Neapolitan pizza dough made with biga

Mix the dry yeast into the water with a whisk until dissolved.

Put the flour in a large box and pour the water gently all over it, avoiding one big mass.

Mix by shaking the box for about three minutes, then use a spatula to clean the sides, and finish by hand until the flour is stringy like spaghetti and all the water is absorbed.

Put the lid on and rest the biga 14 hours, in a fridge at 4 degrees rather than at room temperature unless the room holds 18 degrees.

A finished biga smells of yogurt; an acid smell means the result will be no good.

Break the biga into a large bowl so it is not all together.

Add 350 of the 400 millilitres of water, keeping 50 back, and work it by hand to melt the biga slowly.

When the water changes colour and the biga softens, add the 500 grams of flour in one shot and a little extra yeast.

Mix by hand, or with a spoon or a whisk.

The dough keeps in a fridge four or five days.

Move the dough onto a bench, introduce the salt with a little more water to melt it, and keep mixing.

Keep working the dough with punches and folds, adding the rest of the water, to bring it to 65 percent hydration. Folding builds the gluten.

Put it on an oiled bench and rest 20 to 30 minutes.

Portion into dough balls of 250 grams, folding repeatedly and rounding each one.

Cover with a plastic lid or a tea towel.

Rise at room temperature 8 hours, or overnight in a fridge at four to six degrees for 12 to 24 hours. A biga dough is already highly fermented, so the same day is best.

Dust with semolina and stretch the ball Neapolitan style with the schiaffo, smacking it out in a cross.

Bake in a wood-fired oven at around 400 degrees; the hand test is five seconds before it starts to burn. An electric oven runs at around 250.

Top with three spoons of tomato and olive oil.

Load with the peel so no flour goes under the pizza, and turn it just twice, taking it from the side. Do not cook it up on the top of the igloo or it smokes.

Garnish the baked pizza with prosciutto, stracciatella and truffle cream. The crust should be gold, not black and not white.

Rest the dough at room temperature at least a couple of hours before cooking; straight from the fridge gives too many big bubbles.