Olive Oil on Pizza: Before or After Baking, and Which Oil to Use
Olive oil on pizza does two different jobs, and that is why the "before or after baking?" question has no single answer. A spiral of oil added before the bake helps the topping cook evenly and the crust colour; a drizzle added after the bake is there purely for flavour, because a fresh extra virgin olive oil tastes of most when it has not been heated. Pizzaiuoli in Naples use both. Home cooks can too, along with two optional extras: a little oil in the dough for a softer crumb in a cooler oven, and a brush of oil on the rim. This guide explains when each one helps, how much to use, which oil suits which job, and whether extra virgin olive oil really copes with a very hot oven — with the Neapolitan rulebook and the published research as the evidence, not folklore.
For our own oil, see our Cold-Pressed Single-Estate Extra Virgin Olive Oil - Marrakech (500ml).
The Short Answer
- Use olive oil both before and after baking: before, for even cooking and colour; after, for the fresh flavour that heat takes away.
- The Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana (AVPN) rules require extra virgin olive oil to be added before cooking, in a spiral from the centre, and allow it to be added raw after cooking "for organoleptic reasons" — that is, for taste and aroma.
- Traditional Neapolitan dough contains no oil at all; the AVPN rules say never to add fat to it. New York-style and many home-oven doughs add a little, typically 1–2% of the flour weight.
- Extra virgin olive oil copes with pizza ovens: its smoke point is usually given as 177–210°C, but the water in the sauce, cheese and dough keeps the pizza itself far cooler than the oven air.
- Save your best extra virgin olive oil for the finishing drizzle, where its flavour is most noticeable; a milder or less expensive olive oil is fine for greasing a pan.
- Sidr & Stone's olive oil is a single-estate, cold-pressed, unfiltered extra virgin olive oil from our own farm outside Marrakech — suited to the drizzle as well as the bake.
Before or After Baking? Both, for Different Reasons
Should you put olive oil on pizza before or after baking? Both. Oil added before baking mixes with the tomato into a light emulsion that helps the topping cook evenly, protects it from drying out and helps the crust colour. Oil added after baking is for flavour: heat dulls the fruity, peppery aromatics of extra virgin olive oil, so a raw drizzle puts them back.
The table sets out every place olive oil can go on a pizza, when it goes in, and what it actually does there.
| Where the oil goes | When | What it does | Typical amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| In the dough | During mixing | Softer, more tender crumb; easier stretching; better browning in a home oven | About 1–2% of flour weight (5–10g per 500g flour) |
| In the pan or tray | Before the dough goes in | Stops sticking and fries the base crisp in pan and tray pizzas | A thin, even film |
| On the topping | Just before baking | Emulsifies with the tomato for even cooking; keeps the surface from drying | 6–8g on a Neapolitan marinara (AVPN) |
| On the rim | Just before baking | Deeper colour and a crisper edge | A light brush |
| Finishing drizzle | Straight after baking | Fresh flavour and aroma; a glossy finish | About a teaspoon per pizza, to taste |
If you only do one of these, make it the finishing drizzle — it is the step where the quality of the oil makes the most difference to what you taste.
What the Neapolitan Rules Actually Say
The most detailed rulebook for pizza and olive oil is the AVPN's international regulations for Verace Pizza Napoletana, the standard pizzerias follow to use the association's collective trade mark. On olive oil, they are specific. The oil must be extra virgin, which the regulations describe as the oil with the greatest resistance to oxidation and stability at high temperatures. It "must be added before the cooking phase as it forms an emulsion and contributes to the uniform cooking of the ingredients", and it "can also be added raw (after cooking) for organoleptic reasons".
The method is spelt out too. On a marinara, the oil goes on in a spiral from the centre outwards, from an inert container or the traditional copper oil can with a thin spout, at 6–8g per pizza; on a margherita, 6–7g. The regulations prefer oils with delicate characteristics, avoiding those with a sour-pungent aftertaste. And the dough itself is fat-free: "Never add any fat or sugar to the dough." The oven is where the numbers get dramatic — a floor of roughly 380–430°C, a dome of about 485°C, and a bake of 60–90 seconds.
Does the choice of oil show up in the finished pizza? One study suggests it does. Piscopo and colleagues, writing in Foods in 2022, baked Neapolitan-style pizzas at a pizzeria in Reggio Calabria with three oils — a blend of refined and virgin olive oils, a commercial extra virgin, and a single-variety Ottobratica extra virgin — and analysed the cooked topping [1]. The high-phenolic single-variety oil showed the best oxidative stability after baking and the fewest undesirable volatile compounds. It was one pizzeria and three oils, so it is an indication rather than a rule, but it points the same way as the AVPN: the quality of the oil carries through the bake.
Olive Oil in Pizza Dough: When It Helps
Whether to put olive oil in the dough depends on the style and, above all, on your oven. In a wood-fired oven at 400°C or more, a Neapolitan base cooks in about a minute and a half, and oil in the dough is unnecessary — hence the AVPN's flat ban. In a domestic oven that tops out around 250–290°C, the bake takes several minutes, and a little fat makes a real difference: it coats the gluten, keeps the crumb tender rather than tough, makes the dough easier to stretch and helps the crust brown before it dries out.
