New York Pizza Recipes

NEW YORK STYLE PIZZA DOUGH

Steps:

• Add the water, yeast, sugar, and a 1/2 cup of the flour into a mixing bowl. Stir well and let sit for 20 minutes. It will get bubbly.
• Add olive oil, salt, and 2 cups of the flour, and mix with a wooden spoon until it's together enough to turn out on to a lightly floured work surface to knead.
• Knead for about 10 minutes, while adding more flour a little at a time, to produce a soft, elastic and slightly sticky dough. Do not add too much flour, just enough to keep it from sticking to the work surface as you knead.
• Form the dough into a ball and place in a large oiled bowl. Drizzle a few drops of oil and coat the top of dough to prevent the surface from becoming dry.
• Cover with a kitchen towel and place in a warm spot for 2 hours, or until the dough doubles in size.
• Punch down the dough and divide into 2 balls and place in large zip lock plastic bags and refrigerate overnight.
• When ready to use, remove from fridge, and let the dough come up to room temperature before using.

NEW YORK STYLE PIZZA

Steps:

• Sprinkle the yeast over the surface of the warm water in a large bowl. Let stand for 1 minute, then stir to dissolve. Mix in the flour, salt and olive oil. When the dough is too thick to stir, turn out onto a floured surface, and knead for 5 minutes. Knead in a little more flour if the dough is too sticky. Place into an oiled bowl, cover, and set aside in a warm place to rise until doubled in bulk.
• Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F (245 degrees C). If using a pizza stone, preheat it in the oven as well, setting it on the lowest shelf.
• When the dough has risen, flatten it out on a lightly floured surface. Roll or stretch out into a 12 inch circle, and place on a baking pan. If you are using a pizza stone, you may place it on a piece of parchment while preheating the stone in the oven.
• Spread the tomato sauce evenly over the dough. Sprinkle with oregano, mozzarella cheese, basil, Romano cheese and red pepper flakes.
• Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until the bottom of the crust is browned when you lift up the edge a little, and cheese is melted and bubbly. Cool for about 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

NEW YORK-STYLE PIZZA

Steps:

• In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. In a large bowl, combine oil, salt, yeast mixture and 1 cup flour; beat on medium speed until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (dough will be sticky). Turn dough onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour., Preheat oven to 475°. Grease a 14-in. pizza pan. Roll dough to fit pan. Pinch edge to form a rim. Cover and let rest 10 minutes. Spread with tomato sauce; top with cheeses, basil, oregano and pepper flakes. Bake on a lower oven rack until crust is lightly browned and cheese is melted, 15-20 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before slicing.

NEW YORK-STYLE PIZZA CRUST

Steps:

• Combine water and sugar in small bowl; stir to dissolve sugar.
• Sprinkle yeast on top; stir to combine.
• Let stand 5 to 10 minutes or until foamy.
• Combine flour and salt in medium bowl.
• Stir in yeast mixture.
• Mix until mixture forms soft dough.
• Remove dough to lightly floured surface.
• Knead 5 minutes or until dough is smooth and elastic, adding additional flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, as needed.
• Place dough in medium bowl coated with nonstick cooking spray.
• Turn dough in bowl so top is coated with cooking spray; cover with towel or plastic wrap.
• Let rise in warm place 30 minutes or until doubled in bulk.
• Punch dough down; place on lightly floured surface and knead about 2 minutes or until smooth.
• Pat dough into flat disc about 7 inches in diameter.
• Let rest 2 to 3 minutes.
• Pat and gently stretch dough from edges until dough seems to not stretch anymore.
• Let rest 2 to 3 minutes.
• Continue patting and stretching until dough is 12 to 14 inches in diameter.
• Spray 12- to 14-inch pizza pan with nonstick spray; sprinkle with commeal, if desired.
• Press dough into pan.
• Preheat oven to 5OOF.
• Follow directions for individual recipes, baking pizza on bottom rack of oven.

