On Pizza

New York style pizza is a fundamentally simple food, but it can be challenging to recreate. There are two key reasons for this; recipes, along with their key ingredients, are often gatekept, and your home oven doesn’t get hot enough. This guide will allow you to overcome each of these challenges in turn.

Before you is not a recipe, but rather, a methodology. A philosophy. I’ll show you what it takes to create that nostalgic, pizzeria dough; along with the oven conditions that yield perfect crispy crust, and ideal browning. I’ll tell you what tools you need, and which ingredients you might not know about that will soon become essential in your pantry.

01 The Tools

Whenever I send someone a picture of a pizza I’ve made, I usually get the same question. “Did you buy a pizza oven?” If you’ve ever tried to make pizza at home, you know why this is. A conventional home oven usually tops out somewhere between 450 and 550 degrees fahrenheit. The ovens used in pizzerias can reach a blistering 900. This is by far the biggest gap we need to overcome. I should say, you could just buy a pizza oven. Outdoor, indoor, gas, wood-burning, and electric pizza ovens are all the rage these days. If you love pizza, and you’ve got the space and disposable income, I say go for it. But I live in a one bedroom high rise apartment, and I can’t dedicate a third of my counterspace or half my balcony to an appliance used to make one thing. We’re going a cheaper, easier, and simpler route.

A pizza steel is an essential tool for dramatically increasing the heat we can inflict upon our pizza. It’s basically a thick baking sheet that’s going to soak up an hour’s worth of heat at ~500 degrees, then transfer that to our crust when we bake our pie. I’ve heard of people using a pizza stone rather than a pizza steel. I’d advise against this. Pizza stones retain and transfer less heat than a steel, and they are prone to cracking. Some aspects of my methodology are a touch frivolous and not strictly necessary. The pizza steel is not one of them.

A cheese grater is a cheap tool you probably already have in your kitchen. If not, it’s necessary for this endeavor. “They sell pre-shredded cheese, why can’t I just use that?” a great question that you’re asking at the perfect time, as I’m just about to tell you. Two reasons. For one, grating the cheese yourself gives you far more options. No longer are you beholden to the three or four brands of shredded cheese found in your dairy aisle. Now, you’re someone who buys cheese by the block. Congratulations, and welcome to the rabbit hole. The other, arguably more important reason, is that shredded cheese contains more than just cheese. You’ll notice this when you start grating it yourself. A bag of pre-shredded cheese contains preservatives to keep it from drying out, and anti-clumping agents to, well, prevent it from clumping. They also prevent it from melting as well.

A pizza peel is the big wooden paddle used to slide the pie into the oven. You’ve probably not needed one in the past for making home pizzas if you weren’t using a pizza steel. But there is no other safe way to transfer the pizza onto the steel. They make wooden and metal peels. Metal peels are a bit easier for removing your pizza from the oven, but I highly, highly recommend a wooden peel for placing your pizza into the oven, as I’ve found them less likely to stick to the pizza. I cannot stress enough what a headache it is when your pizza gets stuck to your peel. I hope to shield you from that fate.

A kitchen scale is necessary, as I will not be using volumes when it comes to making the dough. I will only offer weights. I don’t do this to gatekeep, I do this because it isn’t my intention to steer you wrong. I’d like you to have a great pizza on your first try. Measuring by weight offers far better precision and consistency.

A cooling rack is another tool you’re likely to have. If not, it’s worth it to keep your undercarriage crisp. No one wants a soggy undercarriage.

A pizza cutter unless you want to fold it up and eat it like a taco. No judgement.

02 The Ingredients

Now that you have the tools, it’s time to discuss the ingredients. This is the portion where I leave the most up to the reader, but that won’t stop me from making my own suggestions. You need not know a single thing about cooking to understand the importance of good ingredients. This guide is intended for home cooks of any experience level, but I do hope that it goes without saying — this is what your food will be made out of, so what we use is crucial to the final product. We’ll discuss these from top to bottom.

Pepperoni is the only topping I’m going to call out. I do this because it’s important. If you want pineapple on your pizza, put pineapple on it. If you like peppers, then pep it up. I trust you to solve these problems on your own. But pepperoni should be purchased as a whole log, and sliced in your own kitchen. Do not purchase pepperoni in a package pre-sliced. Pepperoni is just higher quality when you buy it as a log. I didn’t decide that, food supply chains did. It also has a key feature that helps pepperonis to form that classic cup shape, a true casing around the sausage. The casing shrinks, which forms the shape you’re familiar with as it bakes. It tastes better, it looks better, offers better texture, doesn’t take long to slice, and if we’re honest, it feels a bit fancier. You’ll be glad you did this.

