New York style pizza

 

The Origin and History of New York Style Pizza

The history of New York style pizza dates from the early 1900s when Italian immigrants, particularly from Naples, introduced the tradition of pizza making into the United States. The first pizzeria to open its doors in America in 1905 was Lombardi's, which located in Manhattan's Little Italy. Lombardi's was founded by the Italian immigrant named Gennaro Lombardi, whereby first started selling tomato pies wrapped by a paper to factory workers, later to evolve into what is now New York-style pizza through the influence of American ingredients, the influence of high-gluten flour, and the advent of large coal or gas ovens. Unlike the relatively softer, more delicate crust associated with its Naples counterpart, New York-style pizza evolved into a large, thick, and foldable slice, crispy on the exterior and chewy on the interior.

The growth of New York-style pizza came alongside the advent of Italian-American neighborhoods and the burgeoning of commercial bakeries in bulk processes for making mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce. Going into mid-20th century America, it became quite the staple food for not only Italian immigrants but for the wider populace, thus earning itself the right to coerce a defining food identification with the city. The affordability, convenience, and easy ability to eat on the go made it the choice food for busy New Yorkers. The style spread beyond the confines of the metropolis, particularly after World War II, as returning veterans added their weight to the strong demand for fast and good food. And soon enough New York-style pizzerias sprouted all over other cities, sealing the dish’s popularity nationally.

Those Were the Markers of New York-Style Pizza

Marking New York-style pizza is characteristically different from other regions. The most visible fact is the thin but strong crust. Dough made out of high protein bread flour grants chewiness and strength to the bastion. The tap water in the New York City area is said to have a certain mineral composition that many pizzerias emphasize affects texture and flavor. Fermentation of the dough may extend between 24 to 48 hours, ultimately resulting in a deeper flavor profile.

The aftermath hand-thrown and stretched for the even thickness. Crispy on the base due to very high-temperature oven that can go up to 600 to 700 degrees Fahrenheit.The scorching heat contributes the charring phenomenon on its golden-brown exterior, though pliable enough to fold into halfmaking into an indispensable part of a New York's pizza-eating experience. It comprises a sauce made mainly from crushed San Marzano or Roma tomatoes-the latter two being added as secondary items needed in moderation to provide balance with flavor. It avoids that of other types such as sweetened or heavily spiced ones; otherwise, new-york pizza relies on the inherent sweetness and acidity present in the tomato-accompanied mostly just with salt, oregano, and olive oil.

The pizza is hand-tossed and then stretched into its even thickness slightly off shape. The high temperature of ovens reaching 600 to 700 degrees Fahrenheit is what stories the crispy base. This high heat charred it on golden brown but still pliable enough to be bent in half, one of the marks of the New York pizza-eating experience. This sauce consists of mostly crushed San Marzano or Roma tomatoes. Very limited, to balance the flavors, it is put up. Unlike the other styles that served sweetened or highly spiced sauces, New York style's most common features were the innate sweetness and acidity way found in tomatoes and just slightly salted, with the use of oregano and olive oil.

This is part-skim low moisture mozzarella cheese and is used generously in scattering all over the sauce before the baking process. This is the cheese that melts beautifully and imparts a smooth, slightly stretchable layer with golden spots on it. The traditional topping on a pizza is minimal, with pepperoni being the most popular followed by sausage, mushrooms, onions, and bell peppers. However, the most typical way for many New Yorkers to enjoy their slices is plain (cheese pizza) or with very few, well-balanced toppings that do not disrupt the integrity of the crust and sauce.

How to Make New York Style Pizza

Making pizzas the New York way is both an art and a science. It actually starts with the dough, which takes a lot of preparation and fermentation. Most pizzerias nowadays follow a simple but perfect recipe for their dough consisting mainly of flour mixed with water, yeast, salt, and perhaps a little sugar or olive oil. The dough is then kneaded until enough development of gluten occurs for elasticity and structure. It is then fermented in a cool place to let yeast slowly break down sugars and build flavors.

The dough is then cut into balls and hand-stretched, unlike Neapolitan pizzas, where the shaping happens using fingertips. For New York-style pizzas, tossing and spinning build and stretch the dough to a very thin but strong skin. From there, it's about keeping that right thickness and size- usually between 16 and 18 inches across-but takes practice. Next, that dough goes onto a dusted pizza peel, using cornmeal or flour to help ensure no sticking happens when the toppings go on with sauce, cheese, and other ingredients.

Finally, the baking process itself defines the final product. New York pizzerias generally bake their pizzas in deck ovens, which provide more even heat distribution, allowing the crust to probably cook more consistently. A few of the more old-school places rely completely on coal-fired ovens, which will get extremely hot and will add further crispness and just a bit of a smoky taste to crusts. Its self-baking is about 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the temperature of the oven. Before cutting it into large, triangular pieces, the pizza rests before the slicing.

New York-Style Pizza vs. Other Regional Style

While New York-style pizza is the most recognizable of all pizzas, it is still only oneamong many regional pizzas within the United

 States. It bears almost no resemblance to that of the deep-dish Chicago pizza, which has a thick, buttery crust and is cooked in a deep pan. With cheese and toppings on top of most pizzas and sauce poured as the icing, deep-dish pizza really resembles a casserole. By contrast, New York pizza is thin-the only kind to fold-into-the-blue much faster consumption.

Just wait and watch for New Haven-style pizza, popularly termed 'apizza' as one with other well known regional style. This type of pizza hails from Connecticut and is often characterized by a certain dryness; it has crispy, slightly charred crust and is generally coal-fired. New Haven pies are usually drier than the New York counterpart, and frequently lack cheese as an ingredient unless requested.

A Detroit-style pizza has a rectangular form with thick crust and caramelised edges of cheese. While the New York pizza can be crunchy and foldable, Detroit-style pizza has an airy interior with a crunchy, cheesy crust. The sauce is also ladled on top of the cheese instead of underneath.

California-style pizza can get a gourmet touch now and then, with more unorthodox toppings such as goat cheese, arugula, and smoked salmon. The crust is thinner and crispier than the crust of New York-style pizza and often the toppings are fresh rather than cooked into the pizza.

Cultural Significance of New York-Style Pizza

Not only in taste but in texture, New York-style pizza is even much more important culturally in the city and beyond. It is a sign of an immigrant history that shaped New York, the entrepreneurial spirit of its people, and the fast pace of life. Pizzerias literally dot every street corner in New York, and each has a slice for residents and tourists to feast on cheap yet mouth-watering meals. Most of these pizzerias were established decades ago by families, with recipes and techniques being passed on through generations.

New York-style pizza is typically part of New York's "by-the-slice" culture. You can't expect to find most varieties of pizzas sold whole pies in the shops; this is perhaps because it would be considered a culture unto itself. Instead, through perhaps a great bachelor life, at 1:00 am leaving a party with friends, or just searching for a little pick-me-up during the day, you'll be driving along wanting to stop in at one of New York's great pizzerias.