NEW YORK STYLE THIN CRUST PIZZA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. If you have one, place a pizza stone on the bottom rack of the oven.
• Divide the dough in half and roll into a 12-inch circle, about 1/2-inch thick.
• Dust pizza peel or baking sheet with cornmeal. Place rolled out dough on peel. Brush pizza dough with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Spread 1 cup tomato sauce evenly over dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border along the edges. Sprinkle 1/4 cup basil leaves on top of sauce and then top with 1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano. Finally, top with 1/2-pound mozzarella slices. Bake for about 8 to 10 minutes, or until cheese is bubbling and the edges are golden brown. Repeat with remaining ingredients to make 2 pizzas.
• In an electric mixing bowl, whisk the yeast, sugar, water and lard together to make a paste. Add the flour and salt and mix, using a dough hook, until the dough comes away from the sides and crawls up the dough hook. Remove the dough from the bowl. Grease the bowl with olive oil and place the dough back in the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and divide dough in half. Roll the dough into balls, cover, and let the dough rest for 15 to 20 minutes. The dough is ready to be shaped.

NYC-STYLE PIZZA

Steps:

• To make the pizza dough, place the flour on a clean work surface or in a large bowl, make a well in the middle, then gradually pour in 750ml of lukewarm water, followed by the yeast, sugar, a pinch of salt and a lug of olive oil. Use a fork to mix in the flour from the sides, then bring it together with your hands to form a slightly sticky dough. Knead the dough on a flour-dusted surface for around 5 minutes, or until soft and springy, then place in a flour-dusted bowl, cover with a damp tea towel and leave to rise for around 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
• Meanwhile, make the tomato sauce. Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a medium pan. Finely chop and add the garlic, tear in the basil leaves and add the plum tomatoes, then cook for 5 minutes, or until smelling and tasting fantastic. Using a hand blender, blitz the sauce until smooth, then season with salt and pepper and set aside.
• Bash the fennel seeds in a pestle and mortar, then add to a medium frying pan over a medium heat with a splash of olive oil, the pork mince and rosemary leaves. Fry for around 5 minutes, or until cooked through and crisp, stirring occasionally.
• Preheat the oven to 220ºC/425ºF/gas 7. Place a pizza stone in the oven to preheat. Divide the risen dough into 10 equal-sized balls, then roll out on a flour-dusted surface to roughly ½cm thick and 25cm in diameter. Grate and sprinkle over equal amounts of the mozzarella, making sure to leave a rough 2cm gap around the edges, then drizzle about 5 tablespoons of tomato sauce onto each - by adding the cheese first and the tomato second, you'll stop the base from getting soggy.
• Scatter over the fennel-spiked pork, then finely slice and sprinkle over the chillies. Drizzle with olive oil, then carefully remove the pizza stone from the oven and place a few pizzas on top, depending on how many you can fit (you'll need to do this in batches). Pop in the hot oven for around 10 minutes, or until golden and crisp, then drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, slice up and serve as you go.

NEW YORK-STYLE CHEESE PIZZA

Steps:

• Make the dough: Sprinkle the yeast over the hot water in a small bowl. Let stand until dissolved and slightly foamy, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, whisk the bread flour, all-purpose flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl and make a well in the center. Pour the yeast mixture into the well and add the olive oil. Stir with a wooden spoon until a shaggy dough forms.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, dust the dough with flour and knead, dusting with more flour as needed, until very smooth and elastic but still slightly tacky, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, turning to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours. Divide the dough into two 1-pound balls; wrap one ball in plastic and refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Bring to room temperature before using.
• Make the pizza sauce: Combine the tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, dried oregano, sugar and a pinch each of salt and pepper in a medium bowl; season with more salt and sugar if needed. (Makes about 1 1/2 cups.)
• Make the pizza: Preheat the oven to 500˚ F (use the convection setting, if available) with a pizza stone, baking steel or inverted large baking sheet in the lower third of the oven. Working on a lightly floured or cornmeal-dusted piece of parchment, gently stretch and press the other ball of dough into a 12- to 13-inch round. Cover the dough with 1/2 cup pizza sauce, the Parmesan, torn mozzarella and grated mozzarella, leaving a 3/4-inch border.
• Transfer the pizza (on the parchment) to the hot stone and bake until the crust is set, about 5 minutes. Slide out the parchment from under the pizza; continue to bake until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is melted, 5 to 10 minutes. Slide the pizza onto a cutting board.

