Learn to make the Best NY style pizza dough!
So, you want to know how to make the Best NY style pizza dough recipe? This is my favorite recipe for pizza dough! I promise you, it won’t disappoint. It’s easy to make too! A quick mix and the refrigerator does all the hard work.
I’ve been making a lot of this NY style pizza dough recipe …. The obsession started a while back, and I’ve finally found a recipe that I love the best! After years of experiments (and I mean years!), I am now using this recipe based on recommendations from the many fine pizza makers at www.pizzamaking.com and the Dough Doctor, Tom Lehnmann.
Making pizza dough
Making NY style pizza dough is definitely somewhat of an art form. There are so many variables that can be changed aside from the ingredients alone. For example, these variables include:
- oven temperature
- temperature of the water used to make the dough
- proofing methods (room temp vs cold rise)
- order of adding the ingredients (yes, this makes a big difference!)
- mixing time
- use of autolyse
- use of poolish (I don’t do this or the one before, although I have in the past)
And then of course, the toppings which can be simple or as complex as you’d like. But don’t worry too much about all of this – my method is easy and straightforward. Plus, you will make better dough than 99% of the pizza chains out there. You will not want take out anymore!
My favorite pizza dough
My all-time favorite dough is NY style dough. This dough contains water, flour, salt, instant yeast, and olive oil (and sugar). After it is mixed, it is proofed in the refrigerator for a minimum of 24 hours and up to 72 hours (it can also be frozen). And, I’ve used the dough up to 5 or 6 days afterwards, so you can essentially prepare dough for the week.
This recipe produces a crisp yet foldable crust that is tender, light, and flavorful and will make enough for four 14-inch pizzas. And, you can easily double or half the recipe to make 2 or 8 pizzas.
Fourteen tips for success:
Tip 1
Use high-quality flour – I like to use King Arthur’s all purpose or bread flour; higher protein (ie, bread) flours work best. However, I prefer all-purpose flour because I like a lighter, airy crust.
Tip 2
Do not add instant dry yeast (IDY) directly to cold or cool water – you may shock the yeast (add the IDY to your flour instead) (please note that IDY differs from active dry yeast, which must be activated by adding it to water).
Tip 3
Use only enough yeast to “get the job done” – yeast eats the sugar in your flour to produce its leavening effects – I find that if you use too much, your dough will be tasteless (this is just my opinion); however, it is a fact, that too much yeast can make your dough taste bad. Most recipes out there, some of them in well known, published books contain too much yeast!
Tip 4
Always use your refrigerator. The best NY style doughs “ferment” or “cure” in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours and up to 48 72 hours. This is called a “cold rise” (vs warm rise on your kitchen counter).
The refrigerator is used to retard (or slow) the dough’s fermentation, allowing that distinctive flavor to come through (ever wonder why some pizza crust tastes different than others, despite the fact that they are both made from just about the same exact ingredients? – this is a big reason why!)
When your dough rises too quickly, the flavor will not develop optimally. Slow rise = MUCH better flavor.
Tip 5
Use a scale to weigh the flour instead of using a measuring cup – it is much more accurate and will yield superior results. I’ll admit, I resisted doing this for a loooong time. Just do it. You’ll be glad you did and your dough will be more consistent and much improved.
Tip 6
Mix the oil in as the last step, after the flour has all been incorporated. This is important to allow the flour to hydrate properly.
Tip 7
Before tossing or opening your dough balls, flour them *very* well on each side (if you are a beginner) to ensure they do not stick to your counter or pizza peel. I sometimes use a bit more flour after I begin spreading them.
Tip 8
Take care not to “degas” the rim of your pizza as you are spreading your dough! Do NOT ever use a rolling pin! There are many different methods to spread/open your dough ball. I hope to add a few pictures someday of this process.
Tip 9
Ensure that your oven is preheated for a sufficient amount of time (about 1 hour) and bake the pizza within 6 to 8 inches of the top of your oven (ie, your broiler) so that the tops browns sufficiently in conjunction with the bottom of the pizza.
