How to Make Contemporary Neapolitan Pizza | Full Dough Tutorial

Well, contemporary pizza reimagines tradition. Through fermentation science, hydration control, and thermal precision, it's lighter in density, yet dramatic in volume and structure. It is the pizza of today. The first step in the stillmaking process is the biga, which has become one of the key techniques behind contemporary Neapolitan pizza, helping create that puffy cornicione with incredible structure and open interior. And for this recipe, I'm using majority biga as the foundation. So let's get right into it. The recipe starts by dissolving active dry yeast in water, then combining it with the flour in the mixer. Mix just until everything comes together. The full recipe will be listed at the end of the video. At this stage, the goal is a cohesive, compact dough that's ready to ferment at room temperature for about 8-12 hours. One thing that's specific to this recipe is that we'll use this aromatic, well-fermented biga straight from room temperature. Add it to the mixer, along with the ascorbic acid and active dry yeast. For the water, I make sure that at least 50% of the total is ice, which helps the dough maintain a steady temperature during the longer mixing process. I only add half of the ice water at first, just until the dough comes together. Add salt, then slowly add the rest and continue mixing until the dough reaches about 72 degrees Fahrenheit. If you're using a strong flour, the dough will be highly hydrated, but it shouldn't be too difficult to manage. The dough will now bulk ferment for one hour at room temperature. And if you're wondering about using a professional dough mixer, cleanup is surprisingly simple. A well-mixed dough leaves the bowl almost clean, so all it usually takes is a quick wipe with a damp cloth to get it looking shiny and new. Divide the dough into three 276 gram balls. Lightly mist the containers with oil, place the dough inside, and let them ferment at room temperature for 30 minutes, before transferring them to the refrigerator for 24 to 72 hours. To use the oven, I simply set it to 830 degrees Fahrenheit and let it preheat for about 45 minutes. From there, it's ready to bake. This is an electric pizza oven, with a powerful top heating element. And because it's well insulated and elevated from the tabletop, the exterior stays much cooler than you might expect. At this point of the pizza oven preheating, I'm going to set a timer for 45 minutes. I'm going to take these contemporary style pizzas out of the refrigerator that have been fermenting for 72 hours. It's only optional, but it does make your pizza better. Sitting outside for at And if you haven't seen it yet, in my last video I tested stretching pizza with rice flour versus semolina. This time, I decided to combine the two, using a blend of 30% semolina and 70% freshly ground coarse rice flour. To some crushed San Marzano tomatoes, I'm adding a little Valentina hot sauce for a Mexican style pizza. I want the sauce to have just a bit of heat. Then I'm topping it with sliced onions and crumbled chorizo. The crunch, the undercarriage, it tells you everything. For a first trial, this contemporary dough is looking very promising. And traditionally, we use scissors to help preserve the integrity of that airy crust and open crumb structure. I'm finishing this Mexican style pizza with sliced avocado, sour cream, and fresh cilantro. But before we taste it, let's move on to the next one. For the next pizza, I'm using creme fraiche, grated parm, and roasted wild foraged oyster mushrooms. These two pizzas were baked back to back, within just 5 minutes of each other. The FA Uno Pulse is exceptional at retaining heat, especially with its pizza stone. 830 degrees Fahrenheit has been my sweet spot for consistently baking these beautiful pizzas. Let me just tell you that I have never seen a pizza oven that cooks pizza this perfect with this crunch. I mean, game changer. This recipe gives you an incredibly light, open crumb with that delicate eggshell texture on the outside. Everything I love about contemporary Neapolitan pizza. For me, the ideal version has a beautifully developed crust that still feels balanced and never over exaggerated. Let me know in the comments below if you're hyped to try out this recipe yourself. And which pizza you choose sides with, the white or the red. And there you have two contemporary style pizzas baked in the FA Uno Pulse. Let's call it the 100% biga 4.0. The bake on the FA Uno is unmatched. It has the insulated doors, which I love, that traps the steam inside for that oven spring. The biga in this recipe will explode your dough. And for 72 hours, those are some good results. I'm going straight for the crust to give you a taste test on how this recipe really turned out. All right, this is tasting delicious. The Italian grains in this recipe really come through. Pure pizza flavor, nothing too bready. One thing about pizza making is that when you use yeast, you do not want to use too much before you actually taste it. The texture on the outer part of the crust has a very slight chew, and the inside is bouncy and cushiony like a sponge. And I forged these Pennsylvania mushrooms for this pizza. These are called yellow oyster mushrooms. Let's give them a try. Outstanding. With that creme fraiche, it really gives a beautiful creamy base. Creme fraiche is thick, buttery, and when it melts, it actually settles on the pizza, kind of like cheese would. And years ago, if you did watch my recipe on how to make my mushroom ragu, it is a great tool to have, where I use aromatics and herbs to roast and season these mushrooms before you even put them on the pizza. It elevates your pizza completely. And now let's try this unordinary taco pizza. Nowadays, I don't have many rules on what can go on pizza. Like as you can see, this has sour cream, avocado, cilantro, but the ingredients are quite balanced. I'm loving the char. Wow, that chorizo really melted straight onto that tomato sauce. Plays so well together with the onions, and the cilantro gives it a little bit of freshness at the end. And the sour cream, it is that tart creaminess to the whole pizza. This is a must try. Since it is the end of summer, a little bit of roasted corn kernels on top would make this pizza really pop. Thank you for watching this video. I'm gonna see you in the next one.