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The Best New York Style Pizza Dough and 14 Tips for Success!!

I’ve been making a lot of this NY style pizza dough recipe …. The obsession started a while back, and I’ve finally found a recipe that I love the best! After years of experiments (and I mean years!), I am now using this recipe based on recommendations from the many fine pizza makers at www.pizzamaking.com and the late great Dough Doctor, Tom Lehmann.

best New York Style pizza dough recipe

Making Pizza Dough at Home

Making NY style pizza dough is definitely somewhat of an art form. There are so many variables that can be changed aside from the ingredients alone. For example, these variables include:

  • oven temperature
  • temperature of the water used to make the dough
  • proofing methods (room temp vs cold rise)
  • order of adding the ingredients (yes, this makes a big difference!)
  • mixing time
  • use of autolyse
  • use of poolish (I don’t do this or the one before, although I have in the past)

And then of course, the toppings which can be simple or as complex as you’d like. But don’t worry too much about all of this – my method is easy and straightforward. Plus, you will make better dough than 99% of the pizza chains out there. You will not want take out anymore!

best new york pizza dough recipe cheese

My Favorite Pizza Dough: The Big Secret (How You Proof the Dough)

My all-time favorite dough is NY style dough, which really is classic pizza dough that is stretched out into a thin crust pizza. This type of pizza dough contains water, flour, salt, instant yeast, and olive oil (and sugar especially when baking in a home oven, to help browning).

After it is mixed, it is proofed (left to rise/ferment) in the refrigerator for a minimum of 24 hours and up to 72 hours (it can also be frozen) – this is the big secret.  I’ve used the dough up to 5 or 6 days afterwards, so you can essentially prepare dough for the week.

This recipe produces a crisp yet foldable crust that is tender, light, and flavorful and will make enough for four 14-inch pizzas. You can easily double or half the recipe to make 2 or 8 pizzas.

slices of ny style pizza

Fourteen Tips for Success

Tip 1: Choosing the flour

Use high-quality flour – I like to use King Arthur’s all purpose or bread flour; higher protein (ie, bread) flours work best. However, I prefer all-purpose flour because I like a lighter, airy crust.

Tip 2: Adding the yeast

Do not add instant dry yeast (IDY) directly to cold or cool water – you may shock the yeast (add the IDY to your flour instead) (please note that IDY differs from active dry yeast, which must be activated by adding it to water).

Tip 3: How much yeast?

Use only enough yeast to “get the job done” – yeast eats the sugar in your flour to produce its leavening effects – I find that if you use too much, your dough will be tasteless (this is just my opinion); however, it is a fact, that too much yeast can make your dough taste bad. Most recipes out there, some of them in well known, published books contain too much yeast!

Tip 4: Cold ferment that pizza dough!

Always use your refrigerator.  The best NY style doughs “ferment” or “cure” in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours and up to 48 72 hours. This is called a “cold rise” (vs warm rise on your kitchen counter).

The refrigerator is used to retard (or slow) the dough’s fermentation, allowing that distinctive flavor to come through (ever wonder why some pizza crust tastes different than others, despite the fact that they are both made from just about the same exact ingredients? – this is a big reason why!)

When your dough rises too quickly, the flavor will not develop optimally. Slow rise = MUCH better flavor.

Tip 5: Weigh those ingredients!

Use a scale to weigh the flour instead of using a measuring cup – it is much more accurate and will yield superior results. I’ll admit, I resisted doing this for a loooong time. Just do it. You’ll be glad you did and your dough will be more consistent and much improved.

Tip 6: Add oil last

Mix the oil in as the last step, after the flour has all been incorporated. This is important to allow the flour to hydrate properly.

Tip 7: Flour your dough balls

Before tossing or opening your dough balls, flour them *very* well on each side (if you are a beginner) to ensure they do not stick to your counter or pizza peel. I sometimes use a bit more flour after I begin spreading them.

Tip 8: Keeping those rims a bit puffy

Take care not to “degas” the rim of your pizza as you are spreading your dough! Do NOT ever use a rolling pin! There are many different methods to spread/open your dough ball. I hope to add a few pictures someday of this process.

Tip 9: Baking pizza in a home oven

Ensure that your oven is preheated for a sufficient amount of time (about 1 hour) and bake the pizza within 6 to 8 inches of the top of your oven (ie, your broiler) so that the tops browns sufficiently in conjunction with the bottom of the pizza.

