but were originally believed to be poisonous. It wasn't until the late eighteenth century that bakers in Naples, Italy began using tomatoes as a topping for flatbreads. Italian baker Raffaele Esposito is credited with inventing the Margherita pizza, one of three main types of Neapolitan pizza. 

Today, there are specific requirements for a pizza to be considered a Neapolitan pizza. The Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana was founded in 1984 in Naples to certify pizzerias that use traditional ingredients and cooking methods to make true Neapolitan pizza. Neapolitan pizza dough is cooked in a wood-fired oven.

There are three basic types of Neapolitan pizza, all of which focus on fresh, high-quality ingredients:

1. __Margherita__: [Margherita pizza](https://www.masterclass.com/articles/margherita-pizza-recipe#what-is-margherita-pizza) is a classic Italian pizza traditionally topped with four ingredients: a simple tomato sauce, chewy mozzarella cheese, fresh basil, and <a href='https://masterclass.com/articles/complete-olive-oil-guide' target='_blank' class='mc-text--link' data-mc-segment-trigger='true' data-mc-segment-event-type='Article Page Click' data-event-obj='{"textTag":"p","href":"https://masterclass.com/articles/complete-olive-oil-guide","linkCopy":"extra virgin olive oil","category":"automated-link"}' automatic='true'>extra virgin olive oil</a>. This Neapolitan specialty is believed to be named after Queen Margherita of Savoy, who visited Naples, Italy, in 1889 and requested a pizza from renowned pizza maker and owner of the famed Pizzeria Brandi, Raffaele Esposito.
2. __Marinara__: Marinara pizza has no cheese. Instead, it is simply topped with marinara sauce, oregano, and fresh garlic.
3. __Pizza Margherita DOC__: Similar to the regular Margherita pizza, this is made with buffalo mozzarella (mozzarella di bufala) from Campania rather than the usual fior di latte mozzarella made from cow’s milk.

Learn how to make a classic Neapolitan pizza with a crispy, thin crust and fresh buffalo mozzarella, sans pizza oven.

Neapolitan pizza hails from Naples, Italy and has a distinctive round, paper-thin crust. Pizzerias typically serve one whole pizza napoletana per person, which is eaten with a knife and fork. Cooked in a stone or brick oven in mere minutes, the pizza is usually served with classic toppings, as in the case of the ubiquitous margherita pie (tomato, mozzarella, and fresh basil).

What Is Neapolitan Pizza? 

Tomatoes came to Europe in the 1700s but were originally believed to be poisonous. It wasn&#39;t until the late eighteenth century that bakers in Naples, Italy began using tomatoes as a topping for flatbreads. Italian baker Raffaele Esposito is credited with inventing the Margherita pizza, one of three main types of Neapolitan pizza. Today, there are specific requirements for a pizza to be considered a Neapolitan pizza. The Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana was founded in 1984 in Naples to certify pizzerias that use traditional ingredients and cooking methods to make true Neapolitan pizza. Neapolitan pizza dough is cooked in a wood-fired oven.

Origins of Neapolitan Pizza 

There are three basic types of Neapolitan pizza, all of which focus on fresh, high-quality ingredients:<ol class="mc-m-4"><li class="mc-my-4"> 1. Margherita: <a href='https://www.masterclass.com/articles/margherita-pizza-recipe#what-is-margherita-pizza' target='_self' class='mc-text--link' data-mc-segment-trigger='true' data-mc-segment-event-type='Article Page Click' data-event-obj='{"textTag":"p","href":"https://www.masterclass.com/articles/margherita-pizza-recipe#what-is-margherita-pizza","linkCopy":"Margherita pizza","category":null}'>Margherita pizza</a> is a classic Italian pizza traditionally topped with four ingredients: a simple tomato sauce, chewy mozzarella cheese, fresh basil, and <a href='https://masterclass.com/articles/complete-olive-oil-guide' target='_blank' class='mc-text--link' data-mc-segment-trigger='true' data-mc-segment-event-type='Article Page Click' data-event-obj='{"textTag":"p","href":"https://masterclass.com/articles/complete-olive-oil-guide","linkCopy":"extra virgin olive oil","category":"automated-link"}' automatic='true'>extra virgin olive oil</a>. This Neapolitan specialty is believed to be named after Queen Margherita of Savoy, who visited Naples, Italy, in 1889 and requested a pizza from renowned pizza maker and owner of the famed Pizzeria Brandi, Raffaele Esposito. </li><li class="mc-my-4"> 2. Marinara: Marinara pizza has no cheese. Instead, it is simply topped with marinara sauce, oregano, and fresh garlic. </li><li class="mc-my-4"> 3. Pizza Margherita DOC: Similar to the regular Margherita pizza, this is made with buffalo mozzarella (mozzarella di bufala) from Campania rather than the usual fior di latte mozzarella made from cow’s milk. </li></ol>

3 Types of Neapolitan Pizza 

Simple Neapolitan Pizza Recipe 

Learn how to make a classic Neapolitan pizza with a crispy, thin crust and fresh buffalo mozzarella, sans pizza oven.

Learn how to make a classic Neapolitan pizza with a crispy, thin crust and fresh buffalo mozzarella, sans pizza oven.
