The Grandma Pizza is my favorite pizza to make and once you see how easy it is, it will become yours as well. Created at Umberto’s of New Hyde Park in Nassau County, Long Island, this amazing pizza can now be found in most of the New York metro area. Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about the technique and ingredients needed to create the perfect Grandma pizza is below.
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What is Grandma pizza?
Grandma pizza is unique and quite different from the ubiquitous traditional New York pizza.
It is a fairly thin sheet-pan pizza that’s baked in a pan that has been heavily coated with olive oil. This creates the perfect environment to fry the bottom of the pizza giving Grandma pizza that unmistakable crunch!
Grandma pizza contains sliced mozzarella cheese and randomly scattered thick plum tomatoes on top.
Kind of like an upside-down pie.
It’s almost always drizzled with a heavy dose of garlic-infused olive oil and finished with some Sicilian oregano and Pecorino Romano cheese.
Because it’s made in a pan, it holds up well to toppings and I use the Grandma pizza as a base for many of my other pizza recipes, such as pepperoni pizza and zucchini pizza.
Where did Grandma pizza come from?
The Grandma pie was created on Long Island at Umberto’s of New Hyde Park. Its popularity soared in the 2000s and onward in the New York metro area.
Fun fact: Umberto’s would often make special deliveries for the New York Giants and Yankees. I’m sure the Mets and Jets like it too. 😉
Though the Grandma pie isn’t quite as well known as a traditional New York pizza or a New York Sicilian, it’s still very well known amongst New Yorkers.
Some of the more popular places amongst the hipster crowd will create their own names for the style, but basically, it’s a thin sheet pan pizza.
Just like the one your Nonna would make.
How to make the dough
Each number corresponds to the numbered written steps below.
Note: Mass measurements will always be more accurate than volume measurements. For doughs and bread, this is a good thing, because it provides absolute consistency. I only use mass measurements for baking/dough recipes and always stick to standard cups, tablespoons, etc. when “cooking”. But, I also provide the volume (standard U.S. customary) measurements here and in the recipe card below.
Bakers Percentages: 64% hydration, .4% yeast, 2% salt, 3.4% oil, 1.2% sugar
Note: Baker’s percentages will allow you to scale the dough amount up or down depending on how much you need. To use baker’s percentages you simply divide the amount of flour in a recipe by 100 and then multiply that number by the percentages listed above.
- Weigh out or measure 406 grams (3.25 cups) of bread flour, 2 grams (1/2 teaspoon) of instant yeast, 8 grams (1.5 teaspoons) of fine sea salt, and 4 grams (1 teaspoon) of sugar and combine into a large bowl.
- Mix the dry ingredients together.
- Pour 9 ounces of cold water into another large bowl. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the water and mix together.
- Pour 14 grams or 1 tablespoon of olive oil all over the dough and continue to mix well to incorporate all of the ingredients.
- Place the dough onto a large work surface (a plastic cutting board or granite/marble countertop work best) and begin kneading. To knead, you want to fold the dough over and press down and away on the cutting board with a bit of force. Turn the dough 90 degrees and repeat. Knead for at least 5 minutes. If the dough becomes too sticky, cover it for 30 minutes with plastic or an inverted clean bowl and let the dough warm up. Return to kneading (just make sure to knead for at least 5 minutes total) and then form a dough ball.
- You do not need a perfect dough ball for Grandma pizza so don’t go crazy. To form the ball, fold the dough tight and create a seam. Rotate the dough and fold again. Do this 20 times, then pinch the seam side. Place the dough ball seam side down in an oiled container and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate the dough for at least 12 hours to cold ferment. Do 24-48 hours if you can plan ahead.
- Remove the dough 2 hours prior to use to warm up. Oil the sheet pan with a 3/8 cup of olive oil. You need plenty of oil. Remove the dough and place it into the oiled pan. Using your fingers press down and try to stretch the dough into the pan. You will not be able to do this right away.
- Cover the sheet pan with plastic wrap and wait 45 minutes, before returning to stretch the dough. Depending on how warm the dough is, you might need to repeat the process one more time to completely fill the pan.
How to make the best Grandma pizza
Each number corresponds to the numbered written steps below.
- Hand crush 1 (28 ounce) can of whole San Marzano or other good quality plum tomatoes in a large bowl.