That is why New York-style and most home-oven recipes include it. Tom Lehmann's widely used New York-style formula on Pizzamaking.com uses 1–2% oil by flour weight, and a New York formula published in Pizza Today uses 2%. For 500g of flour, that is 5–10g — roughly one to two teaspoons. Add it after the water and flour have come together, so it does not coat the flour before the gluten starts to form. Pan and tray styles, such as Sicilian or Roman pizza in teglia, typically go further: the oil in the tin is part of the method, frying the underside to a crisp, golden crust.
Brushing the Crust, Oiling the Pan and Garlic Oil
A light brush of olive oil on the rim before baking gives a deeper colour and a crisper edge, which helps most in a home oven where the crust can stay pale. Keep it light: a pool of oil on the rim just fries and drips. For pan pizzas, spread a thin, even film across the tin rather than a puddle, so the base crisps rather than turning greasy.
Brushing the cooked crust with garlic oil is the classic pizzeria finish, and it comes with one genuine safety rule. Fresh garlic in oil is a low-acid food sealed away from air — the conditions Clostridium botulinum needs — so home-made garlic oil belongs in the fridge and should be used within four days, the limit set by University of Georgia Extension guidance. Make a small batch for pizza night, or warm a crushed clove in a little oil just before serving. Our guide to garlic infused olive oil sets out the tested storage rules in full, and our piece on chilli olive oil covers the other favourite pizza-table oil.
Oven Temperature vs Smoke Point: Can Extra Virgin Take the Heat?
The most common objection to extra virgin olive oil on pizza is that pizza ovens run far hotter than its smoke point. The numbers seem to support the worry — until you look at what is actually heating up.
| Oven | Typical temperature | Bake time | Compared with EVOO's smoke point (177–210°C) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic fan or conventional oven | About 250–290°C at maximum | Several minutes | Above the oil's smoke point; the pizza itself stays well below it |
| Wood-fired Neapolitan oven (AVPN) | Floor about 380–430°C; dome about 485°C | 60–90 seconds | Far above; the very short bake limits how long the oil is exposed |
The North American Olive Oil Association gives extra virgin olive oil's smoke point as 350–410°F (about 177–210°C), and makes the key point with pizza as its own example: the water in the dough, cheese and sauce keeps the pizza's temperature well below that of the oven. While the topping is still steaming, it cannot climb far past the boiling point of water. Smoke point is also a weak guide to how an oil behaves under heat. Stability depends more on fatty-acid make-up and antioxidants, and extra virgin olive oil scores well on both: it is low in polyunsaturated fat and keeps the natural antioxidants that refining strips out.
Frying research supports this. In a laboratory study in Food and Chemical Toxicology, Casal and colleagues (2010) fried with several commercial olive oils until each reached the 25% legal limit for polar compounds, a standard measure of frying-oil breakdown; every olive oil lasted longer than the vegetable oil blend used for comparison — 24 to 27 hours of frying against 15 [2]. That is far harsher treatment than a few minutes on a pizza. Our guides to olive oil at high heat and the healthiest oil for frying cover the evidence oil by oil.
Which Olive Oil to Use for Each Job
The honest answer is that you do not need your most expensive bottle for every step. Heat flattens some of what makes a fine extra virgin special, so match the oil to the job.
| Job | Best choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Finishing drizzle | Your best fresh extra virgin olive oil | Served raw, so its full flavour comes through |
| Topping before baking | A good extra virgin olive oil | The AVPN standard; stable under heat and still adds flavour |
| In the dough | Any extra virgin or mild olive oil | Only a few grams; it affects texture more than taste |
| Greasing a pan or tray | A milder or less expensive olive oil | Larger quantity; the job is crisping, not flavour |
Match the oil's strength to the toppings. A delicate, buttery oil suits a margherita or a white pizza with mozzarella; a greener, more peppery oil stands up to mushrooms, olives, chilli or a pile of rocket. Whatever the style, the drizzle oil should be fresh: look for "extra virgin", a single named origin, dark glass and a harvest or best-before date, and finish it within a few months of opening. For a fuller walkthrough, see our guide to choosing a quality olive oil.
On the drizzle itself, timing matters more than technique. Add it as soon as the pizza comes out, while the surface is hot enough to release the aroma but before it is cut, and go lightly — about a teaspoon is enough to taste without soaking the centre.
Why Sidr & Stone
This guide's argument is that the finishing drizzle is where an olive oil is tasted most directly — so it is where the oil's quality shows. Sidr & Stone's olive oil is a cold-pressed, unfiltered extra virgin olive oil from our own single-estate farm on the plains outside Marrakech, Morocco: pressed, never refined, with nothing added.
- Single-estate — Sidr & Stone's olive oil comes from our own family-owned farm near Marrakech, and we control every step from tree to bottle, with no blending across origins.
- Rain-fed — our trees are not irrigated; they take what the season gives.
- Organically grown — no synthetic fertilisers, pesticides or herbicides are used (not yet certified; certification is in progress).
- Single harvest — a small, limited batch, picked when the fruit is ready; the current batch's harvest details are on the product page.
