Neapolitan pizza vs Pizza contemporanea
Both subjects must be shot at the same physical scale — no cropping one closer than the other
| Field | Neapolitan pizza | Pizza contemporanea |
|---|---|---|
| Origin | Italy, Naples | Italy, Naples |
| Form | round | round |
| Thickness | thin | thin |
| Rim / edge | High, soft, airy raised rim with a blistered, leoparded surface | High, soft, airy rim, similar to classic Neapolitan |
| Base texture | Thin, soft, and pliable, never crisp throughout | Thin, soft, and pliable |
| Crumb | Open, irregular, large-holed crumb in the rim; thin and minimal in the centre | Open, irregular crumb in the rim |
| Hydration | 58-65% | 60-70% |
| Fermentation | room temperature long fermentation, cold fermentation | room temperature long fermentation, cold fermentation, prefermented |
| Shaping | Hand-opened from the centre outward, preserving the untouched rim (stesura) | Hand-opened from the centre outward |
| Flour | Type 00 flour (traditional) | Type 00 flour (commonly used) |
| Preferment | Poolish (optional flavour or scheduling choice) | Biga (optional flavour or scheduling choice) |
| Topping load | light | moderate |
| Bake temperature | 430-480 celsius | 420-480 celsius |
| Bake time | 60-90 seconds | 60-100 seconds |
| Oven | wood fired pizza oven, gas pizza oven, electric pizza oven | wood fired pizza oven, gas pizza oven, electric pizza oven |
| Flavour | clean, savoury, milky | rich, umami forward, savoury |
| Texture | airy, soft, charred, tender | airy, soft, charred |
| Difficulty | advanced | advanced |
| Domestic suitability | difficult | difficult |
| Serving | Served whole, uncut, traditionally eaten folded (a portafoglio) or with a knife and fork | Served whole, uncut |
Key similarities
- Origin
- Form
- Thickness
- Oven
- Difficulty
- Domestic suitability
Key differences
- Rim / edge
- Base texture
- Crumb
- Hydration
- Fermentation
- Shaping
- Flour
- Preferment
- Topping load
- Bake temperature
- Bake time
- Flavour
- Texture
- Serving