New York-Style Pizza

Pizza in New York City is as diverse as its residents, and it’s hard to argue any of the myriad styles found in the city are more iconic than the classic New York-style pizza. With its large and sturdy base topped with tomato sauce, plenty of shredded mozzarella, and often purchased by the slice, it hits the spot any time of the year. 

The history of pizza in NYC is rich and extensive: Founding cornerstones include Lombardi’s, found north of Little Italy, Totonno's in Coney Island, John's of Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village, and Patsy's in East Harlem. Traditionally, New York pizzerias cooked their pies in coal ovens. Eventually, gas ovens became dominant, which paved the way for the proliferation of the slice shops for which New York is famous today.

Traditional Italian styles of pizza (like Neapolitan pizza) often rely on the aggressive heat and flame found in a coal or wood-fired oven and are baked at 450 to 510 °C (850 to 950 °F). New York pizza-makers adapted these recipes to cook more consistent pizzas at lower temperatures, ranging from 260 to 340 °C (500 to 650 °F). Note: Our ovens are much smaller than a restaurant’s, so we’ll need slightly hotter temperatures. And while this style requires a bit longer to bake (about 5 minutes), it’s totally worth it. 

Our recipe is a nod to today’s classic New York cheese pizza, using bread flour enriched with olive oil and sugar, cold-proofed overnight, and baked low and slow. The crust is thicker than a Neapolitan but thinner than a pan pizza, with a crust that’s about 2 millimetres (.2 centimetres) thick and up to 20 inches (50 centimetres) wide. While we can't get that big in an Ooni, you can definitely achieve a 14 to 16-inch (36 to 40-centimetre) New York-style pizza. 

The sauce requires no cooking, is thick and rich, and only requires crushed tomatoes, fine sea salt, and dried oregano. Less moisture in the sauce helps retain a sturdy crust, and the simple yet robust flavour balances the generous serving of low-moisture mozzarella. 

Add to that some pepperoni (a classic New York topping), and you’ll have the delicious, crusty, slightly chewy and cheesy taste of the Big Apple from the comfort of your home. 


Difficulty

Servings

Four 380-gram dough balls or four 16-inch (36-centimetre) pizzas

Prep Time

16 to 52 hours

Cook Time

4 to 5 minutes

By Ooni HQ

A New York style pizza topped with cheese and tomato on a wooden pizza peel with two hands taking a slice each. Made using a New York-style Pizza Dough recipe.

Note

While you can use this dough recipe in any one of our Ooni ovens, the cooking instructions below are specific to gas-powered Oonis. Though not difficult to make, this pizza does require a cold-proof and will take some planning ahead: you can leave the dough in the fridge for 16 to 52 hours or until it has roughly doubled in size.

For the dough

1. If using a mixer: Add the water and yeast to the bowl of your stand mixer.

If using a mixer: Add the water and yeast to the bowl of your stand mixer. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, sugar and salt. Add the oil to the water and yeast mixture, then add the flour mixture to the water. Turn to the lowest speed and mix until the dough comes together, about 5 to 10 minutes. 

2. If mixing by hand: In a large bowl, stir ingredients with a wooden spoon (in the same order as above) until the dough starts to form.

If mixing by hand: In a large bowl, stir ingredients with a wooden spoon (in the same order as above) until the dough starts to form. Continue mixing by hand until the pizza dough comes together in a ball.

3. Dump the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead with both hands for about 10 minutes; it should be firm and stretchy.

4. Place the dough back in the stand mixer or mixing bowl.

Cover with a kitchen towel and let rest for 1 hour.

5. After 1 hour, lightly wet your hands and begin to gently lift the edge of the dough and fold it over the centre.

Do this on 4 sides, like folding an envelope, then cover and let rest for 1 hour. Repeat this process two more times.

6. After the third fold and rest, place your dough on a lightly floured countertop; use a dough scraper to divide and form four 380-gram dough balls.

(We recommend using a digital scale for maximum accuracy.)

One hand holding an Ooni Pizza Dough Scraper dividing dough balls on a lightly-floured surface with a bowl and Ooni Duel Platform Digital Scales.

7. Place the balls in a dough box or on a sheet tray covered with a towel and let them rest in the refrigerator overnight.

8. Take your dough balls out of the refrigerator 3 hours before cooking.

For the assembly

1. Preheat your gas-powered oven at maximum temperature for at least 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, turn the burner down to low and wait for roughly 5 minutes or until the stone reads 400 °C (750 °F) on an infrared thermometer. 

2. In the meantime, place one dough ball on your lightly-floured work surface and begin pushing the air from the centre out to the edge with your fingers.

Stretch the dough into a 16-inch (40-centimetre) base and lay it on your countertop or lightly-floured pizza peel.

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3. Top each pizza with ¼ of the pizza sauce, ¼ of the mozzarella and ¼ of the Parmesan.

 

4. Launch your pizza into the oven and immediately turn off the flame.

After 2 minutes, turn the flame back on to low and finish cooking the pizza, turning it regularly with a peel for an even cook, about 2 to 3 more minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly and it’s developed a deep golden brown crust. 

5. Slice, serve and enjoy.

Repeat the process with the remaining dough balls.

Ooni HQ

From wood-fired flavour to gas-powered consistency to electrified convenience, you can use Ooni's portable pizza ovens in the kitchen, backyard or beyond.

For the dough:

  • Flour, for dusting
  • 567 grams water
  • 2 grams active dry yeast, or 1.25 grams instant dry yeast
  • 872 grams bread flour 
  • 9 grams granulated sugar
  • 26 grams flaky sea salt

For the assembly:

  • 400 grams low-moisture mozzarella, shredded 
  • 32 grams Parmesan, grated

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