- Cold-pressed within hours of harvest — mechanical extraction only, with no solvents, refining or deodorising.
- Unfiltered extra virgin — minimally processed, so it may show natural sediment, which is normal.
- 100% natural — a single ingredient, olive oil, with nothing blended in.
- Dark glass with a gold label — 500ml, in protective packaging against light.
- 10% of profits to charity — a brand-wide commitment.
- Fulfilment in the UK, EU, and US.
We will not tell you Sidr & Stone is the best olive oil for pizza — that is the kind of claim this guide asks you to test for yourself. What we will say is that our oil is single-estate Moroccan, rain-fed, organically grown and cold-pressed within hours of harvest, and that a raw drizzle over a hot pizza is a fair way to judge it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should you put olive oil on pizza before or after baking?
Both, if you like. Before baking, it helps the topping cook evenly and the crust colour; after baking, it adds the fresh flavour that heat removes. The Neapolitan AVPN rules require it before cooking and permit a raw drizzle afterwards.
Why do people drizzle olive oil on pizza after it comes out of the oven?
For flavour and aroma. Heat dulls the fruity, grassy and peppery notes of extra virgin olive oil, so a raw drizzle on the hot pizza puts them back, along with a glossy finish.
How much olive oil should I put on a pizza?
About a teaspoon as a finishing drizzle is plenty. Before baking, the AVPN rules specify 6–8g on a marinara and 6–7g on a margherita; in dough, around 1–2% of the flour weight.
Do Italians put olive oil on pizza?
Yes. Extra virgin olive oil is a standard ingredient on Neapolitan pizza, added in a spiral before baking and sometimes again, raw, after. What traditional Neapolitan practice leaves out is oil in the dough.
How is Sidr & Stone's olive oil different from a supermarket "olive oil"?
A bottle labelled only "olive oil" is a blend of refined and virgin olive oils. Ours is a single-ingredient extra virgin olive oil, cold-pressed on our own farm outside Marrakech and bottled unfiltered, with no refining.
Can I put extra virgin olive oil in pizza dough?
Yes. It suits New York-style and home-oven doughs at around 1–2% of the flour weight, where it softens the crumb and helps browning. It is left out of traditional Neapolitan dough, which is baked at much higher temperatures.
Where can I buy single-estate extra virgin olive oil for pizza?
Look for a producer that names one estate, sells extra virgin oil only and uses dark glass. Ours is available to pre-order from our limited single-harvest batch, with fulfilment in the UK, EU, and US.
Is olive oil a medicine?
No. Olive oil is a food, not a medicine. It has a long traditional history — including being honoured in the Prophetic Sunnah — and a substantial body of modern research, particularly around polyphenols, cardiovascular health, and the Mediterranean diet pattern. It can be a worthwhile part of a healthy routine, but it does not cure diseases and is not a substitute for medical care. Be cautious of any olive oil marketed with specific disease-cure claims.
Final Thoughts
The before-or-after question turns out to be a false choice. Oil before the bake is about how the pizza cooks — an even topping, a coloured rim, a crisp pan base. Oil after the bake is about how it tastes. Neapolitan practice uses both, and so can you, adjusting the dough and the rim to the oven you actually have.
The heat worry is largely a myth: a pizza is too wet to get anywhere near the oven's temperature while it bakes, and extra virgin olive oil is among the most heat-stable oils in the kitchen. The real decision is which bottle goes on at the end, because the finishing drizzle is the one moment the oil is tasted on its own terms.
Our Cold-Pressed Single-Estate Extra Virgin Olive Oil - Marrakech (500ml) — rain-fed, organically grown and unfiltered — is available to pre-order from our limited single-harvest batch, with fulfilment in the UK, EU, and US.
Our extra virgin olive oil is grown organically on our own single-estate farm on the plains outside Marrakech: we control every step from tree to bottle, and no synthetic pesticides, herbicides or fertilisers are used. It is not yet certified organic — certification is in progress, and we will publish it as soon as it comes through.
References
- Piscopo A, Zappia A, Mincione A, Silletti R, Summo C, Pasqualone A. Effect of oil type used in Neapolitan pizza TSG topping on its physical, chemical, and sensory properties. Foods. 2022;12(1):41. PMID 36613257. doi:10.3390/foods12010041
- Casal S, Malheiro R, Sendas A, Oliveira BP, Pereira JA. Olive oil stability under deep-frying conditions. Food Chem Toxicol. 2010;48(10):2972–2979. PMID 20678538. doi:10.1016/j.fct.2010.07.036
Disclaimer: This article shares general cooking guidance and summarises published standards and research at the time of writing; recipes, regulations and research findings may change, and readers should check current sources. Amounts and oven temperatures are starting points and individual ovens vary. Take normal care with hot ovens and hot oil, and follow current food-safety guidance when making garlic or herb oils at home. References to the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana, the North American Olive Oil Association, Pizzamaking.com and Pizza Today describe their published guidance and imply no affiliation or endorsement. Olive oil is a food, not a medicine, and is not a substitute for medical treatment of any condition. For any health concern, consult a qualified medical professional.