Do not place the stone near the bottom of your oven. I made this mistake for too many years.

After your stone has been preheated sufficiently, the heat from the stone will cook the pizza from the bottom and you can switch the broiler on if you find you need more browning on the top (I now use the broiler to bake my pizzas…more on this sometime in the future).

If you find that your cheese is browning well before your rim attains sufficient color, use partially frozen cheese (ie, place shredded cheese in the freezer while the oven is heating up) and cold sauce or you can drizzle just a bit of olive oil on top of cheese.

Tip 10: Use a pizza stone or steel

Use a pizza stone if you have one. The stone with draw moisture out of the dough and produce a beautifully crisp crust. I use a pizza steel because my stones kept breaking.

Tip 11: Use just the right amount of sauce

Do not use too much pizza sauce – it will make your pizza soggy

Tip 12: Find the right kind of cheese

Do not use low fat cheese to top your pizza or pre-shredded cheese (the former will not melt sufficiently and the latter contains additives that prevent the cheese from sticking together and therefore does not melt very well). The best is low-moisture, whole milk mozzarella.

If you must use pre-shredded cheese, I’ve found that adding the sauce on top of the cheese helps with the melting. Also, do not use too much cheese; apply it sparingly so that you can achieve that mottled NY pizza appearance.

Tip 13: Flour your pizza peel

Use semolina or flour on the bottom of your pizza peel to prevent the pizza dough from sticking but be careful not to overdo it because it will burn.

Tip 14: Learn to launch that pizza

Give the pizza peel a few very small quick jerks to make sure the pizza will easily slide off your pizza peel before attempting to transfer pizza to the oven, and more importantly, rub flour into the peel before placing the dough on top.

Essential Equipment

Please note that as an Amazon affiliate, we earn a small commission if you purchase a product at no additional cost to you.


I adore my baking steel; it’s transformed my home pizzas into restaurant-quality and better. You will love this! A kitchen scale streamlines measurement with remarkable accuracy, while a pizza peel is essential for smoothly sliding pizzas into the oven. And proofing boxes provide an optimal storage for pizza dough fermentation, enhancing flavor, texture, and elasticity.

Baking steel

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Kitchen scale

$55.49
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Pizza peel

$28.98
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Proofing

$45.99 ($23.00 / Count)
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Please visit our SHOP page for more recommended tools and equipment to make restaurant-style NY-style pizza at home!

How to Stretch the Pizza Dough

A nice video (from The GoodFellas Pizza School of NY), showing how to stretch the dough:

YouTube video

How to Freeze Homemade Pizza Dough

  • After mixing dough and dividing into balls, place dough in refrigerator for at least 24 hours.
  • Place dough balls on baking sheet lined with plastic wrap or parchment paper, cover loosely with plastic wrap and freeze until firm (~ 2 to 3 hours or up to overnight).
  • Wrap frozen dough balls individually in plastic and store in zipper-lock bags for up to 4 weeks.
  • When ready to bake, transfer unwrapped dough into the refrigerator for 12 to 24 hours before making pizza.
  • Bring dough to room temperature for 20 to 60 minutes before baking (less time for hot kitchen/summer and more time for cool kitchen)

Pizza Dough Calculator

Need more dough? Less dough? Try out our new Pizza Dough Calculator to calculate the weights to get it just right!

Have More Questions?

Please See My NY Pizza FAQ

If you tried this recipe, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below! SUBSCRIBE for more recipes.

📖 Recipe

photo of a NY style pizza with slice missing

The Best New York Style Pizza Dough

The best, authentic NY pizza dough recipe for making pizza dough at home. This is the best thin crust pizza ever! You will never want take out again!
4.90 from 660 votes
Author: Marie
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 6 minutes
Resting time 1 day
Total Time 1 day 21 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine American, Italian
Servings 32 slices
Calories 91 kcal

Equipment

  • pizza stone or pizza steel for baking
  • Standing mixer optional or hand knead
  • kitchen scale highly recommended instead of volume measures

Ingredients
 

Original Recipe for Four 14-Inch Pizzas; want to make more or less? Use the pizza dough calculator

  • 6.5 cups (796 g) all purpose flour or bread flour (weighing is most accurate!)
  • 2 1/4 cups (493 g) water barely cold water (17.4 oz per 2 1/4 cups)
  • 1 teaspoon (3.5 g) instant dry yeast
  • 2.5 teaspoons (15.6 g) salt
  • 2 teaspoons (7.8 g) sugar
  • 1 tablespoon (11.8 g) olive oil

