This is not just any regular pizza. This is the most New York food there is, made for the most New York superhero there is. Spider-Man has saved that city more times than anyone can count and the guy still can’t afford a decent meal, so for Vol. 2 of Cooking the Movies I put Spider-Man on a plate. I could have made some over the top red and blue pizza, but that would have missed the point. Peter Parker is a kid from Queens, and a kid from Queens grows up with pizza on every block. So he gets the real thing. A classic New York slice, the kind they hand you on a paper plate, no fork, nothing fancy on it. And then I found a way to sneak him onto it.
Why You Will Love this New York Style Pizza
The dough: A 00 flour poolish carries the flavor, bread flour in the final dough carries the chew. 70% hydration gets you a crisp bottom and an open, light rim instead of a bready one.
Foldable, not floppy: A proper New York slice bends without breaking and holds its tip. That comes from a 290 gram ball stretched to 12 inches and a hot bake, not from a thicker dough.
Never a same day dough: The poolish means you always get an overnight, which is the honest minimum for a crust that tastes like something. But it also gives you a fast path if you need pizza tomorrow instead of the day after.
Simple on purpose: Uncooked sauce, low moisture mozzarella, good olive oil. New York pizza is a short ingredient list executed properly, and that’s the whole appeal.
The spiderweb: Piping a web of sauce over the finished pie takes thirty seconds and turns a plain cheese slice into the reason people stop scrolling. But obviously this is unnecessary and i did it for my cooking the movies series.
Ingredients
Makes four 12 inch pizzas.
For the poolish (night one):
- 300 g 00 Flour
- 300 g Water
- 3 g Instant Dry Yeast
- 3 g Sugar
For the final dough:
- All of the poolish
- 325 g Bread Flour
- 175 g 00 Flour
- 260 g Cold Water
- 20 g Fine Sea Salt
- 10 g Olive Oil
For the sauce:
- 1 (28 Oz) Can Whole Peeled Tomatoes, preferably San Marzano DOP
- 1 TBSP Olive Oil
- 1 TSP Fine Sea Salt
- 1 Small Clove Garlic, grated (optional)
- Pinch Dried Oregano
For the pizza:
- 12 Oz Low Moisture Whole Milk Mozzarella, shredded
- Pecorino Romano or Parmigiano Reggiano, grated
- Olive Oil
- Semolina or Flour, for the peel
How to Make a New York Style Slice:
Night one, evening. Whisk the 00 flour, water, yeast, and sugar together until no dry flour remains. Cover it, leave it at room temperature for about an hour, then move it to the fridge overnight. It wants 16 to 24 hours cold and never more than 24. I usually pull mine right around 16. Past a day it turns sour and starts smelling like alcohol, and you can’t take that back out.
Day two. Take the poolish out about an hour before you mix so it warms up and wakes up. You’re looking for a domed, bubbly surface with obvious activity. Add the bread flour, the second hit of 00, and the cold water, and mix until there’s no dry flour left. Let it sit for 20 minutes before you add anything else. This is the step people skip and it’s the one that makes the dough easy to handle, because the flour is hydrating while you do nothing.
Add the salt and the olive oil and work the dough until it comes together smooth. At 70% hydration it will be sticky at first and it will stop being sticky if you keep going. Use slap and folds on the counter rather than kneading it like bread. Four or five minutes of that and it should pull into a smooth ball that holds its shape.
As soon as the ball is formed, straight into the fridge for a cold bulk overnight.
Day three. Take the dough out for 30 minutes to an hour, then divide into four 290 gram balls and round each one tight. Rest them on the counter about 2 hours. If your kitchen runs warm, closer to an hour and a half.
Don’t go by the clock alone. Use the poke test. Press a fingertip about half an inch into the ball. Springs back fast and fully means it’s too early and the gluten is still tight. Springs back slowly and leaves a slight dimple means it’s ready. Barely springs back at all means it’s overproofed, so stretch it now and keep it thin.
The faster version. Day three is optional. On day two, after mixing, you can bulk at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours, ball it, and bake later that same day. The poolish already did the flavor work, so the overnight cold bulk is the upgrade, not the requirement.
The sauce, and do not cook it. Crush the tomatoes by hand into a bowl, leaving some texture. Stir in the olive oil, salt, oregano, and the garlic if you’re using it. That’s the whole sauce. New York sauce is bright and raw and it finishes cooking on the pizza.
Stretch and bake. Get your oven as hot as it goes, 550°F with a steel or stone on the upper middle rack, preheated at least 45 minutes. In a Gozney or similar, 750°F.
Stretch on a floured counter, working from the center out and leaving a half inch rim. Pick it up and let gravity finish the job, turning it over your knuckles until the middle is thin enough to almost see through. Onto a peel dusted with semolina.
Sauce it thin, all the way to the rim, using the back of a spoon in a spiral. Then the cheese, edge to edge, and a light grating of pecorino. Bake until the rim is blistered and the bottom is crisp and browned.
Now the web. Put a few spoonfuls of the leftover sauce into a piping bag or a squeeze bottle and cut a small opening. On the finished pie, pipe a dot in the center, then two or three rings around it, then straight lines from the middle out to the edge like spokes. Drag a toothpick from the center outward through the rings if you want the classic curved web. Finish with a thin drizzle of olive oil.
