New York-Style Pizza (America's Test Kitchen)

Growing up in North Jersey I was spoiled with good pizza...well, fabulous pizza I guess I should say! When we lived in Philly we found a couple decent places.  One of our favorites actually shut down after we moved!  I guess we were helping them stay in business :-)  After moving to the Hershey area we started making our own because we couldn't find anything that we really liked.  The recipe we had was OK, but it didn't really feel worth the effort because something about it missed the mark for me.  Three years after moving there we found a great place that was about 20 minutes from the house.  We were there at least every other week.  Sadly, our pizza search had to start again when we moved to Southern Maryland...and much like the Hershey area the pizza here is...meh!

Seth gave me the America's Test Kitchen cookbook for Christmas.  I had seen the episode where they made New York style pizza and it looked legit.  I was anxious to try it out myself.  The first run was OK...a bit too much flour on the bottom.  The second time was perfect!  It was pretty close to some of the pizzas I've had in Jersey and the kids both loved it.  Success!  The only problem is trying to remember to make the dough ahead of time!
 

Dough:
3 cups (16 1/2 oz.) bread flour
2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. instant or rapid-rise yeast
1 1/2 cups ice water
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp. salt

Sauce:
1 (28 ounce) can whole tomatoes, drained (I use San Marzano with basil leaf)
1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. red wine vinegar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. black pepper

1 ounce Parmesan cheese, grated fine (about 1/2 cup)
8 ounce mozzarella, shredded (about 2 cups)

For Dough:
Pulse the flour, sugar, and yeast in a food processor until combined, about 5 pulses.  With the food processor running slowly add the water; process until the dough is just combined and no dry flour remains, about 10 seconds.  Let the dough sit for ten minutes.
Add the oil and salt to the dough and process until the dough forms a satiny, sticky ball and clears the sides of the bowl, 30 to 60 seconds.  Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled work surface and knead briefly by hand until smooth, about 1 minute.  Shape the dough into a tight ball and place in a large, lightly oil bowl; cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 24 hours or up to 3 days (I find it tastes better the longer it's been sitting in the fridge)

For the Sauce:
Process all the ingredients in the clean bowl of the food processor until smooth, about 30 seconds.  Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate until ready to use. (I've stuck leftovers in the freezer and it's tasted fine when I've thawed it)

To Bake the Pizza:
One hour before baking, adjust an oven rack to the upper-middle position (the rack should be 4 to 5 inches from the broiler), set a baking stone on the rack and heat the oven to 500 degrees.  Transfer the dough to a clean work surface and divide in half.  With cupped palms, form each half into a smooth, tight ball.  Place the balls of dough on a lightly greased baking sheet, spacing them at least 3 inches apart; cover loosely with greased plastic wrap and let sit for 1 hour.

Coast 1 ball of dough generously with flour and place on a well-floured work surface (keep the other ball covered).  Use your fingertips to gently flatten the dough into an 8-inch disk leaving 1 inch of the outer edge slightly thicker than the center.  Using your hands, gently stretch the disk into a 12-inch round, working along the edges and giving the disk quarter turns (I use a rolling pin to try to flatten it out as much as possible).  Transfer the dough to a foil covered pizza peel and stretch into a 13-inch round.  Using the back of a spoon or ladle, spread 1/2 cup of the tomato sauce in a thin layer over the surface of the dough, leaving a 1/3-inch border around the edge.  Sprinkle 1/4 cup of the Parmesan evenly over the sauce followed by 1 cup of the mozzarella.  Slide the pizza carefully onto the baking stone and bake until the crust is well browned and the cheese is bubbly and beginning to brown, 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the pizza halfway through baking.  Transfer the pizza to a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.  Repeat with the second ball of dough (I usually make a double batch so we end up with leftovers!)