The true Neapolitan pizza is only the one made to the rule of art. And, that is, according to the International Disciplinary of the True Neapolitan Pizza Association, which has codified the rules to prepare it and recognize it from the "imitations". But in these days, at Neapolitan True Pizza Olympics, the update of the Disciplinary was announced, which presents some news that concern above all flour, yeast and dough maturation processes.

Nothing revolutionary, precisely because the true Neapolitan pizza must remain that of tradition. «With a movement from the center to the outside and with the pressure of the fingers of both hands on the dough, which is turned over several times, the pizza maker forms a disk of dough so that in the center the thickness is not more than 0.25 centimeters, with a tolerance allowed equal to ± 10% ". This is always the starting point, to obtain a dough that must have a fermentation temperature of 25 ° C, the final PH of 5.87 and the total titratable acidity of 0.14.

The ingredients for the filling continue to be strictly "made in Campania" and the oven remains wood-fired, with some exceptions for the use of the gas oven or "alternative energies", provided they have been approved by the True Neapolitan Pizza Association and in the presence of documentation certifying the impossibility of using the wood-burning oven.

The new rules

The novelties concern first of all the flour: type 0 and a percentage of type 1 are included which varies from 5 to 20%, to satisfy the growing nutritional needs that require a greater presence of fibers and mineral salts. Also, in addition to fresh brewer's yeast, they have been mother yeast and dry yeast are also accepted, as long as it is free of additives, sugars or added food improvers.

With the aim of improving digestibility, leavening remains strictly at room temperature, but instead of lasting 6-8 hours, it can range from 8 to 24.

«We naturally started from the indispensable and unchangeable dogmas in the Neapolitan technique, such as the dough, which must be direct, that is with all the four ingredients put together, starting from the water, and must be left to ferment and mature for the necessary time to optimally suit the temperature, humidity and time of use of the dough itself , explains Massimo Di Porzio, vice president of the association. «The manual skill in the preparation of pizza, or the centrality of the artisan work, therefore with hands and palms, which are an ancient Bourbon unit of measure; cooking, perfect with the wood-burning oven, since it simultaneously respects both tradition and technical specifications, guaranteeing the three modes of heat propagation. From all this came an important update, which took into account several factors, including clearly the habits and needs of contemporary consumers.