Cut into six slices, let it set for a minute so the cheese stops sliding, and eat it standing up. And that’s Spider-Man, on a plate.
Common Mistakes:
Letting the poolish go too long: Over 24 hours cold and it turns sour and boozy. 16 hours is the sweet spot. This is the one timing rule in the whole recipe that you can’t fudge.
Cooking the sauce: New York sauce goes on raw. Simmer it first and it cooks twice, turning dull and sweet. Crush, season, done.
Going by the clock instead of the poke test: Two hours is a guideline, not a rule. Kitchen temperature moves it around by half an hour in either direction, and the ball will tell you where it’s at if you press it.
Too much sauce and cheese: A New York slice is thin. Overloading it steams the crust from above and you lose the crisp bottom, which is the entire point.
Piping the web before the bake: The sauce spreads and blurs in the oven. Pipe it on the finished pizza so the lines stay sharp.
Stretching with a rolling pin: A pin crushes the gas out of the rim and you end up with a cracker. Stretch by hand and let the dough do most of the work.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a poolish and do I really need it?
A poolish is equal weights of flour and water with a little yeast and sugar, fermented before the dough is ever mixed. Here it’s 37.5% of the total flour. It builds flavor and extensibility up front, and it’s the reason this dough is never a same day dough. You can make pizza without one. It won’t taste like this.
Can I scale the recipe up?
Yes, and the ladder is simple. Poolish 300 makes four 12 inch pizzas, poolish 400 makes six, poolish 500 makes eight. The percentages stay identical at every size.
What about 14 or 16 inch pizzas?
Same dough, different ball weights. 360 grams for a 14 inch, 450 grams for a 16. The larger sizes run slightly thinner, which suits the style.
Can I make this without a pizza steel?
A steel is the best home pizza upgrade there is, but a stone works, and an overturned heavy sheet pan preheated for 45 minutes gets you most of the way. The goal is a hot surface that doesn’t give up its heat the second the dough lands.
Why low moisture mozzarella instead of fresh?
Fresh mozzarella releases water and turns a New York slice soggy. Low moisture whole milk mozzarella melts, browns, and stays where you put it. Save the fresh for Neapolitan.
What sauce should I pipe the web with?
The same sauce that’s on the pizza. It’s already the right color and consistency, and anything else adds a flavor the pizza didn’t ask for.
The Spider-Man New York Slice
Ingredients
- 300 g 00 flour
- 300 g water
- 3 g instant dry yeast
- 3 g sugar
- 325 g bread flour
- 175 g 00 flour
- 260 g cold water
- 20 g fine sea salt
- 10 g olive oil
- 28 oz whole peeled tomatoes preferably San Marzano DOP
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 clove garlic grated (optional)
- 1 pinch dried oregano
- 12 oz low moisture whole milk mozzarella shredded
- 2 tbsp pecorino romano grated
- 1 tbsp semolina for the peel
Instructions
- Night one. Whisk the 300 g 00 flour, 300 g water, yeast, and sugar together until no dry flour remains. Cover, leave at room temperature about 1 hour, then refrigerate. The poolish wants 16 to 24 hours cold and never more than 24. Around 16 is the sweet spot. Past a day it turns sour and boozy.
- Day two. Take the poolish out about an hour before mixing so it warms up and wakes up. It should be domed and bubbly with obvious activity.
- Add the bread flour, the remaining 00 flour, and the cold water to the poolish. Mix until no dry flour remains, then let it rest 20 minutes before adding anything else.
- Add the salt and olive oil. Work the dough with slap and folds on the counter for 4 to 5 minutes until it is smooth and holds its shape. At 70% hydration it starts sticky and stops being sticky as you go.
- As soon as the ball is formed, refrigerate for a cold bulk overnight.
- Day three. Take the dough out for 30 to 60 minutes, then divide into four 290 g balls and round each one tight.
- Rest the balls on the counter about 2 hours, or 90 minutes if the kitchen is warm. Use the poke test rather than the clock. Press a fingertip half an inch into the ball. Springs back fast means too early. Springs back slowly leaving a slight dimple means ready. Barely springs back means overproofed, so stretch it now and keep it thin.
- Faster version. Day three is optional. On day two, after mixing, bulk at room temperature 1 to 2 hours, ball, and bake the same day.
- Make the sauce and do not cook it. Crush the tomatoes by hand into a bowl, leaving some texture. Stir in the olive oil, salt, oregano, and the garlic if using.
- Heat the oven as hot as it goes, 550F with a steel or stone on the upper middle rack, preheated at least 45 minutes. In a Gozney or similar, 750F.
- Stretch a ball on a floured counter from the center out, leaving a half inch rim, then finish over your knuckles until the center is thin enough to almost see through. Move it to a peel dusted with semolina.
- Sauce thin to the rim with the back of a spoon in a spiral, then the mozzarella edge to edge, then a light grating of pecorino.
- Bake until the rim is blistered and the bottom is crisp and browned.
- This is completely optional but pipe the web. Put a few spoonfuls of leftover sauce in a piping bag or squeeze bottle with a small opening. On the finished pizza, pipe a dot in the center, two or three rings around it, then straight lines from the middle out to the edge. Drag a toothpick from the center outward through the rings for the curved web look. Finish with a thin drizzle of olive oil.
- Cut into six slices, let it set a minute so the cheese stops sliding, and eat it standing up.