1 Pound of Dough (~454 grams) (use the pizza dough calculator to make more or less dough)

  • 2 1/4 cups (274.5 g) all purpose flour or bread flour
  • 3/4 cup (170.2 g) water
  • 1/2 teaspoon instant dry yeast
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil

Instructions
 

Mixing the Dough

  • Place water in mixing bowl.
  • In a separate bowl, mix salt and yeast (and sugar if using) into flour
  • Combine flour/salt/yeast mixture into water and mix until all the flour has been incorporated.
  • After flour has been totally incorporated, add oil and knead for about 4 to 5 minutes (see note)
  • Test final dough temperature, which should ideally be between high 70s to low 80s (optional)

Dividing and Rising

  • Divide dough into 4 equal pieces (using a digital scale if possible; each ball should weigh 11.5 oz [~326 grams]), shape into a ball, and place in greased, sealed quart-sized container or oiled/greased freezer bag and refrigerate overnight or up to 72 hours (After much experimenting, I have concluded that I like 3 days best but day 2 is good too).

Assembly and Baking

  • The following day, remove your dough balls within 1 hour or less of baking and allow the dough to come to room temperature. (the dough will tend to blister more if the dough has not been allowed to come to room temperature however, I often bake coldish dough without problems, just some bubbling)
  • In the meantime, place your pizza stone in oven and preheat at 550 degrees (depending on thickness of your stone and your oven’s power) for at least 1 hour
  • Open each dough ball using care not to degas, transfer to a pre-floured pizza peel (or on parchment paper), and top with your favorite sauce, cheese, or other toppings.
  • Transfer pizza from peel to oven or slide parchment paper onto preheated pizza pan/stone and bake for 4 to 6 minutes each until browned on top and cheese has melted but not burned.
  • Enjoy!

Notes

Weighing Ingredients 
  • Use of weight based measurements is highly recommended instead of US Customary. You will need a kitchen scale. 
  • METRIC amounts DO NOT correspond exactly to the US Customary amounts because, for example, 796 grams equals 6.4 cups (and most can’t measure 0.4 cups or 0.22 cups). Recipe was based on grams.  
TO MAKE MORE OR LESS DOUGH
KNEADING
  • If you want to use the dough the next day, knead a little more (slow speed for about 8 to 10 minutes)
  • If you have time to let the dough rest for 3 days, knead for 4 to 5 minutes, low speed or hand knead.
TO FREEZE THE DOUGH:
  • After mixing dough and dividing into balls, place dough in refrigerator for at least 24 hours.
  • Then, place on baking sheet lined with plastic wrap or parchment paper, cover loosely with plastic wrap and freeze until firm (~ 2 to 3 hours or up to overnight).
  • Wrap frozen dough balls individually in plastic and store in zipper-lock bags to store for up to 4 weeks (longer may work, but results might vary).
  • Before using, transfer unwrapped dough into the refrigerator for 12 to 24 hours before making pizza.
  • Bring dough to room temperature for 20 to 60 minutes before baking (less time for hot kitchen/summer and more time for cool kitchen). 
BAKER’S PERCENTAGES:
  • calculate your own using baker’s percentages: 62% hydration, 0.4% yeast, 2% salt, 1.5% oil, and 1% sugar or use my new pizza dough calculator. 
Have more questions? See our pizza dough FAQ
Nutrition is estimated for one slice of pizza without any toppings. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1SliceCalories: 91kcalCarbohydrates: 18gProtein: 3gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0.1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.1gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.4gSodium: 183mgPotassium: 29mgFiber: 1gSugar: 0.3gVitamin A: 0.5IUVitamin C: 0.001mgCalcium: 4mgIron: 1mg
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Try these other pizzas and this NY pizza sauce: 
Buffalo style (one of my absolute favorites)
White with prosciutto
White with spinach and feta
Pizza sauce 

1,823 Comments

    1. Hi Eric- I’d probably just do a warm counter rise and then refrigerate for the remaining time. I can’t say how long it would take though, depends on room temp and also this recipe uses less yeast than usual so maybe more than the usual 1 to 2 hours.

  1. Well I did everything as written with exception of weighing ( NO SCALE). I did use king arthurs flour though. Anyway it came out very tough. I wanted to add more water but wasnt sure if i should. I added oil hoping it would miraculously be better. I seperated and refrigerated. That was 1 am it is now 9 hours later the dough looks the same. I plan on using it on about the 60 hour mark. Should I leave it alone or try to add a bit of water? Is there anything else i could with it to save it? Any suggestions?

