The History of New York Style Pizza
New York-style pizza has a storied history, tracing its origins back to the early 20th century when Italian immigrants brought their culinary traditions to America. The style gained prominence thanks to Gennaro Lombardi, who opened the first U.S. pizzeria, Lombardi’s, in Manhattan’s Little Italy in 1905. Inspired by Neapolitan pizza, Lombardi crafted a unique variation using local ingredients and coal-fired ovens. This adaptation resulted in the now-iconic larger, thinner-crust pizza, sold conveniently by the slice—a nod to the fast-paced lifestyle of New Yorkers. Over the decades, New York-style pizza has become a beloved symbol of the city’s rich culinary diversity.
A hallmark of this pizza style is its hand-tossed, chewy crust, known for its slight crispness at the edges and its ability to fold without breaking. Unlike some variations, my recipe ensures there is no “flop” when a slice is lifted. By perfecting the dough’s hydration level, fermentation process, and baking temperature, my approach achieves the ideal balance of structure and flexibility. This results in a crust sturdy enough to support generous toppings while maintaining the classic foldability and texture that define authentic New York-style pizza.
The Toppings: Fuhgeddaboudit!
The standard topping for a true New York-style pizza is a simple combination of tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese. This classic cheese pizza highlights the essential qualities of the style: a thin, hand-tossed crust that is crisp at the edges yet pliable enough to fold, a light layer of tangy, slightly sweet tomato sauce, and a topping of shredded low-moisture mozzarella cheese that melts to a golden, bubbly perfection. These elements come together to create a balanced and flavorful slice that epitomizes the essence of New York pizza.
In my opinion, the “true” test of a quality New York-style pizza lies in enjoying it with only cheese, without the distraction of other toppings. A plain cheese slice allows the fundamentals—the crust, sauce, and cheese—to shine on their own. It reveals the craftsmanship of the dough, the seasoning of the sauce, and the quality of the cheese, making it the ultimate benchmark for evaluating a pizzeria’s dedication to the art of pizza-making.
New York’s Top Pizzerias
These are the top 5 on my list that make some of the best NY style pizzas you will ever eat in our opinion but trust me, there are many other options which could easily make the case for being the best too!
Di Fara Pizza – 1424 Avenue J, Brooklyn N.Y.
Joe’s Pizza – 150 E 14th street, New York, N.Y.
John’s of Bleeker Street – 278 Bleeker Street, New York, N.Y.
Patsy’s Pizzeria– 1279 1st Avenue, New York, N.Y.
Scarr’s Pizza – 35 Orchard Street New York, N.Y.
Recipe for my NY Style Pizza Dough
Our New York Style Pizza Dough
Equipment
- KitchenAid Countertop Mixer or equivalent (Mixing can also be performed by hand)
- Dough Hook Attachment
- Digital scale
- Baking Steel (baking stone can be used but the results will vary)
- Bakers cooling rack
- 1 Immersion blender or food processor (ninja style blender works too)
Ingredients
For the dough - Makes (4) - 16" pizzas
- 1000 grams High protein, high gluten bread flour (Commercially available, my go-to is General Mills All Trumps bread flour. King Arthur bread flour, which is available in grocery stores is a good consumer option)
- 25 grams Diastatic malt (this promotes browning when using a home oven and enhances the doughs flavor)
- 651 grams Spring water (room tempertaure)
- 3 grams Instant dry yeast
- 28 grams Fine sea salt
The cheese
- 12 cups Low moisture, whole milk mozzarella cheese
The NY style sauce recipe
- 28 ounces Crushed tomatoes (7-11 ground tomatoes found commercially, Mutti or Redpack found in grocery stores)
- 2 tbsp Oregano
- 14 leaves Fresh basil (small leaves or reduce quantities slightly for larger leaves)
- 1/4 tsp minced garlic
- 12 grams Granulated sugar
- 2 grams Fine sea salt
Instructions
NY Style tomato sauce recipe
- Add 2 tablespoons of oregano, 14 small basil leaves, 1/4 teaspoon of minced garlic, 12 grams of sugar and 2 grams of sea salt to 28 oz of ground or crushed tomatoes.
- Use immersion blender or food processor or Ninja style blender to combine all ingredients. You don't want to completely break down the tomatoes. You should blend to where there are small pieces of tomatoes still available but that is just my preference.
- Store in an airtight or wrapped container in the refrigerator until you are ready to make your pizza
Making the dough
- In a large bowl, combine your flour and diastatic malt with a whisk or spoon. If you are not using the malt, you can skip to the next step
- In your mixers bowl, add your water and salt and mix together, allowing the salt to melt into your water. Once dissolved, go ahead and add the yeast, and mix on low for about a minute.
- With the mixer still on low to medium speed, slowly start adding your flour mixture and mix for approximately 2 minutes, allowing the dough to quickly come together well but it's important not to over mix.
- Lightly coat a large mixing bowl with EVOO. Remove your dough from the mixing bowl using a wet or oiled hand, being careful to keep the dough intact and place it in the oil coated bowl and cover with a lid or with plastic wrap and place in a warm, cozy spot in your house for 1 hour. On top of your refrigerator is always a good place or inside your oven, with the oven light on.
- After allowing your dough to rest for 1 hour, remove the dough and place it on a lightly floured countertop. It is now time to ball your dough. You can simply cut your large dough ball into 4 equal parts or weigh your dough to 400 grams each which will get you a 16" pizza. I recommend weighing but that is just me being a perfectionist.
- Once you have balled your dough, placed the dough balls in a lightly oiled container using EVOO and seal them tightly. You can use anything that will allow the container to be sealed and allow for the doughball to roughly double in size.
- Place your dough balls in the refrigerator for a minimum of 24 hours before use. I would recommend 72 hours ideally. When you are ready to make pizza, remove the dough from the refrigerator and allow them to proof at room temp for at least 1.5 hours. Preheat your oven and baking steel or stone at max temperature for at least 1 hour, preferably 2.
- Stretch your dough, build your pizza, bake and enjoy!