New York-style pizza

Ingredients

Dough

• 500 ghigh-protein bread flour
• 325 mlcold water
• 10 gsalt
• 3 ginstant yeast
• 10 golive oil
• 5 gsugar

Sauce

• 1 tinwhole San Marzano tomatoes
• 1 tspsalt
• 1 clovegarlic, grated
• 1 tspdried oregano
• 1 tbspolive oil

Cheese

• 400 glow-moisture whole-milk mozzarella, grated

To finish

• grated pecorino or parmesan
• olive oil
• dried oregano
• chilli flakes

Equipment

• a baking steel or stone
• a peel

Directions

1. Use a high-protein bread flour, 12 to 14 per cent, which is what gives the chew.
2. Mix the flour, water, salt, yeast, sugar and oil into a rough dough and rest it 20 minutes. Then knead 8 to 10 minutes until it is smooth and passes a windowpane test.
3. Divide into two balls, put each in an oiled container, and refrigerate for 48 to 72 hours. The cold ferment is the whole difference between a good pizza and a great one.
4. Take the dough out 2 hours before baking and let it come to room temperature. Cold dough will not stretch and springs back, so this warm-up is not optional.
5. Put the steel or stone in the oven and heat it as hot as the oven goes, at least 260°C (500°F), for a full hour. An hour of preheating, not ten minutes.
6. Spread a thin layer of sauce, leaving the rim bare, then the grated mozzarella. Use low-moisture mozzarella, not fresh. Do not overload it. Finish with grated pecorino, a drizzle of oil and oregano.
7. Let it rest 2 minutes before cutting, so the cheese sets enough to slice cleanly. Cut it into wide triangles, and fold each one lengthways to eat.

Technique

• The dough can be frozen after the cold ferment and thawed overnight.
• The tap water theory about New York pizza is folklore; the flour, the oven and the ferment do the work.
• A steel outperforms a stone because it conducts heat into the base far faster.

Substitutions

• Strong white bread flour, which is close enough.
• Any good tinned plum tomato, crushed by hand.

Variations

• Grandma or Sicilian style, baked in a rectangular pan.
• White pizza, with ricotta and no tomato.
• With pepperoni, which cups and crisps as it bakes.

History

A large, thin-crust pizza, foldable and typically topped simply with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese, developed in New York City, with roots tracing directly to Neapolitan pizza, brought to the city by Italian immigrants, particularly from Naples, arriving in large numbers during the late 1800s and early 1900s. Its thinner, wider crust and larger slice size, distinguishing it from the smaller, thicker Neapolitan pizza it descended from, developed as Italian immigrant pizzerias adapted their recipes for New York’s specific water, ovens and the practical need for a large, foldable slice suited to eating quickly on the go in a fast-paced urban environment. New York-style pizza remains one of the most iconic and widely imitated regional American food traditions, closely tied to New York City’s specific culinary identity.

Frequently asked questions

What is New York-style pizza?

New York-style pizza is a main from United States: thin, foldable wide slices with tomato and mozzarella. A large, thin-crust pizza, foldable and typically topped simply with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese, developed in New York City, with roots tracing directly to Neapolitan pizza, brought to the city by Italian immigrants, particularly from Naples, arriving in large numbers during the late 1800s and early 1900s. Its thinner, wider crust and larger slice size, distinguishing it from the smaller, thicker Neapolitan pizza it descended from, developed as Italian immigrant pizzerias adapted their recipes for New York’s specific water, ovens and the practical need for a large, foldable slice suited to eating quickly on the go in a fast-paced urban environment. New York-style pizza remains one of the most iconic and widely imitated regional American food traditions, closely tied to New York City’s specific culinary identity.

How long does New York-style pizza take to make?

New York-style pizza takes 40 min plus 2 days cold fermenting of preparation and 15 min of cooking. The recipe makes 2 large pizzas. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in New York-style pizza?

Yes, within limits. Strong white bread flour, which is close enough. Any good tinned plum tomato, crushed by hand.

What is the most important thing to get right in New York-style pizza?

Divide into two balls, put each in an oiled container, and refrigerate for 48 to 72 hours. The cold ferment is the whole difference between a good pizza and a great one.