Fried pizza: the recipe for making the famous Neapolitan street food at home

The fried pizza is one of the most famous street food Neapolitan, to be tasted according to the still smoking tradition while strolling through the alleys of the city. It is precisely in the alleys of Naples that it seems to have been born: it was prepared by the ladies on bass, a tradition made famous by Sophia Loren in De Sica’s film “L’Oro di Napoli”. Today, this custom has been almost completely lost, but fried pizza continues to be a staple of the Neapolitan cuisine, served in most pizzerias and chip shops in the city with fried pizzelle, potato croquettes, omelettes and cultured pasta zeppole. Preparing it at home is really simple: the dough is in fact made from 00 flour, water, oil and brewer’s yeast, similar to that of the classic round pizza, with the difference that once well risen, it will be fried in a pan with plenty of seeds.

In original recipethe shape of the fried pizza is reminiscent of the calzone, a slightly elongated croissant that is stuffed with all sorts of ingredients before frying: among the most common are cooked ham, cicoli, salami, mozzarella, ricotta, but also the vegetables and the essential tomato sauce.

We offer you one easy version of the homemade fried pizzaso you just have to fry the empty discs of dough folded in half, without worrying about closing them perfectly so as not to let the filling drip: when they are well puffed and golden, you can fill them with whatever you prefer and, if desired, cook the pizzas for 5 minutes so as to have a stringy filling.

Here is our recipe with tips and tricks to make a perfectly fried pizza, perfect for one person family dinner or to impress friends. Serve them with a tasty carrozza mozzarella and top it off with angioletti, fried pizza strips topped with hazelnut cream.

How to make fried pizza

Start preparing the fried pizza dough by dissolving fresh brewer’s yeast and sugar in 150ml of water 1.

Sift the flour into a large bowl and pour in the melted yeast mixture 2.

Briefly mix with your hands, incorporate the salt and extra virgin olive oil and continue to knead by hand until you obtain a homogeneous dough 3. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes.

Knead the dough on the floured work surface for a few minutes, then return it to the greased bowl 4. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 3 hours or until doubled in size.

After the necessary time, divide the dough into 4 parts 5 help you with a tarot or a sharp knife. Shape each piece into a spherical shape, then transfer the balls to a plate, cover with a kitchen towel and let rise for 1 hour or until doubled.

Roll out each ball with a rolling pin into a circle about 1cm thick 6: it is important to spread the dough thinly, in order to allow it to swell during cooking.

Grease one side of each disc with extra virgin olive oil, which will prevent the two layers from sticking together, and fold it in half seven.

Fry the pizzas in hot oil until golden brown 8.

Once ready, fill them with tomato sauce, mozzarella and cooked ham. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. 9 and bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for 5 minutes.

Your fried pizzas are ready ten: taste them freshly cooked while still hot, according to tradition.

Tips

If you prefer, you can replace all or part of the 00 flour with Manitoba flourand use the dry brewer’s yeast instead of fresh: in this case you will need 3 grams.

You can prepare a fried pizza in many different flavors: try the more typical version with cicoli, ricotta and provoloneor opt for a filling of salami and mozzarella.

Make a fried pizza like that originalstuff the discs with pastry before dipping them in the boiling oil, taking care to seal the edges well.