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The Best New York Style Pizza Dough and 14 Tips for Success!!

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 late great Dough Doctor, Tom Lehmann.

best New York Style pizza dough recipe

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!

best new york pizza dough recipe cheese

My Favorite Pizza Dough: The Big Secret (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) – this is the big secret.  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.

slices of ny style pizza

Fourteen Tips for Success

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.

Essential Equipment

Please note that as an Amazon affiliate, we earn a small commission if you purchase a product at no additional cost to you.


I adore my baking steel; it’s transformed my home pizzas into restaurant-quality and better. You will love this! A kitchen scale streamlines measurement with remarkable accuracy, while a pizza peel is essential for smoothly sliding pizzas into the oven. And proofing boxes provide an optimal storage for pizza dough fermentation, enhancing flavor, texture, and elasticity.

Baking steel

$99.99
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Kitchen scale

$55.49
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Pizza peel

$28.98
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Proofing

$45.99 ($23.00 / Count)
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Please visit our SHOP page for more recommended tools and equipment to make restaurant-style NY-style pizza at home!

How to Stretch the Pizza Dough

A nice video (from The GoodFellas Pizza School of NY), showing how to stretch the dough:

YouTube video

How to Freeze Homemade Pizza Dough

  • After mixing dough and dividing into balls, place dough in refrigerator for at least 24 hours.
  • Place dough balls on baking sheet lined with plastic wrap or parchment paper, cover loosely with plastic wrap and freeze until firm (~ 2 to 3 hours or up to overnight).
  • Wrap frozen dough balls individually in plastic and store in zipper-lock bags for up to 4 weeks.
  • When ready to bake, transfer unwrapped dough into the refrigerator for 12 to 24 hours before making pizza.
  • Bring dough to room temperature for 20 to 60 minutes before baking (less time for hot kitchen/summer and more time for cool kitchen)

Pizza Dough Calculator

Need more dough? Less dough? Try out our new Pizza Dough Calculator to calculate the weights to get it just right!

Have More Questions?

Please See My NY Pizza FAQ

If you tried this recipe, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below! SUBSCRIBE for more recipes.

📖 Recipe

photo of a NY style pizza with slice missing

The Best New York Style Pizza Dough

The best, authentic NY pizza dough recipe for making pizza dough at home. This is the best thin crust pizza ever! You will never want take out again!
4.90 from 660 votes
Author: Marie
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 6 minutes
Resting time 1 day
Total Time 1 day 21 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine American, Italian
Servings 32 slices
Calories 91 kcal

Equipment

  • pizza stone or pizza steel for baking
  • Standing mixer optional or hand knead
  • kitchen scale highly recommended instead of volume measures

Ingredients
 

Original Recipe for Four 14-Inch Pizzas; want to make more or less? Use the pizza dough calculator

  • 6.5 cups (796 g) all purpose flour or bread flour (weighing is most accurate!)
  • 2 1/4 cups (493 g) water barely cold water (17.4 oz per 2 1/4 cups)
  • 1 teaspoon (3.5 g) instant dry yeast
  • 2.5 teaspoons (15.6 g) salt
  • 2 teaspoons (7.8 g) sugar
  • 1 tablespoon (11.8 g) olive oil

1 Pound of Dough (~454 grams) (use the pizza dough calculator to make more or less dough)

  • 2 1/4 cups (274.5 g) all purpose flour or bread flour
  • 3/4 cup (170.2 g) water
  • 1/2 teaspoon instant dry yeast
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil

Instructions
 

Mixing 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)

Dividing and Rising

  • 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).

Assembly and Baking

  • 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

Weighing Ingredients 
  • Use of weight based measurements is highly recommended instead of US Customary. You will need a kitchen scale. 
  • METRIC amounts DO NOT correspond exactly to the US Customary amounts because, for example, 796 grams equals 6.4 cups (and most can’t measure 0.4 cups or 0.22 cups). Recipe was based on grams.  
TO MAKE MORE OR LESS DOUGH
KNEADING
  • If you want to use the dough the next day, knead a little more (slow speed for about 8 to 10 minutes)
  • If you have time to let the dough rest for 3 days, knead for 4 to 5 minutes, low speed or hand knead.
TO FREEZE THE DOUGH:
  • After mixing dough and dividing into balls, place dough in refrigerator for at least 24 hours.
  • Then, place on baking sheet lined with plastic wrap or parchment paper, cover loosely with plastic wrap and freeze until firm (~ 2 to 3 hours or up to overnight).
  • Wrap frozen dough balls individually in plastic and store in zipper-lock bags to store for up to 4 weeks (longer may work, but results might vary).
  • Before using, transfer unwrapped dough into the refrigerator for 12 to 24 hours before making pizza.
  • Bring dough to room temperature for 20 to 60 minutes before baking (less time for hot kitchen/summer and more time for cool kitchen). 
BAKER’S PERCENTAGES:
  • calculate your own using baker’s percentages: 62% hydration, 0.4% yeast, 2% salt, 1.5% oil, and 1% sugar or use my new pizza dough calculator. 
Have more questions? See our pizza dough FAQ
Nutrition is estimated for one slice of pizza without any toppings. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1SliceCalories: 91kcalCarbohydrates: 18gProtein: 3gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0.1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.1gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.4gSodium: 183mgPotassium: 29mgFiber: 1gSugar: 0.3gVitamin A: 0.5IUVitamin C: 0.001mgCalcium: 4mgIron: 1mg
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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 

