The workhorse. Bread flour for chew, a little oil and sugar so it browns and stays pliable in a 550F deck oven, and a long cold ferment for flavour the short list of ingredients cannot supply. Built to be reheated and folded lengthwise.
Method
- Mix everything except the oil to a shaggy dough, rest 20 minutes, then add the oil and knead until smooth and slightly tacky, 8-10 minutes.
- Bulk one hour, then divide and ball tightly.
- Oil the tops, box them with space between, and refrigerate one to three days.
- Pull the balls two hours before baking and keep them covered.
- Open on a floured bench: press the centre out, then knuckle-stretch on the backs of your hands, leaving a 1.5 cm rim.
- Dress cold and thin. Too much sauce is the number one reason a home NY pie goes soggy.
- Launch and rotate halfway.
Fermentation
| Stage | Time | Temperature | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bulk | 1 h | 22°C / 72°F | |
| Cold ferment (balled) | 48 h | 4°C / 39°F | 24 hours is fine, 72 is better. |
| Warm up | 2 h | 22°C / 72°F | Non-negotiable. Cold dough will not open. |
Times are a guide. How to read the dough instead of the clock →
The bake
Oven290°C554°F
Time8-12 minutes
Surface. Steel or a thick stone, second-from-top rack
Preheat a full hour. If the top sets before the bottom colours, move the pie down or preheat longer. A little sugar in the dough is what gets you colour in a domestic oven that cannot reach deck temperatures.
On top
- Sauce
- Uncooked crushed tomato, salt, a pinch of oregano and garlic powder. It cooks on the pie.
- Cheese
- Low moisture whole milk mozzarella, shredded, applied edge to edge.
- Toppings
- Pepperoni, sausage, mushroom. Restraint keeps the slice foldable.
You got it right when The fold test: pick up a slice by the crust and it should droop, then hold.