    1. It rises verrrry slowly. You should see some bubbling on the bottom I can’t really speak about the dryness because all flours will absorb water differently. My dough is not dry so next time I would add a tablespoon of water and keep doing so carefully until the dough seems better hydrated

  2. 5 stars
    Wow!! I was on the verge of throwing in the towel with respect to making home made pizza. No matter how hard it tried, I could not crack the code. My pizza dough always turned out cardboard like with the exception of one time and I could not for the life of me figure out why.

    Before I quite, I tripped onto this page and followed your recipe and tips to the letter. I then tried again a few days later to factor out dumb luck. I’m sure this will not surprise you but it worked.

    Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and experience. Your tips combined with the scientific approach to hydration, measurement etc. is absolutely brilliant. My family is thrilled.

  3. 5 stars
    I’ve been making my own pizza dough for several years now and it’s always been good but never great. I just made pizza from this recipe after a 3 day cold proof and it was fantastic! I am finally on my way to pizza greatness! My family and I say thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

  4. 5 stars
    Hi, Marie.
    This is the first pizza dough recipe I’ve ever tried, and it seems to be a hit, especially for my first time baking. However, I have had some issues, especially when mixing and kneading the dough by hand. The first time I made it, I used a KitchenAid stand mixer and it turned out fairly well. The second time was by hand, and the dough kept falling apart and I had to add more water and then more flour to get it all together. The third time was with another model of stand mixer and it turned out perfect, and this last time I used a bread pail with a hand crank mixer, and I had the same problem as mixing it by hand. I decided not to add more water or flour this time and knead everything together by hand, but I noticed that the dough was very stiff. Is this recipe more suited to using a stand mixer or can I do it by hand as well? Do you have any tips for making the dough by hand?

    1. Hi Wesley – I always use a stand mixer, but you can do it by hand. Personally, I would give the dough a few rest periods between kneading (5 to 10 mins). I think it’s easier that way and it also gives the flour a chance to really absorb all the water.

  5. 5 stars
    Marie:

    I typically follow the methods in your recipe, however, I am making pizza for some company (last minute decision) and will only have a few hours. If I skip the cold fermentation, how long should I let the dough rise/proof at room temp? should I do a bulk rise or divide first as I normally would for a cold fermentation?

    1. Hi Greg, if I were to use this recipe and do a room temp proof, I’d probably double the yeast, and let the dough bulk rise until it’s about doubled in size (maybe 1 to 2 hours, depending on room temp). This would be much like the typical pizza dough recipes that are out there (about 1 teaspoon of yeast per 3 cups flour). Then divide and shape into balls, and let them rest for at least 20 mins (or more until you are ready to bake).

  6. My dough turned out great, but I have the same problem I always do when making pizza. I can’t get it off the peel and onto the stone. My first attempt ended up being converted to more of a Stromboli because I couldn’t move the pizza, but folded it over instead. My 2nd attempt I didn’t stretch the dough as much and made about a 10 inch instead and was able to at least get the pizza off the peel, but just barely. I lost a few toppings in the process. I use a lot of flour but it just seems it’s too heavy to slide. Do I need a better peel? Or how about pre baking for a minute or so? Aside from a slightl smaller pizza, the dough turned out great. I just need to find a better sauce.

    1. Oh and I have a stainless steel grill that has 3 x 20,000 btu burners and easily gets over 600 degrees. I put my pizza stone inside and cooked the pizza in the grill. Took about 5 1/2 minutes.

      1. I’ve used my grill before too but I always had to elevate my stone a bit because otherwise, the bottom would cook a lot and the top would not be finished. I used empty soup cans to do that. Now I own a Blackstone oven – I absolutely love it.

      2. 5 stars
        The blackstone looks nice. We have been wanting a dedicated pizza oven, but for now our grill seems to work great. It has the same BTU as the blackstone and I’ve seen it climb into the 700 degree range in the cold weather. My pizza stone fits in there too so it works out well.

