how to make pizza — Blog

After a few months of testing, here’s my recipe for how to get as close to a classic NY slice you can get using your ordinary home oven. The “hack” is really just a way to cut the pizza into a proper adult size slice out of a smaller pie - but hack aside I fully advocate for this recipe and can’t get enough of it.

This recipe is a roughly 17 hour room-temperature fermentation at 64% hydration with sourdough. It yields a flavorful, chewy, and sturdy crust - and when baked properly you’ll get zero flop if that’s what you’re searching for. The schedule for the dough below is built around starting fermentation in the evening and having everything ready by lunch the following day. You can adjust your timing as you see fit - or retard the fermentation by transferring to the refrigerator after dividing and shaping. If refrigerating, be sure to remove your dough at least an hour before baking to bring it up to room temperature before baking.

Baking this pizza requires a baking stone for your oven.

The Dough

Ingredients

450 g bread flour

50 g whole wheat flour

320 g water

95 g active sourdough starter

11 g salt

Yields 3x approximately 300 g balls dough.

Directions

In the afternoon, mix together the water and the flour and set to autolyse for one hour up to six hours. Because of the lower hydration, it will be a little shaggy which is okay.

At about 7 pm add the salt and active sourdough starter and start working into the dough with your hands or with a rubber spatula until more or less homogenous. Let rest for 45 minutes.

You’ll want to fold the dough at least two more times (with your hands) over the course of the next 1 - 2 hours to develop the gluten. By the end the dough should be very smooth and should not stick to your hands while folding. Cover and rest overnight at room temperature. I generally do my nighttime folds as I go about whatever else is happening in the house. The timing does not need to be precise, but you should try to get in a few cycles for optimal gluten formation.

In the morning (approximately 7am) divide the dough into 3 equal pieces and shape into balls, folding the dough into itself, and using the table/counter surface to create tension. Transfer to air tight containers and keep out at room temperature if baking off at lunch.

The Red Sauce

This red sauce is more or less exactly the way my Nonna used to make it.

Ingredients

Stewed whole San Marzano tomatoes (good ones make a difference)

Garlic

Yellow onion

Basil

Parmesan Rind

Salt

Pepper

Extra virgin olive oil

The key here is simplicity, and good ingredients (especially the tomatoes). Lightly puree the tomatoes in a processor or with a stick blender. Be careful not to aerate the tomatoes too much. For a chunkier sauce you can simply crush the tomatoes by hand. Set aside in a bowl. Peel and dice three to five cloves of garlic and set aside. Peel and chop the onion in half. By cooking the entire halves you will impart the flavor of the onion and the sauce won’t have chunks of onion in it.

Heat a generous pour of EVOO in your saucepan at medium to low heat. Add your garlic and onion halves and let simmer for a few minutes. Be careful not to burn anything. Add a piece of parmesan rind into the hot oil, and let it simmer for another minute. The oils from the cheese will add depth to the sauce. Add your tomatoes to the pan, and bring to a simmer. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add some chopped basil, stir, and set on medium/low. You want your sauce to simmer for about 30 minutes. Stir frequently to make sure it's not sticking to the bottom.

The Pizza

Ingredients

The red sauce

Good extra virgin olive oil

Parmesan cheese

Pecorino

Shredded low-moisture mozzarella

Directions

Set your oven to 500F.

Flour your work surface and set the first dough ball down. Begin to stretch and shape it carefully to remove all pockets of air in the center and only leaving a small rim around the entire pie. There are various techniques you can use from tossing in the air, to gently using both hands to stretch the edges of the dough (check out Youtube for that). Key here is getting as thin as you can without tearing the dough.

Spoon on a thin layer of red sauce but don’t go all the way to the edge.

Sprinkle on a layer of low-moisture mozzarella. Don’t go overboard here. You should still see the sauce beneath the cheese. Add some freshly grated parmesan and a drizzle of good olive oil.

Transfer to your peel (very carefully) and slide into the hot oven directly onto the pizza stone. Bake for 7-9 minutes depending on your preference of crispiness. I like mine on the more crispier side, but you can dial it back if you want a softer crust.

Remove from the oven and finish with freshly grated pecorino and more olive oil. Here you can add basil, dried oregano, or chili flakes - however you like to dress it up. This is a great base to make all sorts of other pies too. Enjoy while it’s hot!

The Hack

Instead of cutting the pie up into 6 or 8 standard slices, my move is to cut one giant slice out of the entire pie, and just cut up the edge pieces in whatever way works for you. Those are perfect for little ones. What’s left is a giant, beautiful, NY Style slice.