1,823 Comments

  1. 1 star
    I was looking for a restaurant style NY style pizza dough and found this recipe to be more thin and crispy
    with hard crusty ends. I followed directions and prepared dough in kitchen aid mixer. I let dough sit in fridge
    24 hours and removed to room temperature 2 hours before baking in oven at 550 degrees. This is temperature
    I have always used with my pizza oven using store bought dough with great success. by the way I used 18 oz
    dough ball for 16″ pizza which is standard. Unless something went wrong?

    1. Hi Chris – Authentic NY pizza is definitely thinner than most people are used to. Using 18 ounces for a 16 inch pizza, you’re going to get a pretty authentic thickness ratio (in thinness in this case!). Try using 20 ounces of dough for 16 inch pizza next time. If you prefer a lighter airier pizza, try proofing the dough for an hour or 2 (depending on ambient kitchen temp, warm or cool) after you are finished kneading it. Afterwards, divide the dough into balls, oil your containers and place dough balls covered airtight.

      But to your initial point, NY pizza is not really an airy light pizza but you can most definitely use this recipe to make it lighter. Other thing is which is key – use all purpose instead of bread flour if you want a lighter crust. I think you will much prefer the dough with those modifications (ie, all purpose flour and adding a bulk rise). The oven temp is hard to comment on as everyone’s oven runs differently but if you have had luck with that temp and you’re finding the pizza bakes well in a relatively short period of time, I’m guessing it’s not a problem? With oven temp, if you bake too long, the pizza crust dries out and becomes too hard. The goal is to get a crisp yet foldable crust. Good luck and happy baking!

  2. 5 stars
    About your blog Marie–Ya you nailed this recipe. Ive only been to NY and Chicago once but that’s all it takes to get hooked on the pizza. Making pizza and sauces has been either a hobby or obsession of mine (haven’t figured out which yet) for quite awhile. There was a question about using a bread machine earlier. I tried it and it works fine. I just had to add small amounts of water during the initial mixing to get the correct consistency. Thanks again

  3. 4 stars
    I just made this, plan on trying it tomorrow. I just realized it shows no “rise” time? Did I miss it?
    Thanks! Can’t wait to try…..

    1. Hi Tom..yes that’s correct it works fine that way. However if you like a light crust u can do a bulk rise for 1 to 2 hours depending on temperature and then divide and place in oiled containers then to fridge for 1 to 3 days…enjoy

  4. 5 stars
    Dear Marie, Thank.you for posting your recipe for NY Pizza Dough. Have tried many different pizza doughs over the years and I like yours the best! Have the four dough balls in the frig and will be ready tomorrow, the three day mark. Born and raised in Central NJ I have missed the east coast pizza since moving to Pueblo, Colorado 20 years ago! Also find your help hints, pictures and especially the video most helpful. Again, Thank You!!!

  5. I live in high altitude and am just trying this dough out. It’s in the fridge now, but it feels REALLY sticky. Should it be? Do I need to add flour to adjust for altitude?

    1. Hi Rhett – My first question was about accuracy of measurements but I see that you did use a digital scale.

      The dough should not be very sticky. I don’t know much about high altitude baking since I’ve never been in that situation but everything that I read is saying that you would need to use less flour not more so I don’t think it’s an altitude issue. http://www.wikihow.com/Adjust-Bread-Recipes-for-High-Altitude

      Also I’ve read anything below 5000 feet sea level does not need adjusting.

      What kind/brand of flour did you use? Was it raining or humid when you mixed the dough? This can happen.

      It couldn’t hurt to quickly check the accuracy of scale: http://food52.com/blog/11337-how-to-check-the-accuracy-of-your-kitchen-scale

      You can still use the dough. When you divide the dough or get ready to use it, flour it very well on both sides before forming the pizza and if using a pizza peel make sure you flour that really really well also.

