Homemade New York-Style Pizza features a thin, chewy crust topped with savory tomato sauce and melted cheese, capturing the classic flavors of the Big Apple right in your own kitchen. You'll need to invest in a few tools, some specific ingredients, and some time (3 days), but the end result will most likely be the most delicious pizza you've ever encountered!
For the Pizza Sauce (1 day before making the pizza)
½cupground tomatoes
¼cuptomato paste
¼teaspoondried oregano
½teaspoonfine sea salt
1teaspoonextra-virgin olive oil
¼cupwhole tomatoesseeded and hand torn (see NOTES)
For the Sweet Fennel Sausage (1 day before making the pizza)
1tablespoonfennel seeds
1tablespoonanise seeds
1teaspoonfine sea salt
1teaspoonground black pepper
1tbsp + 1 tspcool tap water
1lbground porkpreferably ground pork shoulder
1tablespoonhoney
For the Garlic-Infused Olive Oil (1 day before making the pizza)
2teaspoongarlicminced
¼cupextra virgin olive oil
For the Pizza (Day of making the pizza)
¼cuphigh-gluten flour
¼cupsemolina flour
⅔cuppizza sauce
¾cupwhole milk mozzarellasliced (or chopped)
½cuppepperonithinly sliced, preferably in natural casing
½cupsweet fennel sausage
dried oreganofor dusting
¼cupParmesan cheesegrated, for garnish
garlic-infused oilfor drizzling
Instructions
Make the Dough (2 to 3 days before making the pizza)
Prepare the pizza dough
1 13 oz pizza dough
Make the Pizza Sauce (1 day before making the pizza)
Combine the ground tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano, salt, and oil in a large bowl. Purée with an immersion blender. Stir in the hand-crushed tomatoes.
½ cup ground tomatoes, ¼ cup tomato paste, ¼ teaspoon dried oregano, ½ teaspoon fine sea salt, 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil, ¼ cup whole tomatoes
Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Be sure to bring back to room temperature before adding to pizza dough (usually about 2 hours sitting on the counter).
Make the Sweet Fennel Sausage (1 day before making the pizza, or the morning of)
Grind the fennel seeds and anise seeds in a spice grinder until lightly ground. There should still be some texture; you don't want a powder. Add the seeds, salt, and pepper to a small bowl and add the water, and stir to form a paste.
1 tablespoon fennel seeds, 1 tablespoon anise seeds, 1 teaspoon fine sea salt, 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon cool tap water
Place the pork into a large bowl and top with the spice mixture and honey. Use your hands to incorporate the spices and honey into the meat. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or preferably overnight.
1 lb ground pork, 1 tablespoon honey
Make the Garlic-Infused Oil
Add the garlic to a small bowl and pour the garlic over it. Keep covered on the counter for at least 2 hours, or even better for 1 to 2 days. Give it a stir every now and then to help infuse the garlic into the oil.
2 teaspoon garlic, ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Make the New York-Style Pizza
2 hours before preparing the pizza, take the dough and the sauce out of the refrigerator.
1 hour and 15 minutes before baking, place the pizza steel(s) or stones in the oven, one on the second-highest grate placement and the other on the lowest grate placement. Turn the oven to 500°F.
Mix together the high-gluten flour and semolina flour in a bowl. Liberally sprinkle the flour mixture on your counter and on the pizza peel.
¼ cup high-gluten flour, ¼ cup semolina flour
Carefully remove the plastic wrap from the dough on the sheet pan. Use your fingers to help pull the plastic from the dough (it will be sticky). Try and maintain the dough shape, but it's okay if it loses its dome shape somewhat. Use your dough cutter/bench scraper to gently loosen the bottom of the dough from the pan. Once it's free, transfer the dough to the floured surface. Flip the dough so both sides are coated with the flour/semolina mixture.
Use your cupped hands to push the dough into a circle. Use the palms of your hands to expand the diameter of the dough. Gently lift the dough and toss it back and forth with your hands. Toss the dough onto both of your fists in the center of the dough, being careful not to tear the dough. Transfer to the pizza peel and continue working the dough with your fingers and palms until a 13-inch diameter is reached.
Transfer the room temperature sauce to the center of the dough. Use the back of a spoon to spread the sauce to about 1 inch from the edge of the exterior of the dough. Don't add too much sauce. It should be thin. Give the pizza peel a shake or two to keep the dough mobile on the peel.
⅔ cup pizza sauce
Sprinkle the mozzarella over the sauce, and then top it with the pepperoni slices and then pinches of the sweet fennel sausage (you will have leftover pork that can be frozen, or used again).
¾ cup whole milk mozzarella, ½ cup pepperoni, ½ cup sweet fennel sausage
Carefully transfer the pizza onto the heated steel or stone on the top rack and bake for 5 minutes. Open the oven and rotate the pizza 180°, and then pull it onto the wheel and transfer to the lower steel or stone. Bake for another 5 minutes, or until the crust and cheese are just starting to brown.
Remove from the oven. Garnish with freshly shave Parmesan cheese and dried oregano. Slice and serve at once!
dried oregano, garlic-infused oil, ¼ cup Parmesan cheese
Video
Notes
NOTE: Watch the video near the top of the recipe for visual guidance. Watch the video on how to shape the dough. This takes practice, and you'll get better at it every time you make a pizza. To make the hand-crushed tomatoes, place the tomatoes in a sieve over a bowl. Grab the whole tomatoes, and then use your fingers to tear them up, remove the seeds, and any tough parts of the tomato. Place in a separate bowl. This recipe requires a small investment in tools, ingredients, and time...but the result will be a pizza you and your loved ones will want to make time and time again!