The Best New York Style Pizza Dough and 14 Tips for Success!!
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This NY style pizza dough recipe has been winning over home pizza makers for nearly 15 years, earning rave reviews from professional pizzaiolos and native New Yorkers alike. Many years ago, my own quest for the perfect crust lead me to this tried-and-true formula based on wisdom from the pizza masters at www.pizzamaking.com and the late great Dough Doctor, Tom Lehmann. With thousands of successful bakes and countless testimonials from both pros and Big Apple natives who say “this is the real deal,” this recipe continues to help home bakers achieve that authentic New York pizzeria experience in their own kitchens.
Important Variables
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!
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.
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.
Stretching the Pizza Dough
A nice video (from The GoodFellas Pizza School of NY), showing how to stretch the dough:
Freezing the 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!
More questions? Please see my NY Pizza FAQ
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The Recipe
📖 Recipe
The Best New York Style Pizza Dough
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
- 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.
- Use the Pizza Dough Calculator
- 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.
- 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).
- calculate your own using baker’s percentages: 62% hydration, 0.4% yeast, 2% salt, 1.5% oil, and 1% sugar or use my pizza dough calculator.
Hey I made this and the flavor and crust was great, but my pizza didn’t have that classic bend in the middle. It was super crispy, more like a frozen pizza than a fresh ny style one. Any idea why?
I use a pizza steel, but my oven only heats to 500° (and doesn’t hold heat that well. It’s old) so it took about 10 minutes for crust to start to brown. Am I just cooking it too long? I also couldn’t find a pizza peel that would fit a 14″ pizza, so I made 6, 10″ pizzas instead. Idk if that would effect if
Yes baking too long…how long did you preheat the oven and where did you position the baking steel?
I preheated the steel at 500 for an hour and it was on the second to top rack, which is about 6 inches from the top
The cups conversion to grams is confusing me. King Arthur says it’s 120 grams of bread flour to a cup which should add up to 720 g for 6 cups of flour but your recipe calls for 796 grams. Also is different for a tsp of yeast – 3.5 grams vs 4.2. Please advise what measurements to use. I normally make this with cups and not by weight it’s delicious but wanted to be more accurate since I just got a scale. Thanks!
Yes all flours are different so best practice is to go by grams or convert grams to cups using your flours nutrition label. I believe the software in the recipe card uses some kind of national average for flour conversion
Love this recipe. Can it be used by substituting Poolish. If so what would be the new amounts?
I have never used poolish but it sounds like it’d be interesting to try!
The recipe above is exactly the same one I use except I add half a cup of my sourdough starter (which is half flour half water) and it doesn’t negatively impact the water balance but definitely does add flavor with the long cold rise.
I’ll have to try that! Do you use discard or do you use activated starter?
How much active yeast should I use if substituting and how should I handle it before mixing it with other ingredients?
I substitute 1:1 because it’s interchangeable for the brand that I use. I would Google your brand for info
amazing recipe!! wow reminds me of new york!!
on another note, if i want to make a jumbo, lets say a 20 inch pizza how will the ingredients play??
I would suggest using the pizza dough calculator, which I think is only accessible on a desk top – see pizzamaking.com site
Hello,
Just wondering if using 1/2 AP and 1/2 Bread Flour does the amount of Liquid need to be changed (as I’ve been told BF needs a TBLS more liquid per cup). Have you found that to be true?? Thanks so much!
I think you can keep it the same. Yes, it’s true that the dough will be softer if it’s AP flour but for the amount of water used in this recipe, it works for either AP or BF
My husband is from Maryland, we live in Washington, and the closest NYC style pizza is over an hour drive away… this is our first attempt to make crust by hand and this recipe nailed it. So easy to follow, even (maybe especially) for a beginner. It tastes SO GOOD. Thank you so so much! I’m also a baking nerd and loved all the extra hints and tips. I read them multiple times before starting 🙂 super helpful!
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.
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
Understanding that different conditions apply, what temperature water do you use?
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!
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!
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.
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 🙂
I am looking forward to making this recipe. I do have a question though. Is it best to pre bake the crust?
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
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.
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?
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?
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.
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.
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
I lived in an Italian neighborhood for several years before moving South. Lawd, how I miss good NY style pizza!! Love this dough recipe too! After my second pizza stone cracked, I switched to cast iron, and never looked back.
I have a Lodge pizza pan, I absolutely love it, and have made many pizzas on it, with NY style dough and slightly thicker dough.
For NY pizza, heat the cast iron pan in the TOP third of the oven at 500° for 30 minutes.
There is no need to heat it on the stove top first. It bakes 10 minutes, max. If I think the top isn’t brown enough, I do switch the oven to high broil for a minute or so. For thicker dough, poke the dough all over with a fork, parbake it for 3 minutes.
Thanks for the tips!! I think I have that Lodge pizza pan, so I’ll definitely give this a try soon 🙂 Agree with not looking back after stones cracking! Steel or cast iron can’t be beat IMO.
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!
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
I, too, only have the Active Dry yeast on hand. So, just to clarify, we would just add the active dry yeast directly to the flour mixture without “activating” it first with water and sugar? BTW, I tried this crust some time ago and it truly is the best IMO. I figured I’d test various crusts to see which I’d prefer and it so happens this crust was my favorite. Shouldn’t have looked any further!
The brand I use (RedStar) doesn’t need activation so I think it’s best to refer to the manufacturer instruction.