Neapolitan Pizza is considered the original pizza. The modern pizza was created in Naples, a simple Margherita named after the Queen at the time of the same name. 130 years later and pizza has become a staple in most countries, with alternatives such as deep-dish and New York style. To view our blog on the history of pizza click here. Instead, we’ll talk about what makes a Neapolitan Pizza different than the other styles that exist today.

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The Neapolitan Pizza stays in an extremely hot wood-fired oven for approximately 2 minutes and it gives the dough its fluffy appearance on its crust. Since the middle of the pizza is relatively thin, you’ll see people in Italy folding their pizza or eating it with a knife and fork, which seems almost taboo with certain other styles of pizza. The soft and light crust coupled with the genuine ingredients added on top makes for a light pizza that can easily be eaten whole. Some of the light toppings usually include mozzarella, San Marzano tomatoes, and a variety of sausages. Whatever ingredient is added, Neapolitan pizzas don’t add an overwhelming amount because of the thin crust and the un-necessity to hide the crust like most other pizzas.

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Making Neapolitan pizza is an art that few people have mastered. For this reason, the association “Vera Pizza Napoletana” is very strict with its certification. All verified Neapolitan pizzas must follow a certain procedure and use genuine Italian ingredients to have their pizza verified. At the end of the day, most pizzas have 4 main ingredients to make the dough, salt, water, flour, and yeast. However, it’s how you mix the ingredients and which flour, salt, and yeast you use that make a big difference. For example, most Neapolitan pizzas use a “Doppio Zero” flour, a very light flour that helps maintain the featheriness of the dough. All the requirements are here, but simply following the steps won’t necessarily get you a stunning pizza. Certain pizza-making techniques are only learned in Naples, which is why restaurants like Doppio Zero have Neapolitan Pizzaiolos in every restaurant, such as the famous pizza-maker Antonio Greco. 

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A common mistake is assuming New York Pizza is the same as Neapolitan pizza, but just by the ingredients it’s easy to understand why New York Pizza is by the slice and Neapolitan is an entire pie. Ingredient-wise, New York pizza uses sugar and a heavier yeast/flour. The toppings are also heavier with butter added to most tomato sauces and dry mozzarella used instead of the fresh mozzarella in Neapolitan pizza. The use of olive oil is also a stark difference, in Neapolitan pizzas, olive oil is lightly drizzled on top before entering the oven, while olive oil (and butter) is included in a tomato paste and also added at the end after the oven. It’s for this reason that there is usually an excess of oil in most New York-style pizza.

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Neapolitan pizza has strict regulations that few food items let alone pizza have. It’s an art that is passed down through generations and mastered after years of practice. Pizza is pizza and we love all pizza, but Neapolitan will always stand out as THE pizza.

Doppio Zero is located in the Bay Area with three locations, San Francisco, Mountain View, and Concord. Our Neapolitan Pizza is verified by ‘VPN’ and has been voted ‘#19 Best Pizza in the US’ by 50TopPizza. In addition, Doppio Zero has an extensive wine list and pasta made fresh every day. A truly Southern Italian experience and a favorite in the Bay Area Italian Restaurant scene!

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