- After hand crushing, strain the tomatoes and save the juice for another purpose. You want to be left with thick tomato pulp with minimal juice. Season the tomatoes with a 1/2 teaspoon of Kosher salt, mix well, and set aside.
- Combine 3 tablespoons of olive oil with 3 cloves of minced garlic in a small bowl to create the garlic oil.
- Preheat the oven to 450f and set the rack to the lowest level. Here I am stretching the dough again. Be sure to keep it covered with plastic after stretching.
- I highly recommend buying sliced mozzarella cheese at your local deli or supermarket. If not using already sliced mozzarella, a partially frozen block of cheese is easier to slice. You’ll need 12-16 ounces of sliced mozzarella. The exact weight isn’t as important as covering the dough.
- Now that the dough has filled the pan almost completely, we can move on to assembly and cooking.
- In pic 7 above I am pinning a corner with my hands then placing the cheese down and applying light pressure. This will lock in the corners and prevent them from moving too much. Layer the remaining cheese in an overlapping shingle pattern, leaving about a 1/4″ around the edges.
- Distribute the tomatoes all over the cheese in a random pattern. Resist the urge to over sauce. The tomatoes will spread out during the cooking and will create the characteristic Grandma pizza pattern.
- Drizzle a couple of tablespoons of garlic oil all over the pizza. If you love garlic, use more. Bake the pizza in the oven on the lowest rack for 12 minutes, rotating 180 degrees after 6 minutes. After 12 minutes check the bottom of the pizza with a spatula. If the pizza is nice and brown, move it to the top oven rack and cook for 6 more minutes.
- Remove the pizza from the oven at 18 minutes. Sprinkle a few tablespoons of Pecorino Romano cheese all over the pizza.
- Sprinkle 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of oregano on the pizza. In pic 11 I’m using Sicilian oregano and crumbling it in my hands. Return the pizza to the top rack and cook for 2 more minutes. Additionally, if the Grandma pizza is not crisp enough on top, broil for 30-60 seconds but watch carefully. Normally the pizza does not need to be broiled.
- Here is your perfect Grandma pizza.
That is how to make the real-deal, New York Grandma pizza. It is the easiest of the 3 types of New York pizza – the hardest part is waiting for the dough to cold ferment, but it is worth it!
What type of pan for Grandma Pizza?
Many pizza shops use heavy steel pans for their Sicilian and Grandma pies. They are cooking their pies in a deck oven which browns the bottom quicker. Most home cooks can’t replicate this, though if you have a baking or pizza steel as large as your pan you could try.
If you were to attempt to make this Grandma pizza in a thick steel or cast iron pan in your home oven, the bottom wouldn’t get brown enough in time.
For this reason, I recommend using an aluminum pan on the bottom of your oven. If anything, you’ll have to worry more about the bottom burning. An aluminum pan is thin and will crisp the bottom of the pizza very quickly on the lowest level of the oven.
A dark aluminum pan like the one seen throughout my pictures works amazingly well. It’s a LloydPans 16 x 12″ Grandma pan.
You can also use a standard 18 x 13 half-sheet pan with great results.
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Oven temperature and placement
Now you know the type of pan, but what about the oven?
I cook all of my pizzas in a standard 20-year-old GE oven. I have not tested this pizza using a convection oven, so you may need to adjust the cooking time, oven temperature levels, and of course pan placement.
Note: Many experts state that convection adds 20-25F degrees to recipes that call for a conventional oven.
As mentioned above in the detailed steps you should check the bottom of the pizza after 12 minutes of cooking. If the bottom is very blond, finish cooking it on the bottom rack for the remaining 8 minutes.
If you’re having problems with browning, you could pour 3 more tablespoons of olive oil under the pizza. Grandma pizza uses a lot of olive oil!
Inevitably, the temperature of all ovens fluctuates. Your oven is not my oven, and so on. You may need to play around with the placement and temperatures a bit, but I’m confident that with these instructions you’ll be able to make a Grandma pizza that looks just like mine.
Making Grandma pizza dough in a Kitchen Aid mixer
I’ve shown the process here and on YouTube, (for more pizza check out the 20 pizza videos on my channel) using hand mixing.
Why? Because I like to show without special equipment. But if you want to use your mixer all you have to do is:
- Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl and place half of them and all the water into the Kitchen Aid mixer bowl.
