My dough didn’t grow / hasn’t proofed properly

After you've kneaded your dough, you should let it rise until it approximately doubles in size. If your dough isn't doubling in size, there are a few reasons why this might be happening.

1. Room is too cold

Room temperature affects how quickly yeast works, thus how quickly dough rises. Warmer rooms = faster working yeast (faster rise). Colder rooms = slower working yeast (slower rise). 

If your dough isn't rising and you want to speed things up, place it in a warmer area such as an airing cupboard.

2. Dough hasn't had enough time to rise

If your dough doesn't rise for long enough, the yeast won't have enough time to work. 

The Ooni App is a great tool for determining exactly how long you should be letting your dough rise for, based on a variety of other factors (quantity of dough, hydration level, salt content, type of yeast used, etc.).

3. Too much salt 

Salt is necessary for tightening the gluten structure in your dough, but if you use too much of it, the gluten structure will become too tight. This can prevent your dough from rising properly. For a classic Neapolitan pizza, aim for 2.5% to 3% salt.

For example, if your recipe calls for 1kg of flour:

4. Inactive or out-of-date yeast

Using expired yeast will prevent your dough from rising properly. To test if your yeast is active, place 1 teaspoon of yeast into some lukewarm water with a pinch of sugar. If there's no reaction, your yeast should be replaced.