New York Style Pizza Recipe
THE best pizza for a home oven
Equipment
- Mixing Bowl
- Kitchen Scale for accurately measuring the ingredients
- Precision 0.01g Scale optional - for precise measurement of yeast amount
- Fermentation Container this can be a plastic or glass container, a fermentation box, or even a plastic sandwich bag
Ingredients
Note: These measurements are for one 12" (30cm) pizza. To scale the recipe or adjust for different sizes, use the calculator at the top of the page.
For the Dough:
- 170 grams Flour
- 100 grams Water
- ¾ tsp Salt fine/table salt
- ¼ tsp Yeast instant dry yeast
- ½ tsp Sugar
- ½ tsp Oil any kind
For the Sauce:
- 100 grams Canned crushed tomatoes 3.5 ounces (app. ½ cup)
- ½ tsp Dried oregano
- ⅕ tsp Salt to taste
- ½ tsp Garlic clove (minced) optional
For the Toppings:
- 160 grams Freshly shredded/cut mozzarella cheese (5.6 ounces)
- Parmesan/Pecorino cheese grated
Instructions
Making the Dough:
- Prepare Ingredients: Prepare all the ingredients according to the quantities listed in the calculator.
- Mix: Add the water, salt, sugar, and oil to the bowl and mix them together.
- Add Flour and Yeast: Add the flour and yeast to the mixture. Knead until you achieve a relatively smooth dough with a “creamy” texture. The kneading process should take no more than 5 minutes if done by hand and between 5-10 minutes if using a mixer.
- Divide Into Balls: Divide the dough into balls and place them in an oiled container. Close the container with a lid or cling wrap to prevent the dough from drying out.
- Cold Fermentation: If you cold ferment the dough, it’s important to transfer it to the fridge immediately after kneading and shaping it into balls.
- Fermentation: Allow the dough to ferment until it is ready to be baked, following the fermentation time specified in the calculator.
- Check Readiness: The dough is ready to be baked when it has doubled in volume and you can see many small to medium-sized air bubbles at the bottom of the container.
Making the Pizza:
- Remove Dough from Fridge (If Cold Fermented): If you have fermented the dough in the fridge, remove it and allow it to reach an internal temperature of at least 10°C/50°F. This should take about an hour or two, depending on the room temperature.
- Preheat Oven: Preheat the oven to its maximum heat setting, using both the top and bottom heat (standard baking setting). Place a baking surface such as a pizza stone, baking steel, or inverted baking sheet in the oven. Preheat for at least 30 minutes.
- Prepare Sauce: To prepare the sauce, mix canned crushed tomatoes with half a teaspoon of salt, half a teaspoon of oregano, and a small amount of olive oil. Combine all the ingredients until well mixed. If the tomatoes are not sweet enough, you can add some sugar to the sauce.
- Prepare Bench/Dusting Flour: Take a wide bowl and fill it with bench/dusting flour, which can be regular white flour or semolina.
- Flour the Dough: Remove the dough from its container and place it in the flour, ensuring it is evenly coated. Use your hand to flatten the dough.
- Shape Pizza Base: Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and begin shaping it into a pizza base by pressing from the center outwards with your fingertips. Leave a small outer crust, approximately one centimeter wide.
- Stretch Dough: Once the dough is large enough, pick it up and stretch it using your fists until you reach the desired size for your pizza.
- Transfer Base: Transfer the pizza base onto a floured pizza peel, pizza screen or a large enough tray lined with parchment paper. Alternatively, you can place parchment paper on top of the pizza peel to make it easier to slide the pizza into the oven.
- Dress Pizza: Spread the sauce onto the pizza base, making sure it reaches the edges. Add the cheese, extending it to the edges as well, and then add the rest of the toppings.
Baking:
- Transfer Pizza: Transfer the pizza to the oven and bake it for about 7 minutes, or until the cheese has melted into the sauce and the crust has browned to your desired level.
- Optional Broiler/Convection Mode: If you want to speed up the browning process, you can switch to broiler/convection mode for the last two minutes of baking. Remember that baking times may vary depending on your oven.
- Remove Parchment Paper (if used): If you used parchment paper or pizza screen, carefully remove it after approximately 2 minutes of baking.
- Cool Pizza: Once the pizza is ready, take it out of the oven and place it on a cooling rack or a raised surface that allows steam to escape from the bottom. Let the pizza cool for at least 2-3 minutes.
- Serve Pizza: Transfer the pizza to a serving dish, cut it into slices, and enjoy!