Do not place the stone near the bottom of your oven. I made this mistake for too many years.
After your stone has been preheated sufficiently, the heat from the stone will cook the pizza from the bottom and you can switch the broiler on if you find you need more browning on the top (I now use the broiler to bake my pizzas…more on this sometime in the future).
If you find that your cheese is browning well before your rim attains sufficient color, use partially frozen cheese (ie, place shredded cheese in the freezer while the oven is heating up) and cold sauce or you can drizzle just a bit of olive oil on top of cheese.
Tip 10
Use a pizza stone if you have one. The stone with draw moisture out of the dough and produce a beautifully crisp crust. I use a pizza steel because my stones kept breaking.
Tip 11
Do not use too much pizza sauce – it will make your pizza soggy
Tip 12
Do not use low fat cheese to top your pizza or preshredded cheese (the former will not melt sufficiently and the latter contains additives that prevent the cheese from sticking together and therefore does not melt very well). The best is low-moisture, whole milk mozzarella.
If you must use preshredded cheese, I’ve found that adding the sauce on top of the cheese helps with the melting. Also, do not use too much cheese; apply it sparingly so that you can achieve that mottled NY pizza appearance.
Tip 13
Use semolina or flour on the bottom of your pizza peel to prevent the pizza dough from sticking but be careful not to overdo it because it will burn.
Tip 14
Give the pizza peel a few very small quick jerks to make sure the pizza will easily slide off your pizza peel before attempting to transfer pizza to the oven, and more importantly, rub flour into the peel before placing the dough on top.
A nice video showing how to stretch the dough:
The Best New York Style Pizza Dough
The best, authentic NY pizza dough! This recipe make four 14" pizzas or can be halved to make two 14-inch pizzas. You will never want take out again!
Ingredients
- 6 cups Flour, all purpose or bread (see note) 28 oz (796 grams)
- 2 1/4 cups Water 17.4 oz (493 grams or mls)
- 1 teaspoon Instant dry yeast (3.5 grams)
- 2.5 teaspoons Salt (15.6 grams) (15.6 grams)
- 2 teaspoons Sugar (7.8 grams) (optional but highly recommended)
- 1 tablespoon Olive oil (11.8 ml)
Instructions
To mix the dough
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Place water in mixing bowl.
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In a separate bowl, mix salt and yeast (and sugar if using) into flour
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Combine flour/salt/yeast mixture into water and mix until all the flour has been incorporated.
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After flour has been totally incorporated, add oil and knead for about 4 to 5 minutes (see note)
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Test final dough temperature, which should ideally be between high 70s to low 80s (optional)
Diving the dough and letting it rise
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Divide dough into 4 equal pieces (using a digital scale if possible; each ball should weigh 11.5 oz [~326 grams]), shape into a ball, and place in greased, sealed quart-sized container or oiled/greased freezer bag and refrigerate overnight or up to 72 hours (After much experimenting, I have concluded that I like 3 days best but day 2 is good too).
Assembling and baking the pizzas
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The following day, remove your dough balls within 1 hour or less of baking and allow the dough to come to room temperature. (the dough will tend to blister more if the dough has not been allowed to come to room temperature however, I often bake coldish dough without problems, just some bubbling)
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In the meantime, place your pizza stone in oven and preheat at 550 degrees (depending on thickness of your stone and your oven's power) for at least 1 hour
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Open each dough ball using care not to degas, transfer to a pre-floured pizza peel (or on parchment paper), and top with your favorite sauce, cheese, or other toppings.
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Transfer pizza from peel to oven or slide parchment paper onto preheated pizza pan/stone and bake for 4 to 6 minutes each until browned on top and cheese has melted but not burned.
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Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Weighing the flour is *highly* recommended. Using a cup to measure will typically yield inaccurate results, plus different flour brands have different weights If you want to use the dough the next day, knead a little more (slow speed for about 8 to 10 minutes) or if you have time to let the dough rest for 3 days, knead for 4 to 5 minutes, low speed or hand knead.
