The Best New York-Style Pizza Sauce Recipe – State of Dinner (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to New York-style pizza? ›

By coating individual flour granules, oils will effectively lower the maximum level of gluten formation in a given dough, making the resultant baked crust slightly denser and notably more tender than a fat-free dough. Without oil, a New York pie would dry out and toughen during its 12 to 15 minute stay in the oven.

Minerals present in New York City's tap water supply are also credited with giving the dough in metro area pies its characteristic texture and flavor. Some out-of-state pizza bakers even transport the water cross-country for the sake of authenticity.

Unlike Neapolitan pies, which generally use a simple, uncooked sauce of fresh or canned tomatoes and salt, New York by-the-slice pies use a heavily seasoned cooked sauce. The key to great New York-style sauce is creating balance between sweetness, acidity and heat, with a definite herbal backbone.

New York-style pizza has slices that are large and wide with a thin crust that is foldable yet crispy. It is traditionally topped with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese, with any extra toppings placed on top of the cheese. Pizza without additional toppings is called “plain,” “regular,” or “cheese.”

There are several other things to note about the best type of cheese to use for New York Style pizzas. The mozzarella cheese ought to be full-fat cheese. This is because you can only achieve that stretchy effect with full fat cheese. Low-fat or part-skim cheese does not stretch the same.

For New York (NY) style pizza, known for its thin, foldable crust with a slight chew, a hydration level of 58-65% is typically used. This range helps achieve the desired balance between a crisp base and a slightly tender bite.

Spread tomato sauce evenly over dough. Sprinkle with oregano, mozzarella cheese, basil, Romano cheese, and red pepper flakes.

Poll after poll, pepperoni always tops the list of America's favorite pizza toppings.

Quality of ingredients: Using fresh and high-quality ingredients, such as whole-milk mozzarella cheese, flavorful tomato sauce, and high-quality meats, can greatly enhance the taste of pizza. Crust: A crispy, thin, and chewy crust can greatly improve the taste of pizza.

The flavor gets richer the longer you let the sauce simmer. However, if you don't have the time to let it cook down for an hour, just let the sauce cook for as long as possible. The flavor won't be as robust and the texture will be thinner, but no one will complain.

What temp is New York style pizza cooked at? ›

New York is usually baked in the 500-600 degree range. This temperature is ideal for heavy toppings , multiple toppings or heavy sauce pies since it allows for drying of the extra moisture associated with this type of pie.

If you've cooked your sauce, allow it to cool down before you add it to the pizza to avoid a sticky dough. Hot sauce can cause the dough to become soggy and difficult to work with, so let the sauce cool down to room temperature before spreading it on your pizza.

While both New York pizza and Brooklyn style have relatively thin crusts, pizza you'll find in Brooklyn tends to have a crispy dough throughout that cracks when you fold the slice, whereas a classic New York slice still has a crispy edge but a softer dough underneath the cheese that bends when you fold it.

Crust And Spices

There are rumors that New York pizza has a unique taste thanks to the water used to make dough there. It's supposed to give a unique texture and flavor. Many New Yorkers attribute the popularity of authentic NY-style pizza to the presence of minerals in the water.

According to the Pizza Hut website, the Big New Yorker is a 16-inch pizza that's cut into six oversized, foldable slices with a crispy thin crust, sweet marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese and Parmesan oregano seasoning. For an additional fee you can add toppings like pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms or onions.

It's all in the fold. Hold it at the crust, and pinch together the corners of the crust so you form a U-shape. The (delicious) oil from the pizza will inevitably slide off and cover your hands so be sure to tip your slice towards its tip and let those run off before you attempt your first bite.

But the key difference is what happens when you fold your slice to take that first bite. New York style pizza reportedly owes its suppleness to the water in the city, holding its pliability without cracking. But New Jersey style gives you a nice crackle when you fold it, owing to the stone oven in which it's cooked.

New York Pizza Theory 2: The Water Supply

This process is the reason for New York having the best of the best when it comes to tap water and the 2nd softest water in all of the country. It's theorized that New York's superior water supply is directly linked to the superb quality of their pizza dough.