Pizza Recipe : New York Style Pizza Dough

New York style pizza is a style originally developed in New York City, where pizza is often sold in oversized, thin and flexible slices. It has a very thick outer crust and a thin middle and often has a rectangular shape. New York style pizza dough is traditionally hand-tossed and light on sauce. The pizza slices are usually eaten folded in half, because its size and flexibility can make it difficult to eat otherwise.

Pizza : New York Style Dough - Info
Category	Dough
Servings	12'' Pizza (2-4)
Preparation	90 Minutes
Cooking Time	20-25 Minutes
Difficulty	Easy-Medium

No pans or baking trays are used to bake NY style pizzas, the pizza dough is placed directly on the oven shelf. This can be achieved at home by the use of a pizza stone , however they are ridiculously expensive for what they are and as such are not really a viable proposition. There are viable alternatives to make a New York Pizza. Unglazed quarry tiles are perfect. The theory behind a pizza stone is that they are so hot the stone acts like a brick and sears the dough drawing out the water and making the pizza dough crisp on the outside and still soft and bread like in the center. To do this the pizza stones are heated in the oven first, but an unglazed quarry tile has exactly the same effect.

A quick word of caution : quarry tiles are perfectly safe if they are made of natural red clay and are unglazed . When a tile is glazed there are chemicals used in the process and it is important to keep these out of the food chain.

A second precaution is that the stones are not intended for use in conjunction with any other material, and that means no tin foil or anything else. The object is that the radiant heat from the oven is absorbed into the tile or the stone if you use tin foil then the heat can be reflected and you stone will never get hot enough to draw the moisture out of the pizza.

Never never never put a hot stone or a tile in cold water you run the risk of it cracking like glass. Let it cool down naturally before washing.

Ingredients Required

1 1/2 cups warm water (105F)
4 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
1 tablespoons of olive oil
2 1/2 teaspoon of granulated sugar
2 1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of yeast
1/2 cup cornmeal

Step by Step Procedure

In a large bowl, dissolve sugar and salt in water.
Add oil and flour and stir with heavy spoon for 1 minute.
Turn out to a lightly floured surface and press into a circle.
Sprinkle yeast evenly over dough and knead for 12 minutes.
Divide dough into portions: 6 oz. for Calzones, 18 oz. for 12 inch, 25 oz. for 15 inch
Roll each portion into a ball. You want a dough ball without visible seams except the bottom.
Place dough balls in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to proof for 1−2 hours at room temperature to use the same day, or store in refrigerator to use the next day.
Place dough ball on lightly floured surface, and lightly flour the top. Use fingertips to evenly flatten out the dough ball. Work from the edges to the center press dough into a 12" circle. Place both hands within the shell edge and stretch with fingertips and palms maintaining an even pressure. Or, use a lightly floured rolling pin to stretch to desired shape.
Sprinkle cornmeal or semolina on pizza peel (a wooden paddle with a handle to slide the pizza in the oven) or a cutting board. The cornmeal allows the pizza to slide onto the stone easily.
After topping the pizza, when you are ready to cook it. Shake the peel or cutting board to make sure none of the dough is sticking.
Carefully slide the pizza into the oven.
Bake in a 500 degree oven for 20-25 minutes, until crust is golden.

Additional Information

Cooking pizzas with this dough should be done on a baking stone. Using a pan will produce a very soft "doughy" crust. The stone in the oven should be preheated to 500F for an hour prior to baking, and should be placed in the middle of the oven.
(This recipe makes about 34 oz. Adjust ingredient amounts for your purposes)