Cheese is one of the best inventions. I think it goes: calculus, writing, the wheel, the combustion engine, and then cheese. If you disagree, write your own pizza bible. I live in Wisconsin, so I’m fortunate to live within walking distance of not one, but five cheese shops. We’ll need three cheeses to start.

Mozzarella — I’ll speak plainly here. Buy Grande brand whole milk mozzarella. Whole milk mozzarella is 100% necessary for the best final product. Every pizza shop uses whole milk mozz, and most of them use Grande. It can be hard to find since nearly all of their business involves direct sale to restaurants, but Wisconsin Cheese Mart ships nationally.

Pecorino — there’s no “secret ingredient” to great pizza, but if I had to pick one, pecorino might be it. It’s the scarcely used, saltier and tangier cousin of parmesan. I like to use a pinch just after adding the sauce, and it makes a world of difference. It’s also the only cheese I use that I don’t think makes a difference whether it’s freshly grated or pre-grated. It just matters that we get it on there.

Parmesan — buy a wedge, it’ll last you ages. It’s hard as far as hard cheeses go, and keeping it wrapped in plastic wrap is ideal for opening up, and grating directly onto your finished pizza. Some people don’t like parmesan, and that’s fine I guess.

Sauce is more important to make yourself than I originally anticipated. I’m no elitist, so if someone can manage to make a better sauce, jar it, and sell it at Pick n’ Save, I’ll happily change my tune. But for now, this is something I highly recommend taking on yourself, and it’s probably easier than you think. I’ll make a suggestion for volumes of each ingredient, but I can’t emphasize enough that this is a vibes-based exercise. Depending on which tomatoes you buy, along with your own personal taste, you’re likely to find a different endpoint here than I do. I don’t measure a thing when I make this myself.

Tomatoes — when it comes to making pizza sauce, canned tomatoes are actually better than fresh. Thank god, right? Which tomato you pick does matter. You can absolutely make a delicious pizza with a generic can of 89 cent crushed tomatoes. I recommend taking it a step further. Cento makes a great can of crushed tomatoes, Bianco DiNapoli does it even better. The former is a bit cheaper, and far easier to find at your local grocer.

Herbs — elect to use dry herbs, as they incorporate better into your sauce. Basil, oregano, and crushed red pepper is all you need here.

Garlic powder — used to add garlic flavor. Who doesn’t like garlic?

Salt & Sugar — core enhancers of flavor, and cheat codes for the receptors in your mouth. I use both in basically everything I cook.

03 The Dough

Dough is critically important to pizza. To say that is like saying wheels are important to a car. It is quite literally the foundation of the food. I think dough is called the most important part only because it’s the easiest to mess up. This is only true because the cheese and sauce are so simple. This recipe is very forgiving.

I was surprised to learn how many people think flour is flour is flour — that they are all basically the same thing. And to their credit, they are almost right. Chemically, all flours you find in the grocery store are nearly identical. But the slight variation in protein and gluten content, along with the quality of the grain and milling process, all result in wildly different experiences in both the cooking process and taste of the final product. I highly recommend King Arthur Bread Flour. It is one of the best tasting, one of the easiest to work with, while being one of the more affordable and widely available premium flours.

Semolina flour — you can use cornmeal or regular flour for this, but I prefer semolina. You’ll spread it onto your peel to prevent the dough from sticking.

Olive oil — of course we need a fat. There are few things that pizza makers in Rome, New York, Detroit, and Chicago all agree on, but this is one. Olive oil is the way to go.

Active dry yeast — it’s good to use this rather than fast rising yeast due to the cold fermentation process we’re electing to use. Get a jar rather than packets.

Salt & Sugar — I’ll say it again; cheat codes for your mouth.

Water — ideally filtered.

I have tried a couple of dough recipes, some of which were pretty great. This is an iteration of amalgamations of combinations. The endpoint is not radically dissimilar from those you could find elsewhere. But I’ve found a slightly sweeter, slightly fattier dough gave me the best result in terms of browning and flavor.

“Claire, what the hell?” you’re probably saying. “Claire, I don’t wanna do math,” you interject. “What is this, Claire?” you shout before I get the chance to explain myself. I know, that’s an ugly table, and frankly, I’m sorry you had to see it. But since I don’t know the size of pizzas you want to make or how many pizzas you plan to make this week, I can’t give you exact weights. “But you just said I don’t have to do math, isn’t there any other way?” Yes. I’ve made a dough calculator. Please no more interruptions, I worked very hard on this.

You’ll notice a slider for size and a slider for the number of pizzas. I never make dough for just one pizza at a time. Since it has to ferment in the fridge for a few days, and is good for up to 6 days, it’s easier that way. It’s better to have dough and not need it, than need it and not have it. I always say that. I’m literally always saying that.

