It’s Friday night and that means it’s pizza night at our house. I love pizza, especially the thin crust New York-style pies.
I had been searching for a great thin-crust pizza recipe for a while and hadn’t really loved any of them. I was ready to throw in the towel and break it to my hubby that in order to achieve pizzeria-quality pizza at home he would have to buy me a very expensive pizza oven 😉 . BUT all of that changed when I caught an episode of America’s Test Kitchen on PBS where they were making thin crust pizza <whew>. It looked SO stinkin’ awesome that I immediately ordered a pizza peel from Amazon {because I didn’t own one and a pizza peel is crucial to the execution of this recipe}; I even expedited the shipping so I could try the recipe ASAP!
America’s Test Kitchen nailed each of the 3 elements that makes thin crust pizza amazing:
- The crust is SO flavorful with just the right amount of crispness
- The sauce is spot-on pizza parlor sauce
- The combination of whole milk mozzarella and a little bit of Parmesan completes the flavor profile.
Cook’s Notes:
*This recipe uses some kitchen equipment that’s crucial to the outcome of the pizza: 14 x 16 inch Baking Stone and a 14 inch Aluminum Pizza Peel. {Click on the links to see the exact ones I have.}
*I have now made this recipe 4 times and if you want your pies to come out pizza parlor worthy, then you need to follow the directions to a T!
*Grating soft cheeses like whole milk mozzarella can bee a little tricky, to ease your shredding spray your grater with a little cooking spray and shredding should go a lot smoother!
*This recipe calls for ice water and YES, use ice water! It’s crucial to the chemistry of your dough (trust me, I know from experience…).
*The sauce recipe makes enough for 4 pizzas. You can either store extra sauce in the fridge and it’ll keep for a week, or in the freezer and it’ll keep for a month.
*Make sure you heat the oven for a full hour with the pizza stone in it before baking. Again, I know this from experience…………….
*Semolina flour is ideal for dusting the peel; use it in place of bread flour if you have it.
[gmc_recipe 1939]Hungry for more pizza? Check out my other recipes here.
I’m linking this post up at:
Metamorphosis Monday, Menu Plan Monday , Skip to My Lou, Sumo’s Sweet Stuff, Tip Me Tuesday, Show & Tell, Lil’ Luna, Live, Laugh, Rowe, Somewhat Simple, Tidy Mom, 504 Main, The Best Blog Recipes, WhipperBerry, All Our Days, Tatertots and Jell-O, Lolly Jane, I Heart Naptime, A Well Seasoned Life, Flamingo Toes
No-Bake Cherry Chocolate Cheesecake
Anna Lawrence
July 16, 2013 at 10:22 AMThis pizza looks great, good job! I think I might have to either make or get some pizza tonight after seeing this.
Honestly, some commercial pizza ovens aren’t that expensive in the grand scheme of things. The Bakers Pride Y-602 is a good model (and is worth it to me). But, yeah, mostly they are reserved for the restaurant setting.
Veda
October 26, 2013 at 2:45 PMOn ATK site it says the correct measurement of sugar is 2 Tbs. not 2 tsp,
Jillian
October 28, 2013 at 10:57 PMThanks for catching my mistake, I updated the recipe!
Veda
October 29, 2013 at 5:00 AMDon’t feel badly that you had the incorrect measurement for the sugar, because every site that I checked for this recipe had the incorrect measurement. It was only when I went to ATK’s website that they pointed out that the video was incorrect and that the correct measurement was 2 tablespoons sugar and not 2 teaspoon. However your site was the only one that I mentioned this. So you are probably the only site besides ATK that has the correct information
grannyamoose
February 17, 2014 at 11:24 PMWow, this looks awesome! I cook my pizza on a Pampered Chef Stone and it does pretty good but your pizza looks great. I also bake my cookies on my rectangle stone and they always come out perfect. I love cooking on stones and yes, I always preheat my stones along with my ovens so they preheat at the same time; otherwise, you have to add time to your cooking times because your stone will have to heat up (that takes a while).
christina p
February 19, 2014 at 7:01 AMThanks for the post. I got a peel for my birthday, but haven’t tried to make pizza on it yet. I will definitely try this!
Shannon
February 19, 2014 at 5:07 PMOK, now I want pizza. That looks amazing. Thank you for sharing.
Tina Louise
February 25, 2014 at 4:45 PMI would love this. we love thin crust. we love NY pizza. can’t wait to try it.
Jillian
February 25, 2014 at 11:43 PMIt’s a great recipe. Enjoy!
The Semisweet Sisters
October 8, 2014 at 10:01 AMThis recipe looks & sounds amazing! I’ve been searching the internet for a good New York Style Pizza Dough Recipe because I have yet to make a good pizza. Can’t wait to try your recipe out!
Jillian
October 8, 2014 at 3:55 PMIt’s a great recipe. Being from back east where the pizza is ah-mazing, this recipe satisfies all of my NY-Style pizza cravings!
Sarah
November 29, 2014 at 12:45 AMHi, I’ve tried the recipe twice but I can’t seem to get a nice smooth ball in just 30-60 seconds. I tried leaving it longer but it still hasn’t worked. It’s so sticky. Any advice on what i must be doing wrong?
Jillian
November 29, 2014 at 7:09 PMHi Sarah,
It sounds like your dough needs a little bit more flour. I live in San Diego and some days when I make this dough I have to add more flour and some days I don’t, it all depends on how humid it is. If this happens again add 1/4 cup of flour, and mix for 30-60 seconds. Repeat until enough flour is added to the dough so it clears the sides of the mixer and it forms a satiny, sticky ball. I hope this helps!
arathi
February 14, 2016 at 1:03 PMCould you please let me know what kind of bread flour. In the store i see unbleached bread flour and whole wheat bread flour by king Arthur and gold medal. not sure which one to buy. i leave in CA
Jillian
February 14, 2016 at 9:46 PMHi! Use unbleached bread flour, either brand will do (but I favor King Arthur). Enjoy!
arathi
February 17, 2016 at 12:35 PMThank you jillian.. made it yesterday it came out really good. Only thing that was hard was to slide the pizza on to the stone.. Can I reduce sugar.. i felt the pizza was slightly sweet.. will it affect the yeast reaction..
Jillian
February 17, 2016 at 11:21 PMI am SO glad you liked the recipe. The key is to load up your pizza peel (or whatever you’re using to get the pizza onto the pizza stone with) with LOTS of cornmeal or semolina flour!
As far as your sugar question, I’m not sure. I’ve never tried this recipe with less sugar, but I do know that sugar is needed to feed the yeast. I say give it a try and let me know what your thoughts are!
The Right Crust
April 1, 2018 at 3:25 PMYour tip about shredding mozzarella is great! Thanks!
Jillian
May 9, 2018 at 6:42 PMYou bet! Thanks for stopping by!