NY Style Pizza

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Having lived for several years in NY we’ve been so unbelievably blessed with eating great Pizza. Truly, this city produces some of the best (if not THE best) Pizzas in the world. The classic NY Style Pizza, or NY Slice as it is often called is a super simple Pizza. Brilliantly made light crust dough, a rich, sweet Tomato Sauce, and topped with Mozzarella Cheese that is blasted in an unbelievably hot oven to get everything beautiful, bubbly, and crispy. You can add a topping or two like Pepperoni if you like, but that’s it. The classic NY Slice is simple, beautiful, and ridiculously tasty

Why is NY Style Pizza so good?

Now, many devout New Yorkers will swear by the statement that you can only make NY Style Pizza in NY and made anywhere else it simply won’t be the same. It has nothing to do with the specific pizza makers background or any kind of secret techniques. No, the beauty of the NY Pizza lies within a key ingredient. Not Tomatoes, not Flour, not Cheese, but Water

The Water supply in NY is one of the purest and tastiest in the world. Quite a shock for many when you consider the state of many street blocks, and definitely the state of the subway! However, millions upon millions of water is pumped into NY City every day from upstate NY in the Catskill mountains. This region of the world is legitimately one of the prettiest places you’ll ever see. Pristine mountains, dense forests, and a climate that is ripe for producing simply amazing tasting water

That beautiful, clean, delicious Water is what gives the NY Pizza that light, crispy texture and a wonderful flavor. It’s legitimately the truth too, there is no water like it anywhere else in the world. It’s also why the NY bagels are so good. Look, I grew up in Australia where Bagels aren’t eaten a lot. They’re not great. When I first had a NY bagel I thought it was going to be ok, I wasn’t prepared for just how ridiculously tasty it was! Their water is truly something special up there!

The influence for this NY Pizza recipe is one of the most popular places in the city

There are literally thousands of pizza joints in NYC, all benefiting from the wonderful produce that part of the world affords them. One of our all-time favorites, and the base for the Pizza dough recipe we’ll be sharing today is the famous Roberta’s Pizza in Bushwick, Brooklyn. They’re a ‘too cool for school’ Pizzeria that have been slinging Pizzas with unique twists for over 20 years to hipsters, tourists, and everyone in between

Their Pizzas doughs are one of the best in the city, and their owners are so generous to have not kept their recipe a secret. So, seizing an opportunity to try it out for ourselves, we’ve whipped up a few batches of this amazing dough and it’s hands down the best homemade Pizza dough we’ve made!

While not necessary, it isn’t truly a NY Style Pizza without using San Marzano Tomatoes

The dough is the most important element of a Pizza, and where 90% of the care and effort goes into making the perfect slice. Regardless, all the ingredients that are going on top of that dough are super important. With such few ingredients that make up a NY Slice, they all need to be at their best. That’s where when it comes to making the Tomato Sauce, nothing beats canned San Marzano Tomatoes

The famous Tomatoes from Italy are the only Tomatoes that produce authentic Neapolitan Pizza. So, it goes without saying these Tomatoes translate pretty darn well to NY Style Pizza! They are super common to find, so you should not have any issues locating them at your grocery store

For our Tomato sauce, we like to give the Tomatoes about 10 minutes cooking time in a saucepan along with some Onions, Garlic, and Salt. This gives them a little bit more flavor and thickens the sauce a little bit. You can simply use the Tomatoes straight out of the can, however we just like a richer flavored sauce for our Pizza

Don’t overload the Pizza with Toppings

This is a big one, and just like Burritos, has taken me quite a while (many years in fact) to get right. The key to a great NY Style Pizza is to keep the toppings limited. You want to have enough whitespace on the Pizza where there are still bits here and there where it is just bread and sauce

A classic NY slice is a thin slice of Pizza, and we cook it at a very high temperature. To achieve the crunchiest slice, you can’t have too many toppings. Keep it light so the Pizza will cook quicker, and the base is perfectly crusty without the toppings being undercooked

If you don’t own an Ooni or an outdoor Pizza Oven (like most people) here’s a little trick