  6. Hi there.
    Moved from NY 1999 and pizza is maybe the most missed food there. Last weekend I made this pizza with my daughter. Used pizzasauce, that my mother in law taught me years ago. Unfortunately my NY borned husband passed away few years ago and was not here with us to taste this pizza. It was as good as I rememered. Brought tears to my eyes. Me and my daughter ate two pies together and had one of the best moments and remembered much missed and loved father and husband while eating our pies. Thank you for sharing this recipe. Oh and by the way, made another batch today :). We’ll have pizza-sunday coming up.

      1. Hi Nina – it’s so nice to hear that the pizza brought back fond memories. I feel the same way about certain foods. Definitely one of the greatest pleasures in life:) Enjoy!

  7. I tested this dough against the dough I was already using and my guests prefer this one 3 to one. What I am hoping to do is increase the recipe amount. I would like you assistance in bulking the recipe up to starting with 25lbs. of flour without increasing the yeast amount to the point where it overproofs. I have had that happen before with other dough recipes. Can you help? Thanx.

    1. Hi Thom – sure, glad to help.

      Refer to the following dough calculator: http://www.pizzamaking.com/dough-calculator.html

      Input the number of pizza dough balls you’d like to make as well as the size (12 inch, 14 inch etc)

      Then, enter the following values: Thickness Factor, 0.08; Water 62%, Yeast, 0.4%, Salt 1.5%, Oil 1.5%, Sugar 1% (you’ll also have to choose whether you are using instant yeast (IDY) or active dry yeast (ADY) or fresh yeast and the kind of salt you will use.

      The tool will then tell you how much flour, water, etc you will need in order to make the number of balls you’d like in the size you’d like.

      Enjoy!

  8. 5 stars
    I just got a new Pizza Que for Christmas and have been searching far and wide for the perfect dough recipe and came across this one. For New Years eve party (yes I had to take time away from the party to leave this review) I made the dough 2 days in advance (exactly as you described) tried it out tonight and it was a HUGE hit. Thanks so much! I had a couple people ask me for my recipe and my pride was to tell them it was an old family secret, but I shared this site with them. Looking forward to experimenting with some of the other flours will let you know what I find.

  9. As reluctant as I was to weight the ingredients I have to say that it is the way to go. Thank you for taking all the guess work out of it. I have made this recipe multiple times with great outcome every single time. I must confess that they taste better without using a rolling pin but I have to use it since my shoulder gets burned out. Thank you!

  10. Great tasting pizza, closest to a real NY pizza I could find. One problem I am having is the crust is too crunchy, you cannot fold the crust without breaking it. Cooking on a pizza stone, 8-10 from the top of the oven at 550 and in 4 minutes it’s done! How can I stop it from getting too crunchy on the bottom? Top is coming out just fine.

    1. Perhaps you are kneading the dough too long or are using a flour with too high a protein level? Try using a good all purpose (I love King Arthur brand) or kneading less. Hopefully that will help. Sometimes the bread flour doesn’t give the desired results…

  11. Recipe looks great. I’m going to start the process tonight and give it a try. A couple of my tips for your perusal are below:

    You mentioned that you use a baking steel instead of a stone because of breakage. I cured that some years ago by going to a pottery supply store and purchasing a kiln shelf. They’re about 3/4 inches thick and can withstand a couple of thousand degrees. No problem with cracking, lots of surface area, and they hold heat well.

    I took my oven rack to the supply store and laid several standard size shelves on it. I found one with the correct width, but it was too long. The proprietor said I could order one from the factory with the length that I wanted, so that’s what I did. Forty-five dollars and a week or so later, I had a baking stone that filled my oven rack (with an inch clearance all around for heat circulation). Alternatively, if you have to buy a shelf that’s too long, you can take it to a tile shop and have it sawn to size for a couple of bucks.

    Like you, I’ve frequently used flour and/or cornmeal on a peel, but I’ve discovered that rice flour works great, too. It’s sort of like little ball bearings, doesn’t absorb water well, and doesn’t seem to burn as much.

    1. I love the idea of rice flour! I’m going to try that…I keep it on hand to flour my bannetons when making my Tartine bread.

      Regarding the kiln shelf – I did use one. I really don’t understand or remember why but mine did crack 🙁 Crazy, I know. In no way am I pushing Baking Steel,but I was reading an article from Serious Eats that said the steel higher conductivity results in a better pizza. Food for thought?

  12. I love everything about this recipe, not only has it given me amazing dough but also taught me how to properly shape the pizza dough (I was using a rolling pin before, very embarrassing) Ive found that leaving the dough in the fridge for a few days really makes it the best dough it can be however, from making this recipe a few times Ive found that its really best when you take the dough out of the fridge at least 4 hours before making it. I suppose it depends on the temperature of your house but it really amazed me how long it takes for the dough to come to room temp.

    1. Hi Rachel – glad you like it! Yes, the rise time definitely depends on kitchen temp as if it’s too hot, the dough could blow out. I’ve never let mine sit that long. Might be fun to experiment a little

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