Neapolitan Pizza Dough (Vito Iacopelli’s 48h Poolish)

Vito Iacopelli’s actual signature method: a same-day poolish followed by a second cold ferment, scaled for 4 pizzas.


Prep	20 min active, spread across ~48 hours (mostly unattended)
Cook	60-90 sec (pizza oven) or 4-5 min (home oven)
Total	~48 hours
Servings	4 dough balls (4 x 28-30cm pizzas)

Ingredients

Dissolve the yeast and honey in the cold water in a bowl.
Add the flour and mix until you have a smooth, thick batter.
Cover and leave at room temperature for 1 hour, then refrigerate for 16-24 hours.

Remove the poolish from the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes — it should look bubbly and domed.
Combine the poolish with the water in a large bowl or stand mixer, mixing until the poolish dissolves.
Add the flour and mix until a shaggy dough forms. Rest (autolyse) for 20 minutes.
Add the salt and olive oil and knead by hand or with a dough hook on low-medium speed for 15-20 minutes, until smooth and elastic.
Cover the dough and refrigerate for a further 16-24 hours (the bulk cold ferment).

Remove the dough from the fridge and let it rest at room temperature for 1-2 hours.
Divide into 4 equal pieces (about 290g each) and shape into tight, smooth balls.
Cover and proof at room temperature for 2-4 hours, until visibly puffy.
When ready to use, gently stretch each ball by hand from the centre outward into a 28-30cm base, leaving a puffy outer rim (cornicione).
Top as desired and bake immediately: 60-90 seconds in a pizza oven at maximum heat (450-500°C), or 4-5 minutes in a home oven at its highest setting on a preheated pizza stone or steel.


Calories	~600 kcal
Protein	~21g

This is Vito’s actual double-fermentation method — a same-day poolish (pre-ferment) followed by a second 16-24 hour cold bulk ferment — not a single-rise dough. The two-stage fermentation is what gives his crust its characteristic lightness and flavour.
Use a strong, high-protein 00 flour (12-13% protein) for both stages.
If fresh yeast isn’t available, substitute ~1g instant dry yeast in the poolish.
Dough balls can be frozen individually after shaping; thaw overnight in the fridge, then bring to room temperature before stretching.
Nutrition figures are for the plain dough only and don’t include toppings.
Adapted from Vito Iacopelli’s 48-hour poolish Neapolitan dough (standard batch: 1kg total flour, 70% hydration, yields 6 pizzas), scaled down to 4 pizzas.
Source: napo.pizza