Neapolitan pizza isn’t a vibe — it’s a specification. There is a governing body, a rulebook, and a certification. Here’s what the fuss is actually about.
01 · There is literally a rulebook
The Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana (AVPN) is a real organisation that certifies pizzerias to a written standard. It governs the flour, the hydration, the shaping by hand, the oven, and the bake time.
The point isn’t bureaucracy — it’s that “Neapolitan” means something specific, and once you know the rules you understand why the good stuff tastes the way it does.
02 · The dough is four things
Flour, water, salt, yeast. That’s the entire legal ingredient list. No oil in the dough, no sugar, no dough conditioners. Everything interesting comes from technique and time, not additives — which is exactly why the 48-hour ferment does so much of the heavy lifting.
The magic is in the fermentation and the hand-shaping — a puffy, airy rim (the cornicione) pushed out by hand, never rolled flat with a pin.
★ Pizzaiolo tip — If a recipe adds oil or sugar to the dough, it’s a good pizza — but it isn’t Neapolitan by the book.
03 · The 90-second bake
A true Neapolitan bakes at 430–480°C for 60–90 seconds in a wood-fired oven. That brutal, brief heat is what puffs the rim and freckles it with leopard char before the centre can dry out. Chase that same char when you’re cooking it at home, even without a wood oven.
That soft, foldable middle — slightly wet, never crackery — is a direct consequence of the speed. The San Marzano sauce underneath stays bright for the same reason: it’s barely in there long enough to cook.
04 · Why we bend the rules at home
You don’t have a 480°C oven, and that’s fine. Our bases are AVPN-style: same dough philosophy and ingredients, engineered so a par-bake plus your domestic oven lands somewhere honest.