DoughPlanNeapolitan Pizza Dough Yeast: AVPN Amounts vs Home Doughs
By Josep Mampel Marques, updated
The AVPN regulations for Neapolitan pizza use 0.1 to 3 g of fresh yeast per litre of water. Their worked examples are 1.5 g per litre for an 8 hour fermentation at 23 °C and 0.3 g per litre for 24 hours. With 1,600 to 1,800 g of flour per litre, that is about 0.088% and 0.018% fresh yeast on the flour. DoughPlan's model, built on a home-baking yeast table, gives about 2.5 times more for the same times. For a home batch of a few dough balls, start with the planner's amount and adjust from there.
The AVPN figures
The Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana (AVPN) sets the rules for "Verace Pizza Napoletana". Per litre of water, its regulations give:
- 1,600 to 1,800 g of flour (55.6% to 62.5% hydration).
- 40 to 60 g of salt.
- 0.1 to 3 g of fresh yeast, "based on temperature and humidity", or 5% to 20% of the flour as mother yeast (sourdough).
- Dry yeast at one third of the fresh weight: 1 g of dry for 3 g of fresh.
- No fat and no sugar.
- A total fermentation of at least 8 and at most 24 hours, at a fermentation temperature of 23 °C, with dough balls of 200 to 280 g.
The worked examples:
| Fermentation | Temperature | Fresh yeast per litre | Salt per litre | Fresh yeast on flour (our arithmetic) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 hours | 23 °C | 1.5 g | 50 g | about 0.088% |
| 24 hours | 23 °C | 0.3 g | 50 to 55 g | about 0.018% |
Our model gives more
For the same schedules, the DoughPlan model (fitted to Craig Lomen's yeast table from pizzamaking.com) gives:
| Fermentation at 23 °C | AVPN, fresh yeast | DoughPlan, fresh yeast | DoughPlan, instant |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 hours | about 0.088% | 0.223% | 0.071% |
| 24 hours | about 0.018% | 0.048% | 0.016% |
Put the other way round: with the AVPN's 8 hour dose, our model expects the dough to need around 16 hours at 23 °C, and with the 24 hour dose, around 49 hours.
Why the AVPN uses less yeast
We cannot test this in a pizzeria, so here is what the sources say rather than a definitive answer:
- Batch size. The regulations themselves say the yeast is "less than proportional to the quantity of mixture prepared": 1 litre of water takes 0.30 g, but 5 litres take about 1 g, not 1.5 g. Pizzeria batches are larger than a home batch of four balls, and the rule says larger batches need less yeast per kilo.
- Different targets. The yeast table behind our model predicts the time until a dough is "ready to bake" by its author's standard, for home doughs. A pizzeria working to the AVPN rules may judge readiness differently.
- The model's range. The table was built for doughs with about 2% salt (plus or minus 1). The AVPN's 50 g per litre is roughly 2.8% to 3.1% of the flour, at the edge of that range, and forum members note that high salt changes fermentation times.
None of these fully explains a factor of 2.5. The honest summary is that the two sources disagree, and a home baker should expect to tune the yeast after a first bake whichever one they follow.
What to use at home: a worked example
Four 250 g balls at the planner's AVPN preset (60% water, 2.8% salt) need 623 g of flour and 374 g of water. For a room temperature fermentation at 23 °C:
| Fermentation | AVPN rate (1.5 or 0.3 g per litre) | DoughPlan model |
|---|---|---|
| 8 hours | 0.56 g fresh yeast | 1.39 g fresh (0.44 g instant) |
| 24 hours | 0.11 g fresh yeast | 0.30 g fresh (0.10 g instant) |
Our suggestion: start with the planner's amount. If your dough is ahead of schedule, move toward the AVPN figure next time. Keep notes of the yeast, the dough temperature and how the dough looked, so each bake teaches you something.
Plan an AVPN-style dough in DoughPlan
- Open the planner and choose "Neapolitan (AVPN style, very hot oven)".
- Choose "Room temperature only". The AVPN describes a room temperature fermentation, not a fridge one.
- Set "Hours at room temperature" between 8 and 24 and "Room temperature" to your real temperature (the AVPN uses 23 °C).
- Choose fresh yeast if you have it, or instant or active dry if not.
- The planner splits the hours into bulk fermentation (35%) and the final proof of the balls (65%).
For a 2 to 4 day fridge version, choose "Cold, in the fridge" instead. It will not follow the AVPN rules, but it is a common home method; see how long to cold ferment pizza dough.
The oven matters as much as the dough
The AVPN bakes for 60 to 90 seconds with the cooking surface at 380 to 430 °C and the dome at about 485 °C. A home oven cannot do that, which is why the planner also has a "Neapolitan for a home oven" preset with more water. See Neapolitan pizza dough hydration for why, and pizza dough for an Ooni if you have a pizza oven.
Sources
- AVPN, International Regulations for Verace Pizza Napoletana (English): https://www.pizzanapoletana.org/public/pdf/disciplinare%202008%20UK.pdf
- AVPN regulations page: https://www.pizzanapoletana.org/en/regulations
- Craig Lomen (TXCraig1), yeast quantity prediction model, pizzamaking.com: https://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php?topic=26831.0
- DoughPlan method and accuracy: /method/