The homemade Neapolitan pizza toppings

Mozzarella cheese

This is really the easy part. In Neapolitan pizzas we want a fresh ball mozzarella, the stuff that is wet in package or comes in a tub and can be broken up easily by hand. The reason this cheese is used is because in traditional Neapolitan pizza making the oven used is an extremely hot wood fire oven. All the water in the fresh high moisture ball mozzarella evaporates during the baking of the pizza and all that’s left is delicious melted puddled mozzarella.

I understand that this cheese is not always available and when making homemade pizza, we all don’t have a wood fire oven that can reach the temperature we want. So, with our conventional or indoor pizza ovens we can use a lower slightly more aged mozzarella which will work just fine. A low moisture mozzarella can be found in most grocers. A tip would be to try to avoid pre-shredded cheeses because these sometimes have anti caking agents in them which stop them from melting nicely on pizza and then they tend to clump up and not always taste nice.

Extra toppings

The other toppings for Neapolitan pizzas are fresh basil leaves which can be added just before baking or generally after the pizza comes out from baking and give that fresh flavour. Another topping that can be added for a nice undertone of saltiness and bite is either a Pecorino Romano cheese or a Parmigiano – Reggiano (Parmesan) cheese. A handful is generally grated and sprinkled with the mozzarella so that it melts and binds in.

Now that we have covered the standard toppings for Neapolitan pizza, other toppings can include almost any topping you like to be honest. Most people that are having Neapolitan pizza don’t put anything else but its your pizza! Go crazy, have fun with it! Let us know what you like to add! I like a good Chorizo every now and then, or some jalapenos or olives and feta cheese 😊 hmmm.

Another tip would be to just prepare everything and have it ready for use so that you don’t go running around after you’ve sauced your pizza and you want to stick it in the oven.

Let’s put it all together, making and baking is here -> https://homemadepizzalife.com/baking-homemade-neapolitan-pizza/

If you want to know what equipment you can use to bake the pizza you can click here -> https://homemadepizzalife.com/homemade-neapolitan-pizza-equipment/