Baker's percents: 62% hydration, 0.4% yeast, 1.5% salt, 1.5% oil, and 1% sugar with a thickness factor of 0.08 using this calculator: http://www.pizzamaking.com/dough-calculator.html
Like Jeff I’m here in Kentucky where good NY Style Pizza is far and few between. I read a lot of different ways to make the dough and went with yours based on the flavor attributes that the Cold Risen dough would give me. I was impressed as I made my first pies tonight. 1 Traditional Pepperoni and one Double (type) Sausage. I could really enjoy the aroma of the dough during prep and the taste was there.
I actually used it after the 72 hours and it was awesome. I used Love This Kitchen’s Rectangular Ultimate pizza stone at 550 degrees in my GE Profile wall ovens. I found no need to use the broiler but my dual wall ovens have top heating elements not lower ones and my toppings and cheese cooked evenly with the crust.
Your tips and recipe saved me a lot of time and grief as my family devoured the pizzas. Even watching the video of stretching the dough helped me easily, confidentially and quickly toss, assemble and place in 2nd oven a pizza while the 1st was baking. (Big risk ’cause I have only one peel 🙂 )
On the topic of peel I went with a wood one that had a tapered edge from Amazon that was reasonable priced and I am glad. No issues turning the pie during cooking or removing it. Wood is hands down the best to assemble and place in oven without sticking and I see no need for metal one at this point. I did go with Corn Meal after reading many opinions as to go flour or corn meal and I think I made the right choice.
When I took the first slice of Pepperoni and could fold it I was ready to taste and the balance of the dough, sauce, cheese and pepperoni was like an authentic pie that I would get when back in NY. Thanks for your work and tips.
your pizza sounds awesome! I love the added flavor of the corn meal on the bottom – I’m going to use that next time too. thank you for the kind words -glad you all enjoyed it! And for you to master the launch from the peel on the first try? that’s great!
Marie,
One thing I left out of my original post was I was one of those “I don’t use a scale” kind of cooks. I actually break my Brother In Law’s chops when at his house about using a scale. I am so glad that I took your advice and used the scale. My Yield was spot on for my first single batch dough run with a normal batch. Did a double batch today and it was spot on thanks to the scale. Literally only Fifteen bucks at Wal-Mart digital with tare wt. setting. It made life easier.
I also was prepared before diving in by reading all of the tips, measuring everything out in advance. The tips really helped.
The Corn meal really helps the pie slide better than flour according to many NY Pizza Chefs recommendations and for finished appearance there are no white flour spots that I have seen even on commercial pizza shops slices. It really worked as described.
Oh Brian, I can totally relate! I refused to use a scale for years! My mother doesn’t measure a thing and her cooking is all by feel – this is how I grew up so the use of a scale seemed to foreign and fussy to me. Fast forward to now and I absolutely never make pizza dough without it. Mostly because it’s easier than measuring and the dough just comes out so much better. So I’m with ya! And yes, scales are not expensive (probably the cost of one large pizza).
When can you freeze after the initial refrigeration 24- 72 hr. I already made the dough I only waited 24 hours an? made my first pizza it came out excellent I must say I cut it in half but used the full amount of yeast.
I’ve done it after 1 day or after 3 days. It’s a bit better after 1 day to freeze it in my opinion but still very good after 3 days.
Marie,
I do have a question. My oven only goes up to 450 degrees. What, if anything, should I compensate for this? Just leave the pizza in longer?
Are you using a baking steel or baking stone? If so, you can use the broil feature to heat up your stone/steel (maybe try on 2nd shelf to start and then change based on results) and then launch your pizza- once the stone gets hot enough, you can lower the setting a bi to bake the top. If I were you, I’d probably begin by just using the max temp (in your case, 450 degrees) and then try different options. you will probably need more like 10 minutes or so to bake a pizza at a lower temperature. I’d try the broiler “trick” next, which I think would heat the oven past 450. If you happen to own an infared thermometer, that would help determine how much hotter the oven would get (aim at the stone when using 450 vs using broil feature).
