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 Lehmann.
Making pizza dough at home
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: the big secret is how you proof the dough
My all-time favorite dough is NY style dough, which really is classic pizza dough that is stretched out into a thin crust pizza. This type of pizza dough contains water, flour, salt, instant yeast, and olive oil (and sugar especially when baking in a home oven, to help browning).
After it is mixed, it is proofed (left to rise/ferment) in the refrigerator for a minimum of 24 hours and up to 72 hours (it can also be frozen). 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. You can easily double or half the recipe to make 2 or 8 pizzas.
Fourteen tips for success when making NY style pizza at home:
Tip 1: Choosing the flour
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: Adding the yeast
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: How much yeast?
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: Cold ferment that pizza dough!
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: Weigh those ingredients!
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: Add oil last
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: Flour your dough balls
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: Keeping those rims a bit puffy
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: Baking pizza in a home oven
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 or steel
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: Use just the right amount of sauce
Do not use too much pizza sauce – it will make your pizza soggy
Tip 12: Find the right kind of cheese
Do not use low fat cheese to top your pizza or pre-shredded 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 pre-shredded 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: Flour your pizza peel
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: Learn to launch that pizza
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.
How to stretch the pizza dough
A nice video (from The GoodFellas Pizza School of NY), showing how to stretch the dough:
Questions? Please see my NY Pizza FAQ
The Best New York Style Pizza Dough
Ingredients
- 6 cups (6 cups) flour, all purpose or bread 28 oz (796 grams)
- 2 1/4 cups (2 1/4 cups) water 17.4 oz (493 grams or mls) Luke cold
- 1 teaspoon (1 tsp) instant dry yeast (3.5 grams)
- 2.5 teaspoons (2.5 tsp) salt (15.6 grams)
- 2 teaspoons (2 tsp) sugar (7.8 grams)
- 1 tablespoon (1 tbs) olive oil (11.8 ml)
Instructions
To mix the dough
- Place water in mixing bowl.
- In a separate bowl, mix salt and yeast (and sugar if using) into flour
- Combine flour/salt/yeast mixture into water and mix until all the flour has been incorporated.
- After flour has been totally incorporated, add oil and knead for about 4 to 5 minutes (see note)
- Test final dough temperature, which should ideally be between high 70s to low 80s (optional)
Diving the dough and letting it rise
- 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
- 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)
- 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
- 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.
- 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.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Try these other pizzas and this NY pizza sauce:
Buffalo style (one of my absolute favorites)
White with prosciutto
White with spinach and feta
Pizza sauce
Nanci says
I have been making pizzas from scratch for years. My Pizza book states to put the stone on the bottom oven shelf. Today I tried your method of putting it up high in the oven….result, soggy crust. I must stress that I changed nothing other than the position of the stone. I will stick with the lowest position as the crust is always done.
Marie says
If your pizza stone is sufficiently preheated my method works very well because the heat in the steel or stone cooks the bottom of the pizza with no issues. My guess is that your stone or steel were not hot enough – you changed nothing about your typical pizza dough recipe except for the baking position yet you’re rating my recipe? I’m confused please clarify
Pete says
Understanding that different conditions apply, what temperature water do you use?
Michael says
So I’ve been on a quest that I didn’t even realize myself! Looking for a good pizza dough recipe online. I always wanted to make the pizza quickly and looked for a 1 hour dough recipe. I’ve tried countless recipes and I really wanted to try a dough that took longer to proof and see the difference.
After making this recipe yesterday. I’m sold on patiently waiting for good dough! This was by far the best recipe I’ve tried to date. I had some issues stretching the dough with my fists, because the dough stretched out easily and I guess I had to do it a little faster. Although, I was still able to make very good sized pizzas and they were phenomenal. I’m a bit of a food snob to, having worked in several commercial restaurants, which only one of them I was making pizzas in a 4 star hotel. It was a different type of pizza though, I guess more traditional italian. Anyways, I love NY styles pizzas and had to find a good one.
