Pour 509g water into a large bowl. Add 1.6g instant yeast (or ~5g fresh yeast) and stir briefly. Add 511g Tipo 00 flour and mix until no dry flour remains — the poolish will be thick and sticky. Cover and rest at room temperature for 1 hour, then seal and refrigerate for 24 hours. The poolish is ready when it has risen, is covered in bubbles, and smells tangy.

Remove the poolish from the fridge. Add 260g Tipo 00 flour and 19.3g salt directly to the poolish. Knead in a stand mixer on speed 1 for about 15 minutes, or by hand until smooth and well combined. The dough should be elastic, smooth, and slightly tacky.

Shape the dough into a ball and place in a sealed container. Refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours. The longer the bulk, the more flavour — but do not exceed 24 hours at this stage.

Turn the dough onto an unfloured surface and divide into 5 equal pieces of approximately 260g each. Shape each into a tight, smooth ball — fold the edges underneath and drag toward you across the surface to build tension. Place in a sealed container.

Refrigerate the dough balls for a further 12 to 24 hours. This second cold rest develops flavour further and relaxes the dough for effortless stretching.

Remove the dough balls from the fridge 2 to 2.5 hours before baking. Leave at room temperature to warm up and relax — cold dough is very elastic and difficult to open.

Preheat your pizza oven to 400°C for at least 1 hour. For a home oven, bring to maximum temperature with a pizza stone or steel on the top rack for at least 45–60 minutes.

Dust the work surface generously with semola. Place a dough ball on the semola and shape by hand: starting from the centre, press your fingers outward to push the air into the edges — this keeps the cornicione airy. Never use a rolling pin. Transfer to a semola-dusted peel and top. In a pizza oven at 400°C, bake for approximately 90 seconds. In a home oven at maximum, bake for about 7 minutes until golden and blistered.