New York Pepperoni

A large-format foldable slice. The dough is chewier than Neapolitan, the sauce is cooked, the cheese is low-moisture mozzarella, and the pepperoni should curl into cups at the edges in the oven heat. Makes one 45 to 48cm pizza after a 24-hour cold ferment.

The Dough

1. Combine the flour, yeast, and sugar in a bowl. Add the water and mix until no dry flour remains.
2. Rest for 15 minutes.
3. Add the salt and olive oil. Knead for 8 to 10 minutes by hand or 6 minutes in a stand mixer with a dough hook. The dough should be smooth, slightly tacky, and not sticky.
4. Shape into a ball, place in a lightly oiled container, cover, and refrigerate for 24 hours. Remove 2 hours before baking.

The Sauce

1. Add the garlic cloves to a small pan with a tablespoon of olive oil over low heat. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes until softened but not coloured.
2. Add the tomatoes and crush them with a spoon. Simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has reduced by a quarter.
3. Season with salt and the oregano. Cool completely before using.

Assembly

1. Preheat the oven to its maximum temperature (250 to 280°C) with a baking steel or stone inside for 45 minutes.
2. Press and stretch the dough on a semolina-dusted surface to a rectangle or round approximately 45cm across. NY-style pizza does not require a raised border: the dough can be stretched to the edge.
3. Transfer to a semolina-dusted peel or the back of a large baking tray.
4. Spread 150 to 180g of the cooled sauce evenly over the surface.
5. Grate or slice the low-moisture mozzarella and distribute evenly over the sauce: use enough to cover the surface with one even layer, approximately 200g.
6. Lay the pepperoni slices over the cheese. Thin-sliced cup-and-char pepperoni will curl at the edges and crisp in the oven; thicker slices remain flat.

Baking

Slide the pizza onto the preheated steel or stone. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes, rotating once at the halfway point. The cheese should be fully melted and beginning to brown in patches. The edge of the crust should be golden-brown. The pepperoni should be curled and slightly crisped at the edges.

Serving

Cut into 8 large slices. A proper NY slice is eaten folded: pinch the crust edge, fold the tip up to the crust, and eat from the point. The fold concentrates the cheese and topping in the bite and prevents the tip from drooping. This is not optional; it is how the pizza works.

Method

The dough is a 24-hour cold-fermentation build. Mix flour, yeast, and sugar with cold water until shaggy — no dry flour remains — then rest 15 minutes. Add salt and oil, then knead by hand for 8–10 minutes or machine for 6 minutes until the dough is smooth, slightly tacky but not sticky. Shape into a ball, oil lightly, cover, and refrigerate for a full day. The cold ferment develops flavour and extensibility without overproofing; the slow enzymatic breakdown of the flour also tenderises the gluten network, giving you chew rather than toughness. Remove from the fridge 2 hours before you bake — this allows the dough to relax and rise slightly at room temperature, making it easier to stretch.

The pizza-sauce is cooked, not raw. Infuse olive oil with two crushed garlic cloves over low heat for 1–2 minutes until soft but not coloured — browning the garlic brings bitterness that fights the acidity. Crush the canned tomatoes by hand into the oil, then simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. You're driving off water and concentrating the tomato solids; aim for roughly a quarter reduction. Season with salt and oregano once cooled. A cooked sauce caramelises slightly in the oven and doesn't weep liquid across the crust, which would soften it.

Preheat your oven — 250–280°C is the realistic maximum for a home oven — with a steel or stone inside for 45 minutes. Dust your work surface with semolina, stretch the dough on a semolina-dusted peel to a rectangle or round roughly 45 centimetres across. NY-style has no raised rim: stretch to the edges. Spread 150–180 grams of cooled sauce evenly, then distribute 200 grams of grated or sliced low-moisture mozzarella in one even layer — this prevents wet spots and ensures even melt. Lay thin-sliced cup-and-char pepperoni across the cheese; the thin cut will curl and crisp at the edges in the oven's heat, pooling fat that seasons each bite. Thicker slices stay flat and greasy.

Slide onto the hot steel. Bake 6–8 minutes, rotating once halfway through. The cheese should be fully melted and beginning to brown in patches; the crust edge should be golden-brown and the pepperoni curled and slightly crisped. Cut into eight large slices. Fold the slice in half — pinch the crust edge, fold the tip up to meet it — and eat from the point. The fold concentrates the cheese and topping in each bite and prevents the tip from drooping under its own weight.