Thank you so much. High quality tomato products may be a challenge. We will see what Kroger has to offer. I did not see the fresh oregano on the DiFara pizza, but that might not be bad to put in the uncooked sauce and apply it all come together in the oven.
I have two pizza stones that I will be using. The dough went in the refrigerator last night (Thursday) and I will be making pizza on Saturday night. I’ll let you know how it goes. Thanks. All the best.
This looks good. My family just got back from a trip to NYC for a week (work stuff and vacation). My daughter and I went to Di Fara’s in Brooklyn; which may have been a mistake. Now all other pizza seems meaningless. I am going to try to replicate as best I can. It’s just hard to find a good pie in KY. Your recipes give me some hope that it might be possible. All the best.
Ahhhhh! DiFara’s! I’ve heard so much about it! Here are some tips: use two kinds of mozzarella, the fresh kind (like the kind usually served in a Caprese salad) and the aged (the packaged, low moisture, whole milk kind). After baking pizza, top it with a bit of grated parmesan. Top with a bit of finely chopped fresh basil (I’ve read that he uses fresh oregano too). Also important to buy very high quality tomato product for the sauce (he probably adds high quality olive oil to the sauce. This is on my bucket list too! So many ideas for posts, so little time…
Really good quality dough. The recipe is almost identical to Tony Gemignani’s pizza crust video on YouTube and elsewhere.
No matter. My only tweak was to use Caputo 00 Chef’s Flour, which gives me great results even on my home oven at 550°F.
Thanks for the included tips and other useful notes.
Glad you liked it! I have Tony’s book (but haven’t checked out his YouTube channel), but haven’t gotten around to trying his pizza doughs, but will have to some day soon. The only other dough I do make is a simple Neopolitan dough where I use Caputo’s in my BlackStone oven at much higher temps – will try to make a NY pizza hybrid with it (with the oil and sugar) -sounds good! The Caputo flour is pretty amazing!! I’ve heard of many folks using half and half (All purpose and Caputo’s 00).
Thank you for getting back to me, Marie. I made a recipe in which Gemingnani’s name was listed as a co-author. It called for 7 cups of flour and 2 1/4 cups of water. That produced a rather dry dough that I almost fed to the garbage can. I decided to go with it anyway and after about 12 hours in the fridge the dough balls actually became more moist and pliable. The baked pizza was very good. Your recipe asks for about 5 1/2 cups of flour and the same amount of water. That’s a huge difference which produces a much wetter dough and a terrific open crumb which I like a lot. It’s worth the extra effort to deal with the wetter dough to get such a nice interior.
Thank you!!!
Can this recipe be doubled? I’m hosting a group of students and I’m going to try your dough. I have a Bosch that will easily handle a double recipe so it would save time. Also, have you ever used this dough on the grill? Thank you for posting, sounds like a great recipe!!!
Yep, it can be doubled – as for the grill, I haven’t recently. There are a few ways you can do that. you can form the pizza place on the grates for a minute or two, then flip, add topping and finish grilling. Heat can’t be too too high or it may burn too much. will depend on the power of your grill. Others have used a pizza stone propped up on two empty cans (like soup cans) or even bricks and use the grill like a pizza oven
I love this recipe but having trouble with transferring the pizza from the pizza peel to the stone, it keeps sticking. I’ve floured the peel and shake it to see how it will slide but once I put on the sauce and cheese it doesn’t slide off very well? Any tips?
you can use parchment paper on top of the pizza peel to transfer it to the oven. Sometimes, if you add too much sauce and/or cheese, it gets too heavy and it is hard to move. The other tip is to act quickly – the pizza will start to stick after a few minutes so try to launch the pizza right after you add the toppings.
Use cornmeal instead of flour on the peel. Quite slippery.