    2. Joe – I use a wood peel because I think that’s easier to learn from. Make sure that you are rubbing flour into it and make sure to flour both sides of your peel well. That said, you could also try using parchment paper. Stretch your dough on the parchment paper, place it on your peel, and then slide it in with the paper. You can also prebake a little. Whatever it takes, but as you get more confident and learn from mistakes, you will master the peel

      1. 5 stars
        Hmm, thanks for the reply. The peel we have now seems to be made of some kind of plastic. It was larger than our wooden peel and looked enticing so we got it, but maybe we need a wood peel to get flour rubbed into the grains well? I was thinking about a metal peel too, they seem really thin and would act like a stainless steel counter top. I might try the parchment paper though since it seems the easiest fix.

  7. 5 stars
    Thank you so much for this recipe! I am so incredibly grateful to you for helping all of us find our perfect pizza.

    I grew up in an NY suburb and there was a small Italian deli in my town whose thin crust pizza has the most mind-blowingly flavorful crust. It tasted so different from any other pizza I’ve had, and I’ve never found a crust with that incredible flavor anywhere else in the world. I’ve been fantasizing about this pizza since I moved away 7 years ago, and FINALLY, thanks to your incredible recipe, I get to taste it again!

    I made my dough in the morning so I was baking at around 36 hours and 60 hours. 36 hours was fantastic and starting to give me the crust flavor I was looking for, but 60 was absolutely perfect and indistinguishable from my beloved deli.

    We’ve already eaten the pizza for both lunch and dinner two nights in a row and we’re wishing we had more for tonight! Thank you thank you thank you!

  8. 5 stars
    How do you strech the dough? I have never had luck unless using a rolling pin. I would love to make this for my family. We never have money to go to the pizzeria and I would love to make it at home for them.

    1. There is a video on the same page as the recipe, but if you want, you can use a rolling pin if that is what you are used to. Work your way up to stretching by hand. I’m still no expert on dough stretching, but it’s still better than 9 out of 10 pizzerias

  9. 5 stars
    Thanks for the amazing recipe and tips.

    I do have some questions.

    My last pizza got stuck on the peel and that wasn’t great. Can I use parchment paper on my peel and transfer it to the steel then remove the parchment? This was I can make more than once pizza at a time as I had to wait for my pee to be available.

    Should I reheat the steel to 500F after the first pizza? It seems the first one was perfect but after the crust wasn’t that crispy.

    Is it possible to prepare pizzas in advance for a party and just throw them in to the oven one by one. Please let me know what I can do.

    1. Hi Farah,

      Yes, you can definitely use parchment paper if it’s easier for you to do so. I’m not sure what you mean about reheating the oven because it should always stay at 500F? The steel will definitely not cool down as you open and close the oven door…are you placing the steel within 6 to 8 inches of the top of the oven?

      My friend does prepare his pizzas ahead by stretching out the doughs and placing them between aluminum foil – you may want to use parchment so that you can just slide them on and off your peel.

      1. 5 stars
        Thanks for the reply.

        Actually, my pizza craft baking steel suggested to heat it at 500F and then switch to broiler. So I think just the broiler did not keep the steel as hot at 500F. I will try to keep it 500F next time.

        I will try the stretching on parchment next time.

        I was thinking I can mend your AWESOME recipe to make naan bread. My research online tells me to replace water with milk and/or yogurt. Would you, by any chance, know about the conversion quantity from water to milk?

        Thanks again!

      2. 5 stars
        Actually, my pizza craft baking steel suggested to heat it at 500F and then switch to broiler. So I think just the broiler did not keep the steel as hot at 500F. I will try to keep it 500F next time.

        I will try the stretching on parchment next time.

        I was thinking I can mend your AWESOME recipe to make naan bread. My research online tells me to replace water with milk and/or yogurt. Would you, by any chance, know about the conversion quantity from water to milk?

  10. 5 stars
    AbsoLutely AMAZING! Your tips for success were excellent. Your recipe was easy to follow and measurements were great. The dough did not taste yeasty which is what my concern has been. I used a baking steel and it was amazing. I used a pizza peel as well.

  11. Ugh I made this dough to make pizza for today and I get to the end and it says I have to refrigerate for Two days????? Can I use it tight away???

  12. I just got the recipes for your dough and sauce. I cant wait to try them! What do you recommend for the cheeses?

    1. Sorry for the very late reply – I use mozzarella (low moisture) for NY style pizza, and sometimes I play around with other mixes, asiago, provolone, cheddar. A sprinkling of parmesan is always good too.

  13. Hi Marie,

    We live at 7,000+ feet above sea level, and I found that following the recipe exactly (using a digital scale) produced a dough that was very wet and sticky. I had to add about 1/3 more flour to get something that I could knead. Does this make sense?

    Thanks!

    John

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