New York style pizza by the slice (two ways)
You could write a whole book on New York’s most iconic of dishes. At the end of the 19th century, hundreds of thousands of Italian migrants moved to New York, and with them came tomato-topped Southern Italian pizzas. Gennaro Lombardi, on Spring Street in Little Italy, opened a restaurant with a coal-fired oven and started selling whole pies by the slice—two innovations to feed hungry, time poor, and cash-strapped factory workers, and both unheard of in the homeland.
Following World War II, returned veterans with a taste for Italian flavours fuelled pizza’s spread around the country—and by that time, almost every street corner in New York had pizza by the slice.
In 2008, 2 Bros. Pizza started selling pizza slices for $1 to outprice the standard $2 subway fare, and competitors soon sprouted throughout the city, giving rise to the ‘dollar slice’—a not good, but perfectly acceptable, student and drunk alternative to the artisan slices found everywhere else.
New York pizza is characterised by a medium–thin, lightly crisped and chewy crust—a sturdy structure to support a wide-cut slice that droops slightly at the tip and can be folded in half to eat. Glass cabinets display a range of toppings. The best loved are still the classics, including tomato-sauced pepperoni and white slice—here with ricotta, mozzarella, and lemon.
This recipe is an extract from EAT NYC by Yasmin Newman (Smith Street Books)
Next why not try this sourdough pizza recipe?
How to make NY pizza by the slice (two ways)
Yield
Makes 2
Ingredients
Pizza dough
Pepperoni slice
White slice
Step 1
Place the pizza dough ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Knead for 1–2 minutes, until combined. Stand for 15 minutes to rest the gluten, then knead for a further 7 minutes, or until smooth and elastic. Transfer to a greased bowl, cover and refrigerate for 24–48 hours to cold ferment. Remove the dough from the fridge 2 hours before using.
Step 2
Meanwhile, to make the red sauce for the pepperoni slice pizza, warm the butter and oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook the onion and garlic, stirring frequently, for 6–7 minutes, until soft and starting to caramelize. Add the oregano and chili flakes and stir for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, crushing them with a fork, then add the basil sprig. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes to develop the flavor. Remove from the heat, discard the basil sprig and blend with a stick blender until mostly smooth but with some chunkiness.
Step 3
Preheat the oven to 500ºF (260ºC) or as high as your oven will go. Divide the dough into two even balls. Roll one dough ball out on a lightly floured work surface. Gently press the dough into a rough 8 in (20 cm) circle, leaving the outer edge thicker than the centre to form a rim. Gently stretch the dough by draping it over your knuckles to form a 12–13½ in (30–34 cm) circle, about ¼ in (5 mm) thick. Transfer to a 12 in (30 cm) round metal pizza tray. For the pepperoni slice pizza, spread ½ cup (125 ml) of the red sauce over the dough, leaving a border (reserve the remaining sauce for another use). Scatter with the mozzarella and top with the pepperoni.
Step 4
Bake the pizza for 12–15 minutes, until the cheese has melted with some browned spots, and the crust is golden brown and puffed. Transfer to a cutting board and leave to stand for 5 minutes. Scatter with more chili flakes, if desired, and cut into slices to serve.
Step 5
For the white slice pizza, roll out the remaining dough ball in the same way and transfer to the pizza tray. Spread the cream over the dough, then scatter with the mozzarella. Dollop the ricotta all around, then scatter with the pecorino. Bake and leave to stand as directed above. Sprinkle with the lemon zest, cut into slices and serve with the lemon wedges.