I’m glad I cam across your post and from what I’ve read, you’ve been going at it for years trying to get the perfect recipe and I got to say, thank you!!
Anyone looking for an above average NY Style pizza dough recipe. look no further!
Marie says
Awe, so glad you liked it! What I never knew, and many people don’t realize is that pizza and breads are fermented foods and you really get a whole different flavor profile with a slow rise…really yummy! If you keep having problems with dough stretching too easily decrease water by about 2 tablespoons and see if that helps. Enjoy!
Kelli Rose says
I’ve been making this dough all summer and it is perfect every time. I would love to make a large batch and freeze it. Can you give instructions on when to freeze? Before or after ferment in the fridge? How long to defrost etc.
Marie says
Yes, so many people have asked that over the years – I just added instructions to freeze in the notes section of the recipe. Hope that helps 🙂
Shannon Ramirez says
I am looking forward to making this recipe. I do have a question though. Is it best to pre bake the crust?
Marie says
Personally I don’t do this and it’s certainly not needed – but sometimes I’ll do this for pan pizza and freeze the base for later use
Shannon Ramirez says
I will be making a large amount of pizza and I had read to pre cook 5-6 minutes. I have never made pizza from scratch before so I am just trying to make the best pizza possibe.
Marie says
Hi Shannon, so it will depend on how thick you want your pizzas- for NY pizza, it is typically baked all at once with the toppings. How many pizzas are you making?
Rachit says
Hey. I loved the recipe. I am unable to understand the effect of certain concepts here. For an Neopolitano-Style pizza, we use just a little, like 0.002% of yeast and no oil in dough. So what is the role of oil in a dough? Also, in Neopolitano, we use stretch and fold 2-3 times in a 30 minutes interval after water is incorporated completely and let it proof until doubles, cut them into balls and proof again for a long time in refrigerator and we get that airy crust and thin from middle pizza. So does this type of crust is achieved due to stretch and fold? And is there a difference in proofing it before shaping in balls and after?
Marie says
the very low yeast amount is also used at time for NY pizza, it is used for slow fermentation to develop maximum flavor. The role of the oil in NY dough is to help give crispy crust, adds flavor, and tenderizes the crumb (a nice chew too). The airy crust in Neopolitan is also from that 00 flour, and I think it is more airy and light than NY pizza but NY pizza is supposed to be crispier. NY pizza can be proofed either way but to speed up production often proofed in ball stage. Oh and stretch and fold mostly used for high hydration doughs and to prevent oxidation of the dough and preserve flavor. I don’t think it’s an issue with NY style.
Gina Wagner says
I have a 14 inch cast iron pizza pan. What are your thoughts about using it? What tips do you have? Thank you! Gina W.
Marie says
Hi Gina, the biggest challenge would be the amount of time it takes to preheat the cast iron, so I’d probably “bake” it on the stove top first until you can lift an edge of the pizza with a spatula and see the bottom has browned sufficiently and then I’d transfer it to near the top of the oven and use the broiler function for 1 to 2 minutes to finish the top (check frequently because oven power varies). I might start out using 14 ounces of dough instead of 11 ounces and then go from there (adjust if you want it thicken/thinner). You could stretch 11 ounces in a 14 inch pan but you’re gonna get a pretty thin crust (ny style) that isn’t what I think of when I hear of cast iron pizza but fine if that’s really what you’re going after. Of course, less cooking/baking for thinner and more for thicker. Check it often so it doesn’t burn Hope that helps
Carolina Juana says
Hi! I’m from New York but now live in Argentina and here they don’t sell instant dry yeast, can I substitute the instant dry yeast for active dry yeast and still have it turn out good? If so how can I do it? Thanks so much!
Marie says
Yes, especially in the small amounts listed in the recipe you can absolutely use them interchangeably so feel free to substitute active dry yeast. I have many times