Make NY Style Pizza At Home

Pizza Dough
This will make 2 medium pizzas
Ingredients
2 cups Pizza Flour or Bread Flour, if neither is available all-purpose flour will work.
2 tsp or 2 packets of active dry yeast (not instant yeast unless that’s all you can find) 2 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup water
Pizza Margherita
Ingredients
One pizza ball from above recipe
6 or 7 slices of low moisture mozzarella or 1 cup shredded
1/2 to 1 cup of good quality canned tomatoes, blended (better to get whole canned tomatoes but anything you can find will do. If San Marzano variety, even better)
Pesto Pizza
Ingredients
One pizza ball from above recipe
6 slices of low moisture mozzarella or 1 cup shredded
5 or 6 slices of prosciutto (optional but very good with it) Pesto
1 cup fresh basil or dried
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1 clove garlic
2 tbsp pine nuts (you can substitute for walnuts or pecans)

2 medium sized bowls to mix the dough
2 small bowls for the dough to rise
Plastic wrap or 2 clean kitchen towels
Cutting board
Kitchen knife
Wooden or metal mixing spoon
Liquid measurement cup
1/4 cup dry ingredient measuring cup
Cookie sheet, or pizza dish
Optional:
pizza stone or pizza steel
Pizza peel

Margheritta Pizza and Pesto Pizza
Pizza Dough
This will make 2 medium pizzas
Instructions
Mix water with sugar and 1 tsp of the flour.
Mix in the yeast and wait a few minute until it hydrates and blooms.
When you see bubbling on top of your yeast you’ll know that the yeast is alive and active. Place the yeast and water mixture in a deep bowl.
Slowly add flour, 1 cup at a time, and mix well with a wooden spoon.
Keep adding flour until a dough forms.
Add salt and olive oil.
Place the dough on a table and mix together with your hands.
Begin the kneading process by stretching the dough in one direction, reforming it into a ball, turning it 90 degrees and repeat until smooth and elastic.
Place in a deep bowl and cover with plastic wrap and place the bowl in a warm area of your kitchen to rise until doubled in size.
Punch down and divide into 4 equal balls.
Dust with flour and place in a sheet pan, separated enough from each other as the balls of dough will grow into each other.
Cover well and allow to rest for a minimum 15 minutes up to 2 hours.
The longer the dough rests the easier it will be to stretch.
Press down with your fingers and begin to form the rim.
Press down firmly on the center of the dough with all your fingers to deflate.
Grab the edges of this dough with your fingers curled and begin a movement similar to your hands on a steering wheel when you are driving.
The dough will begin to stretch out of its own weight.
If you are using a peel dust it with some flour to make sure the dough will not stick to it.
If using a pizza dish or a sheet pan do not worry about this. The dough will not stick as it cooks.
Make sure the dough is free to move by jerking it around.
Place your toppings and slide into a hot oven to cook, using a jerking motion.
Pizza Margherita
Instructions
Salt and oil your blended tomatoes until they are no longer acid and taste good to you.
If you have a pizza stone, or better yet a pizza steel, place in the middle rack of your oven. Preheat your oven to its maximum temperature. My oven goes to 525 so that’s what I set it at.
If it went higher I would put it at a higher temperature. Whatever maximum your oven can give you.
Stretch your dough as instructed above.
If you have a pizza stone or steel you can also use a pizza peel for best results. Flour the peel very well and put your stretched dough on top.
If none of these options are available put your stretched dough on a baking sheet. It does not matter if the baking sheet is square, you can still make a round pizza in it.
Moving swiftly so your pizza does not stick oil the edges of your pizza dough with olive oil. This will promote better browning.
Spoon tomato sauce over the dough, leaving the outside border untouched.
Top with the basil chiffonade.
Add 5 or 6 slices of mozzarella or the shredded mozzarella on top.
Place in the oven:
If you have a peel use jerky motions to make the pizza land on the stone or steel.
If working with a baking sheet simply put it in the oven.
Cook for about 5 to 6 minutes until the crust is nicely browned.
Please note that without a pizza steel or stone the pizza will need a total of about 10 minutes in the oven.
Remove from the oven and slice.
Enjoy!
Pesto Pizza
Instructions
If you have a good processor put all the pesto ingredients in the bowl and process until smooth
If making by hand chop the basil and nuts together until fine. Mix in a bowl with the rest of the ingredients.
With a mortar and pestle, if you have one:

Begin by pounding the pine nuts to a paste.
Add the garlic and pound together.
Add the basil leaves and pound to a paste.
Add the olive oil gradually as you do the basil.
Add cheese and season to taste. See note below regarding prosciutto.
If you are using prosciutto salt the pesto lightly. The prosciutto is salty so do not want to overdo it.
Stretch the pizza as instructed above and place on a well dusted peel or on a pizza dish or a sheet tray.
Oil the edges of the dough. The oil promotes browning.
Add the pesto on the pizza making up to but not including the crust area.
Place the mozzarella evenly on top.
Add prosciutto.
Stick in the oven as instructed above and cook until done: 5 minutes with a pizza steel, about 10 minutes if not.