NEW YORK PIZZA RECIPE

Steps:

• In a bowl of an electric mixer add the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast.
• In a separate jug add the warm water and oil.
• Turn the machine on to medium speed and add the wet ingredients into the dry. Just add enough liquid for the dough to form a ball. (The dough can be made by hand if you knead it for roughly 8-10 minutes on your work surface).
• When the dough is ready (see above video), divide the dough into three (xx) balls and place each in a container with a sealable lid. Place in refrigerator and allow to rise at least one day, and up to 4 days. The dough can also be frozen at this stage.
• At least two hours before baking, remove dough from the refrigerator and allow it to sit at room temperature to take the chill off it.
• Preheat the oven to 500°F (250°C) and place in a pizza stone or tray if using. Turn a dough ball out onto a lightly floured surface. Gently stretch the dough by draping over your knuckles into a 12-14 inch circle about 1/4-inch thick. Slide the pizza base onto a flat baking tray lined with parchment (see video above).
• Spread pizza sauce evenly over the surface of the crust, almost to the edge. Sprinkle cheese over sauce followed by any of your favorite pizza toppings.
• Slide pizza onto baking stone and bake for roughly 12 - 15 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown. Transfer to cutting board, slice, and serve immediately.

NEW YORK-STYLE PIZZA SAUCE RECIPE

Steps:

• Process tomatoes and their juice through food mill, pulse in food processor until puréed, or purée with immersion blender. Purée should not be completely smooth, but should have no chunks larger than 1/16th of an inch. Set tomatoes aside.
• Combine oil and butter in medium saucepan and heat over medium-low heat until butter is melted. Add garlic, oregano, pepper flakes, and large pinch salt and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant but not browned, about 3 minutes. Add tomatoes, onion halves, basil sprigs, and sugar. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to lowest setting (bubbles should barely be breaking the surface), and cook, stirring occasionally, until reduced by half, about 1 hour. Discard onions and basil stems. Season to taste with salt. Allow to cool and store in covered container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

NEW YORK PIZZA

Steps:

• In a large bowl, whisk together the bread flour along with the instant yeast until fully combined, and set aside.
• In a separate bowl/container, mix together the water, EVOO, and salt. Then pour the water mixture into the flour.
• Using a silicone spatula, mix until the dough starts to form and everything is fully combined. Then transfer the dough ball to a lightly floured work surface and knead for about 5 to 10 minutes until it comes together. Form into a dough ball and place it into a bowl big enough to allow the dough to rise at least double in size. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for the bulk proof.
• After 20 hours (or 3-4 hours before you plan on cooking), remove the dough from the fridge and transfer to a lightly floured work surface. Using a bench scraper (or knife), cut the dough into smaller portions. For personal 12 inch pies, your dough balls should be about 250g. For a large NY style pie, your dough balls should be about 400g.
• Once the dough is portioned out, roll into balls, and cover with a damp kitchen towel for 20-30 minutes. Transfer each ball to lightly oiled, lidded container, and allow the dough to proof for another 3-4 hours (see the equipment above for the deli containers I use).
• Place your baking steel (or pizza stone) about 3-6 inches below your broiler, and preheat your oven to 500º at least 45 minutes prior to cooking.
• Have a small bowl with bread flour, big enough to hold the dough ball, set aside.
• Transfer the dough ball to a lightly floured surface, and lightly press both sides of the dough ball into the bowl with flour. Then gently start shaping into a pizza.
• When you're ready to top your pizza, flour your pizza peel and transfer the dough to the peel (see notes). Give the peel a shake to make sure the pizza will easily slide off. Then top with your favorite toppings.
• Give the peel one more shake once the toppings are on, to make sure the pizza will still slide off. If there is too much friction, gently lift the front and sides of the dough and add some more flour.
• Then, using the pizza peel, slide the pizza onto your baking steel/pizza stone, and cook for 6-10 minutes, turning it 180º halfway through. Depending on the residual temperature of your oven, it might take longer than 10 minutes. You'll want the dough to slightly puff up, get golden brown, and sound slightly hollow when you knock on the crust.
• Once done, remove the pizza from the oven and set on a wire rack to slightly cool. If you don't have a wire rack, place some corn meal on a flat surface, and transfer the pizza on top of the corn meal. The corn meal will act as a divider so the bottom of the pizza doesn't steam.