Once you mix the ingredients together, you’ll take it out of the bowl and knead it for 10–15 minutes. Before separating your dough into dough balls, let it rest in a covered bowl for 2 hours. Then separate, into equal size balls, pinch the seams, and place into an oiled container in the fridge for 1–6 days. I think it’s best around the 2–4 day mark.

04 The Sauce

Remember when I said this is vibes-based? First, taste your tomatoes. At this stage, I’m encouraging you to understand your food. Understanding your starting point helps you infer what to do next. Plain, crushed raw tomatoes won’t taste like pizza sauce. But make note of why it doesn’t taste like pizza sauce.

It’s bland, so add a teaspoon of each herb.

Taste it again.

It’s bitter, so add a teaspoon of sugar.

Taste it again.

It’s flat, so add garlic powder.

Taste it again.

The flavors are muted, so add a teaspoon of salt.

Taste it again.

Now that you understand what is missing from plain tomatoes, and how to make the sauce taste more like sauce, continue to add ingredients, mix them together, and taste your sauce. If you’ve ever wondered how to become a better cook beyond learning new recipes — this is it. You’re doing it right now by understanding your food rather than following a set of instructions. In my experience, when making a sauce for the first time, you’re at a greater risk of underseasoning the sauce, rather than overseasoning it. If it tastes good, but a bit salty or boldly seasoned, you’ve probably nailed it. A bland sauce is worse than a loud one.

05 The Cheese and Toppings

This is straightforward, so you might wonder why it gets its own section. I just have a bit of advice. I mentioned that pre-shredded mozzarella is a no-go. While I stand by that, it doesn’t mean you can’t shred your cheese in batches and use it over the course of a couple weeks. Give it a look, give it a sniff, and finally, give it a taste. It will be very obvious if it’s time to grab the block and start anew.

Speaking of your block of mozzarella, it’s important to keep in mind that low-moisture mozzarella is neither a soft nor a hard cheese. Wrap it in plastic wrap in the fridge when you aren’t using it. By the second time you shred it, you might notice hard sections on the block — do not be alarmed. So long as they aren’t significantly discolored, this isn’t mold. It’s probably just normal dehydration. Perfectly safe to eat, but not what we want on our pizza. Just cut those parts off. They likely aren’t very deep, so you won’t need to cut far. But always shred fresh parm. It’s actually easier than storing grated cheese. You’ll just take out your wrapped wedge, and grate directly onto the pizza.

Cut your pepperoni in a food processor or by hand. Cut them a bit thicker than you think looks correct. This isn’t something you need to perfect.

06 Bringing It All Together

1. Once your dough has been in your fridge for at least a day, you’re ready. Remove one of you dough balls from the fridge. Let it sit out and warm up over the course of at least two hours, but no longer than five.
2. Place your steel in the oven, and turn it up to the highest your oven goes. Mine does 525, but anywhere from 450 and up will be just fine. When you choose to start the next steps is up to you, so long as you’re placing your pizza in the oven no less than an hour after you turned it on.
3. Cover your peel with semolina flour.
4. Remove a dough ball from the fridge, and plop the dough onto a clean, flour-coated surface.
5. Press near the edges to form the crust. Then press into the middle of the dough to flatten and expand it.
6. Once it’s flat, flip the dough over and repeat the previous step.
7. Pick the dough up and handle it with closed fists. Stretch out the thick portions, letting gravity do the work. Shake off the flour and place it onto the peel.
8. Ladle your pizza sauce onto the dough. It’s important to not use too much. You should still be able to see the dough under the sauce. Try to move quickly, since the more time your pizza sits on your peel, the harder it will be to get off.
9. Pick up the wooden peel and give it a little shake. Make sure it isn’t sticking.
10. Sprinkle a pinch or two of pecorino onto the sauce.
11. Sprinkle mozzarella onto the pizza, and add any toppings you like. Just like the sauce, add a little less than you think looks right. You should still be able to see the sauce through the cheese.
12. Give it another shake, and put it into the oven.
13. Let it cook for 5–7 minutes, or until the cheese and crust have browned to your liking.
14. Remove the pizza using your peel.
15. Immediately place onto a cooling rack.
16. Brush some olive oil or garlic butter onto the crust.
17. Grate parmesan onto the entire pizza.
18. After a couple minutes, place the pizza back onto the peel.
19. Cut and serve.

Conclusion

I hope my recipe serves you well, but more than that, I hope you find this document to be a useful reference as you iterate and improve your pizza making. If I were to dump everything I know about pizza into one article, we’d be here a lot longer. I may do that, but until then feel free to reach me at clairejordyn20@gmail.com with questions & comments.