An Attempt at New York Style Thin Crust Pizza

NY style pizza crust

A Chicago area guy’s efforts to make NY style pizza crust.

This Recipe Feeds

This recipe makes enough dough for three New York-style thin crust pizza on a 10.5″ Lodge cast iron griddle.

Equipment

  • Large mixing bowl
  • Dry measuring cup
  • Liquid measuring cup
  • Large spoon for stirring
  • Tablespoon
  • Teaspoon

Ingredients

  • 3 cups of plain white flour
  • 1 table spoon of yeast
  • 1 cup of hot (ish) water – not boiling
  • 1/2 teaspoon of sugar
  • 2 teaspoons of salt
  • 1/4 cup of olive oil

Prep Time

This recipe takes about 15-20 minutes to make. That time does not include the time it takes for the dough to rise.

Preparation

  1. In a large mixing bowl, add the 1/2 teaspoon of sugar.
  2. Into the same bowl, pour the cup of hot water.
  3. Sprinkle the yeast across the top of the water in the large bowl.
  4. Wait 10-12 minutes for the yeast to do whatever the yeast does. It will be ready when it looks kinda doughy. (See yeast photos above.)
  5. Add a single cup of flour to the water, stirring the mix. (I do so by hand, using a big spoon.)
  6. Add the two teaspoons of salt to the mix.
  7. Add another cup of flour, continuing to stir the mix.
  8. Add the third cup of flour. If you’re stirring by hand, at this point you may need to set down the big spoon and mix the dough by hand.
  9. Add the olive oil, mixing the dough until all the ingredients are held together. It will look wet and oily by will feel like a solid bit of dough.
  10. Cover the dough in the bowl and allow it to rest and rise for about 60 minutes.

Preparing Dough for the Pan

As I wanted to make thin crust, I definitely used a rolling pin to get the crust thin. I spread a little flour on the counter mat before placing the fresh dough on top. I like to roll from the inside out, rotating the pin around the dough to keep a rough shape of a circle. (On my deep dish crust, I tend to preparing the dough by hand, foregoing the rolling pin.)

Notes

  1. This style of crust won’t rise a lot. I think the amount the olive oil keeps it from doing so. (Not entirely sure about that.)
  2. I preheat my oven to 500° F as soon as I get done preparing the dough. I find that by the time the oven is hot enough, the dough will have risen enough.
  3. I always preheat my pans. I pop them into the oven as I start the oven.
  4. With the griddle pan, I sprinkle a tiny amount of regular corn meal onto the surface of the pan just prior to laying the dough upon it.
  5. Working with cast iron pans preheated to 500° F takes a bit of practice. Be prepared for a few “learning burns” until you get the hang of it.

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