HOW TO MAKE PIZZA

Steps:

• Plan ahead. Make the dough at least a day before you intend to make pizza, to give it enough time to rise.Buy a food scale on which to weigh the ingredients for dough and toppings. It's a smart investment: In baking, weight is a more accurate measurement than volume.You will need a cooking surface. This could be a pizza stone or steel, or four to six unglazed quarry tiles measuring 6 inches by 6 inches from a building supply store. Whichever you use, heat in a very hot oven for at least an hour before cooking.
• Our best recipe for pizza dough is adapted from the one used at Roberta's, the pizza utopia in Bushwick, Brooklyn. It provides a delicate, extraordinarily flavorful dough that will last - and improve - in the refrigerator for up to a week. As ever with breads, rise time will depend on the temperature and humidity of your kitchen and refrigerator. But we generally allow it to go at least overnight. Those seeking gratification more quickly can turn to Mark Bittman's recipe for basic pizza dough, which rises in just a couple of hours.
• Allow for a minimum of three to four hours for your dough to rise. But planning further ahead pays dividends: You can store that dough in the refrigerator until you are ready to cook, which means any weeknight can be pizza night.We put our pizza dough in the refrigerator to rise, placing the balls of dough on a floured baking pan covered loosely with a clean, damp kitchen towel. The chill leads to a slow rise, so we generally allow it to go overnight, or for at least six to eight hours. For a faster rise, leave the dough out on a countertop, similarly covered. It should be ready - that is, roughly doubled in size - in three or four hours.Time imparts a marvelous tanginess to pizza dough, but it extracts a price as well. What you want to avoid is a skin developing on the dough. When the dough has risen, if you are not going to use it right away, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, or place it in a quart-size plastic bag. Pizza dough so wrapped will last in the refrigerator for three days or so. Another option is to freeze the dough using this incredibly easy freezer dough recipe. Make it, put it in the freezer in a freezer-safe plastic bag, and then move it to the refrigerator on the morning of the evening you want to cook.If you end up making pizza at least once a week, consider investing in a few pizza dough pans, available in restaurant supply stores.
• Shaping a pizza takes practice. The goal is to make a thin circle of dough, with a raised edge around circumference of the pie. Don't worry if that doesn't happen the first few times. Pizzas shaped like trapezoids or kites taste just as delicious.Working on a floured surface, with floured hands, softly pat down the risen ball of dough into a circle, rotating it as you do.Using the tips of your fingers, push down gently around the perimeter of the pie, rotating it as you do, to create the edge.Pick up the dough and lightly pass it back and forth between your palms, trying to rotate it each time you do, using gravity to help the dough stretch. At approximately 12 inches in diameter, the pizza is ready to go.Return the pizza to the floured surface, making sure that the side that you first pressed down upon remains facing upward, and gently slide the pie back and forth a few times to make sure that it does not stick. Add a little more flour to the surface beneath the pie if it does.Gently slide a lightly floured pizza peel beneath the pie, or place it carefully on a floured cutting board or the back of a baking pan. Make sure again that the dough can slide back and forth. If it does, the pie is certified for topping.
• The act of topping a pizza is a gentle one. Use a light touch. Above all, try not to overload the pie, particularly its center, which will lead to an undercooked crust. Two to three tablespoons of sauce are all you need, and perhaps a small drizzle of olive oil, accompanied by a couple of other toppings.Pizza sauce does not need to be cooked ahead of time, and is so simply prepared that there is no reason to use the store-bought variety. Instead, use a food processor to combine a can of whole, drained tomatoes with a splash of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt.Spread the sauce out on the dough using the back of a spoon, stopping approximately 1/2 inch from the dough's edges. Do not use too much; two or three tablespoons is enough. Keep leftover sauce refrigerated.Mozzarella is the traditional pizza cheese, but depending on the sort of pie you are creating, really any good melting cheese will do: fontina, Cheddar, Colby, blue, provolone and smoked Gouda, among others, make for delicious pizzas.Meat on a pizza is an option for some. Sausage and meatballs are both traditional toppings and should be cooked beforehand. Pepperoni, ham and other cured meats do not need to be, though delicate sheets