Look, Ooni’s are great and if you’ve got one we highly recommend making this dish every single day. Seriously, they are such a great way to make homemade Pizzas. However, they are pricy, and do require some outdoor space to use. So, for most, the good old oven is the best way to make Pizza

You need to get your oven as hot as it will go. Remember, traditional Pizzerias have their ovens set to insanely high temperatures, far exceeding 800 – 1000F in some cases. Traditional ovens only go to around 500F, which is enough to yield perfectly made Pizza at home

Crank the oven as high as it can go, and let it come up to temperature. To ensure the crust gets cooked through you will need to place the Pizza on a hot surface. You can buy dedicated pizza stones which do this job well. Otherwise, another tip is to use an oven proof pan such as a Cast Iron Skillet

Heat the Skillet / Pizza Stone along with the Oven and once ready, place the Pizza straight onto it to cook. The heat from the pan will cook the base of the Pizza quickly, ensuring the crust is super crispy by the time the toppings are done. It’s a great trick that guarantees perfectly crispy Pizza every time!

NY Style Pizza Recipe

Ingredients

• 150g 00 Flour
• 200g warm (not hot) Water
• 150g All Purpose Flour
• ¾ tsp. Dry Yeast
• 1 tsp. Olive Oil
• 1 tsp. Salt
  
  

For the pizza sauce and toppings

• 400g / 14 oz. Canned San Marzano Tomatoes
• ¼ Red Onion, thinly sliced
• ¼ Red Onion, finely diced
• 2 Garlic Cloves, finely diced
• 12 Pepperoni Slices
  
  

Instructions

1. Add the 00 Flour and All-Purpose Flour to a large mixing bowl (eg: your Stand Mixer bowl) and stir to combine. In a separate bowl, combine the Water, Dry Yeast, and Olive Oil. Mix to combine ingredients
2. Pour the Water mixture into the Flour, and then mix in the stand mixer for 1 ½ minutes on a medium speed until combined. Form into a ball and then leave to rest for 15 minutes
3. After 15 minutes, knead the dough with your hands for approximately 2 – 3 minutes and then cut the dough into 2 equal pieces. Shape into balls then place onto a large flat surface. Cover with a damp towel or cling film and allow to rest overnight in the refrigerator
4. When ready to bake the Pizzas, remove the dough from the refrigerator and allow to rest for 20 minutes before shaping the dough into large, thin Pizza rounds. Place the shaped dough onto parchment paper that has been scattered with a little 00 Flour. Knead the outsides of the dough further outward to shape a thinner, wider Pizza
   
   

Preparing and baking the NY Style Pizza

5. Sauté the sliced Onions in a saucepan over medium heat for 5 minutes until tender, then add the garlic and cook for a further 1 minute until fragrant. Add the Canned Tomatoes and simmer for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool
6. Place a large oven proof pan (such as a Cast Iron Skillet) into the center of the Oven and turn the temperature as high as it can go (anywhere above 450F is ideal). Leave in the oven for at least 10 minutes to fully heat the pan
7. Ladle a generous spoonful of the Tomato Sauce onto your Pizza base then spread it out with the back of a spoon. You want just enough to cover the entire base of the Pizza
8. Add your toppings, in this recipes case we’re using sliced Pepperoni, sliced Red Onions, and Mozzarella Cheese. Don’t overload the toppings, keep it light so the Pizza will cook evenly
9. Keeping the pizza on the parchment paper, carefully place it straight onto your cast iron pan in the oven. Allow it to cook for 3 minutes, then slide the parchment paper straight out
10. Cook for a further 5 minutes, or until the crust is beautiful and golden and the cheese is molten and bubbling
11. Once cooked, remove the Pizza from the oven and place on a flat surface. Season with a touch of Salt then slice and serve immediately
    
    

We hope you’ve enjoyed making this amazing NY Style Pizza using the dough recipe from the famous Roberta’s Pizza in Brooklyn, NY! For more amazing recipes using delicious bread, check out our dedicated section of the website here. A few of our favorites that we’d encourage you to try are as follows:

• Pepperoni Pizza Rolls
• Garlic Onion Bread
• Homemade Garlic Knots
• Easy Crepes Recipe
  
  

Happy Cooking!