Name: New York Pizza Dough
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 26 h 42 min
Yield: 4 dough balls
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 650 g high-gluten bread flour; 422 g water; 13 g fine sea salt; 2.6 g instant yeast; 19 g olive oil; 13 g sugar

New York pizza is the wide, thin slice you can fold in half. The crust is crisp on the bottom, chewy in the rim, and pliable enough to bend without cracking. Three things make the dough behave that way. High-protein flour builds enough gluten to hold a big thin slice. A little oil and sugar help the crust brown and stay tender at home-oven temperatures, which are far below a pizzeria deck. And a day or more in the fridge develops flavor and makes the dough easy to stretch. The calculator on this page scales the recipe to however many pies you want.

The recipe in grams

Four 14-inch pizzas, 280 g dough balls, 65% hydration. These are the calculator’s default numbers for this style.

Ingredient	Amount	Baker's %
High-gluten bread flour	650 g	100%
Water, cold	422 g	65%
Fine sea salt	13 g	2%
Instant yeast	2.6 g	0.4%
Olive oil	19 g	3%
Sugar	13 g	2%

Total dough 1120 g. For different sizes, the calculator uses about 220 g for a 10-inch pie, 280 g for 14 inches and 450 g for 18 inches. Change the count or size and every line updates.

How New York Pizza Became Iconic

Italian immigrants brought pizza to New York in the early 1900s. Gennaro Lombardi opened the first documented American pizzeria in 1905 on Spring Street in Manhattan. New York water, with its mineral content, is often credited for the distinctive crust, though that is debated. The style itself is not in dispute. It grew larger and crisper than its Neapolitan ancestor, designed for eating on the go.

What each ingredient is doing

Flour.High-gluten bread flour at 13 to 14% protein is the traditional choice, and it is what gives the slice its chew and lets it stay flat when you pick it up. King Arthur’s Sir Lancelot and General Mills All Trumps are the pizzeria standards at about 14% protein. Ordinary bread flour at 12 to 13% works well and is what most home recipes call for; the crust will be a little less chewy. Italian 00 flour is the wrong tool here. It is milled for very hot ovens and short bakes, and at 500°F it stays pale and soft.

Water, at 65%.This is on the moist side for a New York dough, which makes a more open crumb and an easier stretch. If you find the dough hard to handle, drop to 60 to 62% in the calculator; the slice will be a little denser and crisper.

Oil, at 3%.Oil coats the gluten strands, which tenderizes the crumb and keeps a thin crust from turning into a cracker. It also helps the bottom brown on a home oven’s stone or steel.

Sugar, at 2%.Sugar feeds browning. Pizzeria ovens run at 550°F and above and brown a crust in minutes; a home oven at 500°F needs the help. It does not make the crust taste sweet at this level.

Salt, at 2%.Flavor, and it tightens the gluten slightly.

Yeast, at 0.4%.Enough for a slow rise in the fridge without over-proofing over two or three days. If you use active dry instead of instant, switch the yeast type in the calculator; it adjusts the amount.

Cold fermentation: why and how long

Once the dough is balled it goes into the fridge, where the yeast slows down and enzymes keep working on the flour. That does two things you can taste and feel. The flavor deepens, and the gluten relaxes so the dough stretches wide without springing back. Twenty-four hours is the minimum to get the benefit. Forty-eight to seventy-two hours is where most people settle. Past three days the dough starts to lose strength and the balls slacken.

Put each ball in its own lidded container or on an oiled tray under plastic wrap, so they do not grow into each other. Take them out one to two hours before you bake; cold dough tears and shrinks back when stretched.

A schedule

This is an estimate for a kitchen around 68 to 72°F and a normal fridge. Times shift with temperature, so treat the readiness signs as the real guide.

Day 1, evening.Mix the dough with cold water. Knead 10 to 15 minutes by hand until smooth and only slightly tacky. Rest it, covered, 1 to 2 hours at room temperature until it looks a little puffed, not doubled. Divide into 280 g balls, shape each into a tight round, and put them in the fridge in separate containers.

Day 2 or 3.Take the balls out one to two hours before baking. Put the steel or stone in the oven and run it at 500 to 550°F for at least 45 minutes to an hour; a steel needs the full hour to hold enough heat. Stretch each ball from the center out, leaving a slightly thicker rim, to about 14 inches. Top lightly. Bake 8 to 12 minutes until the rim is golden and spotted and the bottom is crisp.

If day 2 turns into day 4, the dough will still work; expect a slacker ball that needs gentler handling and a more pronounced flavor.

How to Make New York Pizza Dough

Mix. Combine the flour, cold water, salt, sugar, oil and yeast until no dry flour remains.
Knead. 10 to 15 minutes by hand until smooth and elastic. Slightly tacky is right; sticky means it needs another minute.
Rest. 1 to 2 hours at room temperature, covered, until slightly puffed.
Divide and ball. Portion into 280 g balls for 14-inch pizzas. Shape each into a tight round.
Cold ferment. Refrigerate the balls in separate containers for 24 to 72 hours.
Warm up. Take the balls out 1 to 2 hours before baking.
Preheat. Steel or stone at 500 to 550°F for at least 45 minutes to an hour.
Stretch and bake. Stretch to 14 inches with a slight rim, top lightly, bake 8 to 12 minutes until golden and spotted.

Pro Tips

✓ Oil and sugar help with browning at lower temps
✓ Use high-gluten flour for that NY chew
✓ Preheat your steel/stone for at least 1 hour
✓ Par-bake for crispier results

Fermentation Guide

Bulk ferment 1-2 hours at room temp, then cold ferment 24-48 hours. Remove from fridge 2 hours before balling. Proof balls 2-4 hours before stretching.

Water temperature: 55-60°F / 13-16°C (cold)

Common Mistakes to Avoid

✗ Using 00 flour. It is made for ovens twice as hot as yours and will not brown at 500°F. Use bread flour or high-gluten flour.
✗ Leaving out the oil and sugar. They are what make browning possible at home temperatures. This is the difference between a golden crust and a pale one.
✗ A short preheat. A stone or steel that has only had 20 minutes is still cold in the middle. Give it 45 minutes to an hour.
✗ Stretching cold dough. Straight from the fridge it shrinks back and tears. Let the balls sit out 1 to 2 hours.
✗ Too much sauce or cheese. A thin slice cannot carry a heavy load; the center goes soggy and the fold collapses.

New York Pizza Dough

At a Glance