Barley Free Neapolitan-Style Pizza
Few things hit as deeply as a homemade pizza with a blistered, airy crust and a sauce that tastes like it came straight from Naples. The dough here is built on bread flour or 00 flour, fine sea salt, instant yeast, and cool water — nothing more — and a long cold ferment of up to three days does the heavy lifting, developing a complex, slightly tangy flavor that no same-day dough can match. The sauce is equally stripped back: hand-crushed San Marzano tomatoes seasoned with salt, never cooked, so the brightness stays fully intact. Torn fresh mozzarella, a drizzle of good olive oil, and a scatter of basil after the bake round everything out in the most classic way possible. For anyone navigating grain sensitivities around barley, this recipe is naturally in the clear — every ingredient is straightforward and easy to verify, with no malt, no barley flour, and no ambiguous additives hiding in the list. A screaming-hot baking steel or stone is the real secret weapon here, giving you that leopard-spotted cornicione and crispy underside that make this feel genuinely restaurant-worthy. Serve it the second it comes off the stone and you'll understand why people obsess over this style of pizza.
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Learn more →Ingredients
4 servings
For the dough
- 500g (about 3 ⅓ cups) bread flour or 00 flour, plus more for dusting
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- ½ tsp instant yeast
- 325ml (about 1 ⅓ cups) cool water (65°f/18°c)
For the sauce
- 1 can (28 oz) whole peeled san marzano tomatoes
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
For topping
- 8 oz fresh mozzarella, torn into rough pieces
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup fresh basil leaves
For serving
- flaky sea salt, to taste
Instructions
- 1
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the bread flour, fine sea salt, and instant yeast. Add the cool water and mix with your hand or a stiff spatula until no dry flour remains and a shaggy dough forms. Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 20 minutes.
- 2
Turn the dough out onto an unfloured surface and knead for 8–10 minutes until smooth, supple, and slightly tacky but not sticky — it should pass the windowpane test, stretching thin enough to see light through without tearing. Return it to the bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 18–72 hours. The long cold ferment develops flavor and extensibility.
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