Why this formula works

The dough is lean enough to fold but contains modest sugar and oil for browning and tenderness in a home oven. A full 24-hour cold fermentation—not the old 34-minute total—builds flavor. Sauce and cheese are generous but divided across two large pies.

Honest timing

Active preparation	30 min
Hydration / proof / preheat	26 h 45 min
Cooking / baking	12 min
Elapsed total	27 h 27 min

Ingredients

strong bread flour300 g (10.6 oz)
cool water190 g (6.7 oz)
fine sea salt7.5 g (0.26 oz)
fine sugar6 g (0.21 oz)
instant yeast1 g
olive oil9 g (0.32 oz)
thick cooked tomato sauce220 g (7.8 oz)
whole-milk low-moisture mozzarella, grated360 g (12.7 oz)
pepperoni, thinly sliced100 g (3.5 oz)

Equipment

0.1 g scale
two dough cups
pizza steel
large peel
pizza wheel

Exact method

1. Mix flour, water, sugar and yeast until shaggy; rest 15 minutes.
2. Add salt and knead 8 minutes. Work in the oil during the final 2 minutes until smooth.
3. Rest covered for 45 minutes, divide into two roughly 257 g balls and refrigerate covered for 24 hours.
4. Bring the balls to room temperature for 2 hours. During the last 60 minutes, preheat a steel on the lower-middle rack at maximum heat.
5. Open one ball to 35 cm, leaving only a narrow rim. Move it to the peel and verify it slides.
6. Spread 110 g sauce, then 180 g mozzarella and 50 g pepperoni in a single even layer.
7. Bake at 250–290°C / 482–554°F for 8–12 minutes, rotating once. Use the broiler only after the underside has browned.
8. Rest 2 minutes before slicing. Repeat with the second half of sauce, cheese and pepperoni.

Bake it with the oven you have

A baking steel is useful, not mandatory. If you do not own one, turn a heavy uncoated metal sheet upside down and preheat it fully; the flat hot back becomes the launch surface. A stone or pizza oven also works when its floor temperature is matched to the topping load.

Setup	Temperature	Preheat	Bake time	Pull it when
Baking steel	250–290°C / 482–554°F	60 min	8–12 min	Bake on the lower-middle rack; rotate once and pull when the slice can fold without a raw center.
Preheated inverted sheet	Maximum heat, usually 240–275°C / 464–527°F	45 min	10–14 min	Launch onto a heavy uncoated sheet upside down; expect slightly less bottom char and a longer set.
Stone / pizza oven	315–355°C / 599–671°F floor	Heat until floor and dome are stable	4–6 min	Use moderate pizza-oven heat, turn often and avoid Neapolitan temperatures that burn cheese before the NY base dries.

Recipe-specific order: Keep the ingredient order from the exact method above; changing ovens changes heat and time, not the topping sequence.

How to know it is ready

A slice folds lengthwise without the tip collapsing.
The underside is mottled brown and crisp at the surface.
Pepperoni cups slightly and releases small beads of fat, not a deep oil pool.

Troubleshooting

Floppy wet tip: reduce sauce only after confirming the steel was fully heated.
Cracker crust: dough was opened too thin or baked too long.
Pale base: move the steel lower and preheat a full hour.
Greasy surface: avoid overlapping pepperoni and blot only large pools.

How to adapt the base recipe

For cheese pizza, omit pepperoni and keep sauce and cheese unchanged.
For a deliberately juicier slice, increase sauce to 125 g per pizza and bake on steel, not a cold tray.
Do not shorten the 24-hour fermentation while keeping the same yeast dose.

Storage and food safety

Refrigerate within 2 hours for up to 3 days. Reheat on a hot covered skillet, then uncover to re-crisp.

Allergens

Gluten (wheat), Milk Depending on the selected product, may also contain: Mustard, Sulphites.

Always verify every label and cross-contact risk; brand formulations can change.

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Category	American pizza
Difficulty	Medium
Total time	27 h 27 min
Yield	2 pizzas, 35 cm / 14 in

New York-Style Pepperoni Pizza