🇮🇹 A Love Letter to Napoli Pizza
For three years, we lived just outside of Naples, Italy in a little town called Aversa — close enough that it wasn’t a special occasion, it was simply part of life. We ate it often, sometimes weekly, sometimes more, and never once grew tired of it. Sometimes we would go downtown Naples to enjoy it at a pizzeria made popular by the movie “Eat, Pray, Love”. But many times we enjoyed the one just across the street from our home. It was a small, inviting pizzeria, the kind you only find when a place hasn’t tried to be anything other than what it is.
The owner quickly came to know our family. When he saw my kids outside playing in the yard, he’d smile, disappear inside, and return with slices of warm Nutella pizza, handed over like a gift. It was a simple kindness, but one that rooted itself deep in our hearts — a reminder that food, in Naples, is about the people and connection as much as it is nourishment.
What we fell in love with most wasn’t just the flavor, though that alone would have been enough. It was the simplicity of true Napoli — fresh dough, bright tomatoes, good olive oil, and carefully chosen toppings. Nothing heavy. Nothing complicated. And somehow, after eating, our bodies still felt good. Satisfied, energized, and nourished rather than weighed down like one feels eating American pizza.
That time in Italy reshaped how we think about food as a whole. This recipe — made with our salamis or pepperoni and baked in our Gozney Oven — is our way of bringing a small piece of Naples back home. It’s not about recreating a moment perfectly, but about honoring what we learned there: great ingredients, treated simply, shared with the people you love.
I am also sharing a simple Neapolitan Pizza Sauce recipe that was taught to me by a lovely nonna in Naples.
🧑🍳 Neapolitan Pizza Dough (65% Hydration, Cold Fermented)
Cold fermentation is where Neapolitan pizza really shines. A slow, cold rise develops deeper flavor, improves digestibility, and creates that signature light, airy crust with beautiful oven spring — especially when baked in a Gozney.
Ingredients (makes ~4 pizzas)
1,000 g ’00’ flour
650 g water (room temperature – 65% hydration)
3 g instant dry yeast
20 g fine sea salt
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil (optional)
Cold Fermentation Method
Mix the Dough
Add yeast to the water and stir to dissolve. In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Pour in the water mixture (and olive oil if using) and mix until a shaggy dough forms.Autolyse (Rest)
Cover and let the dough rest for 20–30 minutes. This allows the flour to fully hydrate and jump-starts gluten development.Knead
Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 8–10 minutes until smooth, elastic, and slightly tacky but not sticky.Short Room-Temperature Ferment
Shape dough into a ball, place in a lightly oiled container, cover, and let rest at room temperature for 60–90 minutes, just until it begins to rise slightly.Cold Ferment
Transfer the covered dough to the refrigerator and cold ferment for 24–48 hours.24 hours = mild, clean flavor
48 hours = deeper, more complex flavor and improved texture
Divide & Ball
Remove dough from the refrigerator 3–4 hours before baking. Divide into 4 dough balls (about 250–270 g each). Place balls on a floured tray, cover, and allow to come to room temperature.Stretch & Bake
Once dough is soft, relaxed, and slightly puffy, gently stretch into 10–12″ rounds. Top lightly and bake in your fully preheated Gozney Oven until blistered, airy, and lightly charred.
# 1 Cold Fermentation Tip
Resist the urge to rush the process. Time and temperature do the work for you — creating dough that stretches easily, bakes evenly, and delivers that authentic Neapolitan bite.
🍅 Napoli Pizza Sauce (Simple & Authentic)
This is my favorite quick sauce to pair with salami and fresh mozzarella before baking.
Ingredients
1 can (28–32 oz) San Marzano tomatoes (hand-crushed)
3–4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp dried oregano or 1 Tbsp fresh oregano
1 small garlic clove, minced
4–5 cracks freshly ground black pepper
Kosher salt, to taste (~1 tsp)
Method
Crush Tomatoes
Empty the San Marzano can into a bowl and crush by hand or with a spoon until chunky but saucy.Season
Stir in olive oil, oregano, garlic, pepper, and salt. Taste and adjust.Ready to Use
No cooking required — the raw sauce cooks beautifully on the hot dough in the pizza oven.
# 2 Marinara Tip – Don’t skimp on the tomatoes
Resist the urge to use just any canned tomatoes. The tomatoes are the key ingredients and the whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes are what makes this sauce slappin.
Build Your Pizza
Preheat your Gozney Oven to a high temperature (ideally blister-ready heat).
Stretch the dough into rounds.
Spread a thin layer of Napoli sauce — don’t overload! Less is best.
Add fresh mozzarella and your favorite MKONO salamis.
Finish with a drizzle of olive oil if you like.
Slide the pizza in and bake until crust is blistered and toppings are hot.
#3 Building your pizza successfully : Do not add sauce and toppings until right before each pizza goes into the oven so that your pie does not stick to the pizza peel!
🍕 Essential Pizza-Making Tools
These are the must-haves for a smooth pizza-making experience:
Gozney Pizza Oven (wood or gas) We have the ARC XL
With these tools, you’ll be equipped to create the perfect Napoli pizza.
Wood or metal pizza peel – for launching pizzas into the oven
Turning peel – makes rotating pizzas easy and controlled
Pizza cutter or rocker knife – clean slices without dragging toppings
Large mixing bowl – for dough mixing and fermentation
Digital kitchen scale – accuracy matters with dough hydration
Dough scraper (bench knife) – for dividing and handling dough
🍽 Final Thoughts
The beauty of Neapolitan pizza is its simplicity — great ingredients and high heat. With your salamis and Gozney Oven, you’re set to make pies that taste like they came from a real pizzeria. The combination of a well-hydrated dough, bright San Marzano sauce, and quality toppings will make every bite memorable.
