There’s nothing I love more than a simple thin crust cheese slice. A large fold-able New York slice joint style pizza is always in regular rotation at the Santa Barbara Baker house. It’s pure comfort food and somehow everyone always finds a little extra room to grab a slice of the classic plain cheese pizza. Also known as a “plain pie” it should be an unpretentious pizza but that doesn’t mean it’s time to sleep on the ingredients. For this style I’m inspired by places like Scarr’s Pizza in New York City who are elevating the plain slice by taking an artisan approach to the whole process. They keep it real though and make sure the pizza stays approachable to all. That’s the kind of pizza lifestyle I feel passionate about.

I’m finding the Ooni Koda 16 runs pretty hot so it’s important to stay on top of your temps especially when baking thin crust New York style pizza. I highly recommend using an infrared thermometer as part of your “pizza tool kit.” I like to go for a longer bake on this style and have found that you can even turn the oven completely off to finish off your pizza for a crisp bottom and no burning issues. If you go this way it’s the perfect pizza to end your pizza party. A plain cheese pizza to cleanse to the palate! Kid friendly and loved by all, the plain cheese New York Style slice is a pizza must-have in your lineup! Hope you are staying healthy and making, dreaming, and of course eating lots of pizza! One love.

Print Recipe

“NEW YORK STYLE” PLAIN CHEESE PIZZA

New York Style Pizza in the Ooni Koda 16.

Prep Time30 minutes mins

Cook Time4 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Pizza

Keyword: Ooni, Pizza

Ingredients

• 3 oz Basic Pizza Sauce I use Bianco DiNapoli Whole Peeled Tomatoes. (recipe)
• 1 tsp Oregano I like Calabrian oregano.
• 110 g Cheese Blend Shredded; I like a mix of full-fat low moisture mozzarella mixed with another good melting cheese such as jack
• 300-325 g Pizza Dough A naturally fermented (sourdough) recipe.

Instructions

• Preheat your Ooni Koda 16 for at least 30 minutes, I like to heat the center of the oven deck to around 800-850f before loading this style of pizza. Before loading turn the control knob clockwise past the "lightning bolt" symbol to utilize the lower temperature range for the bake (see video for full explanation). Begin building the pizza by applying 3oz (you just want a thin slick) of tomato sauce (I use a ladle, but a spoon will do!) to the stretched dough. Apply oregano generously. Top with cheese blend working from the crust in, you just want a light covering to ensure that classic molten speckled look. Bake in your Ooni pizza oven till fully baked and nicely colored (I aim for a 4-6 minute bake for a more crispy bottom) Watch the video for the real time bake! (I've found that you can turn your oven completely off to finish this style of pizza if you are having burning issues) Let the crust set on a wire rack for a least 20 seconds. Slice into 4 large slices, serve immediately on a paper late or reheat and re-crisp individual slices in your Ooni with the temperature all the way down for the classic slice shop vibe.

Notes

In the New York Pizza How To Video I’m using the 14″ Pizza Peel from Ooni to load the pizzas and this 12″ Perforated Peel is currently being used as my turning peel. I always let my pizzas rest for a short while to ensure the crust doesn’t get soggy, they kick it on this half sheet pan rack set. I use this pizza cutter.