of air-dried beef or pork should perhaps go onto the pie midway through or at the end of the cooking process, lest they dry out in the heat.Anchovies are a marvelous addition to pizzas, and so are clams and mussels, even sheets of smoked salmon, particularly when paired with crème fraîche and capers.Making a fried egg breakfast pizza is not for freshman-class pizza makers. Sliding a pizza topped with a raw egg into a hot oven takes patience and practice. In the meantime, while your pizza is cooking, gently fry an egg in olive oil in a small skillet on the stove, and when the pizza is done, slide it gently on top of the pie.You can put anything on a pizza. The question is where, and when. Herbs can go below cheese to protect them from the heat of the oven, or onto the top of the pie when it's done. Pineapple can take heat like a fireman and can go on from the start, raw. Grapes can, too (a nice pairing for sausage). Mushrooms, though, should be cooked on the stovetop before you use them as a topping for pizza. Likewise peppers both red and green. (Thinly-sliced jalapeno pepper is an exception.) Potatoes can go on a pizza raw only if you're cooking in a very, very hot oven and you've sliced them very, very thinly - otherwise, parboil them before slicing and adding them to the top of a pie. Grilled asparagus is an excellent addition to a "white," or tomato-free pizza. We like thinly sliced Brussels sprouts, sometimes, on similar pies (pair with pancetta!), and leeks melted slowly over butter as well. As a rough guide: Precook anything that won't cook fast, or cut it so thinly that it will. Anything delicate, like a pile of arugula dressed simply in lemon juice and oil, can go on the pie when it's done, to cook gently in the pizza's residual heat.
• We cook most of our pizzas in the oven, on top of a stone or a steel. But you can bake pizza in a sheet pan as well, or grill it outdoors. You can even cook a pizza on a stovetop.To bake a pizza in an oven, you'll need either to do it on a stone or metal surface, or in a sheet pan. Either way, you should set the oven to its highest temperature and let it heat it for a full hour before you intend to cook.If you are using a pizza stone, steel or a set of tiles, begin by placing it on the middle rack of the oven before you turn it on, allowing it to preheat for a hour. When you're ready to cook, carefully place your shaped dough on a lightly floured pizza peel or cutting board, or on the back of a baking pan. Gently shake the peel, board or pan back and forth a few times to make sure the dough can move, then add your toppings.Pick up your pizza peel with the topped pie on top of it, and gently slide the pie onto the stone or tiles, starting at the back of the oven and working your way toward its front. Bake for about four to eight minutes, until the edges are a beautiful golden brown, and the sauce and cheese are bubbling nicely. Slide the peel back under the baked pizza to remove it from the oven, and then slide the pizza onto a cutting board, where it can be cut into slices.If you are using a sheet pan, lightly oil the pan, then stretch the risen dough into the shape of the pan, then top and place in the oven until golden brown and bubbling.Cooking a pizza on top of the stove is a simple way to get started in the pizza-making game, and a single ball of dough will yield two pan pizzas. Simply heat a 10-inch cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat, then film it with olive oil. Take one half of a ball of risen pizza dough and press it out into a circle just smaller than the pan.When the oil shimmers, put the dough in the pan and adjust the heat so it browns evenly without burning. Prick the dough all over with the tines of a fork. Cook this round in the pan for a minute or so, then turn it over with the bottom is browned and cover with toppings. Either top the pan with a lid to melt the cheese or run it under a broiler to achieve the same result.Grilling pizza really means grilling one side of a flatbread over fire, then turning it over and topping it. And while you can certainly use our essential pizza dough recipe to do that, a sturdier dough recipe that is less prone to ripping will yield a better result.To cook a pizza on a grill requires some planning. You need to cook one side of the pizza before turning it over and topping it, and cooking the other side. So take time to assemble all the ingredients you'll need to make the pizzas beforehand.Prepare a hot fire; if your grill grate is clean, you shouldn't need to oil it. Slide the pizza dough from the peel onto the rack. After a few minutes, use tongs to lift the dough and check whether it's browning on the bottom. Watch closely so it doesn't burn. When it's nicely browned, use the tongs to flip the dough over, then brush it with olive oil and cover it with toppings. Place the lid on the grill for a few minutes more until the cheese is melted.