- With the dough hook attached, mix for 1 minute on low (speed level 1) and begin adding in the remaining dry ingredients.
- Drizzle the olive oil into the mixing bowl and continue at speed level 1 for 4 more minutes or until the dough is sticking well to the bread hook.
- Remove the dough, hand knead for 1 minute and cover for 40 minutes. After 40 minutes, ball the dough, place it in an oiled proofing container and get it in the fridge for at least 12 hours. Simple!
More New York pizzeria specialties
- Homemade New York pizza – This is the largest and most comprehensive post on this site regarding pizza.
- New York Sicilian pizza – Thick airy crust with mozzarella, Pecorino, and Sicilian oregano.
- Vodka sauce pizza – Grandma style with vodka sauce.
- New York white pizza – Mozzarella, ricotta, a touch of Pecorino Romano, and garlic.
- Garlic knots – Classic knots with garlic oil and butter, Pecorino Romano, hot pepper, and parsley.
- Cast iron pan pizza – pizza dough topped with tomato, mozzarella, Pecorino, garlic oil, and oregano and baked in a cast iron pan until crisp.
- Pepperoni pinwheels – Pepperoni, ham, and mozzarella rolls – a perfect Grandma pizza addition.
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Grandma Pizza
Ingredients
For the dough
- 406 grams bread flour or 3 1/4 cups
- 2 grams instant yeast or half teaspoon
- 8 grams fine sea salt or 1 1/2 teaspoons
- 4 grams sugar or 1 teaspoon
- 260 grams cold water 9 ounces
- 14 grams olive oil or 1 tablespoon
For the Grandma pizza
- 1 ~24 ounce dough ball from above
- 1 28-ounce can plum tomatoes hand crushed and completely drained of liquid
- 12-16 ounces sliced mozzarella cheese weight will vary, but use enough to cover the pizza completely
- 3 tablespoons Pecorino Romano grated
- 3/4 cup olive oil divided
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon Sicilian oregano or Italian
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Instructions
For the dough
- Place water in a bowl large enough to hold both the water and all the dry ingredients and still have room to spare. Mix together dry ingredients in another bowl.
- Add dry ingredients to water a bit at a time and mix thoroughly to form a dry rough mass.
- Pour the oil over the dough, mix again to scrape off any dough residue stuck to side of the bowl, and place the rough shaggy dough onto a work surface.
- Knead the dough for 5-7 minutes. If the dough is too sticky, place a clean bowl inverted over the dough and wait 30 minutes before resuming. Return to kneading (just make sure to knead for at least a total of 5 minutes).
- Place the bowl over the dough once more and let sit for 30-40 minutes to warm up before forming the dough ball.
- After 40 minutes pull the dough towards its end repeatedly to form a smooth ball. Pinch the seam side and place the dough ball seam side down into an oiled bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 12 hours before using.
For the Grandma pizza
- Take the dough out of the fridge 2 hours prior to using. Do not uncover the bowl. Oil the bottom of a Grandma pizza pan (or standard half sheet pan) with 3/8's cup of olive oil. You need to use a lot of oil!
- Remove the dough from the bowl and place it into the pan. With your fingertips begin pressing the dough into the corners of the pan. You will not be able to do this in one attempt. Place plastic over the pan and let the dough warm up.
- After 45 minutes remove the plastic and try to stretch it again to the size of the pan. Cover with plastic wrap and repeat process one more time until the dough has completely filled the pan. Cover the dough one more time and set aside. Preheat oven to 450f and set one rack to the lowest level of the oven and one to the highest.
- Hand crush the plum tomatoes and drain the juice. Save the juice for another use. Add a ½ teaspoon of kosher salt to the tomatoes and set aside.
- Mince the garlic and add to a bowl with a ¼ cup of olive oil.
- Remove the plastic from the pan and if required press the dough into the edges. Right away layer the mozzarella cheese in an overlapping shingle pattern, leaving the outside 1/4 to 1/2 inch uncovered. Start with a corner. By pressing the dough down slightly you can lock the dough into the corner. Make sure the dough is layered completely with the mozzarella slices.
- Next, add the drained plum tomatoes to the pizza. You can use 45 degree lines or spoon the sauce all over. Leave some open areas. Don’t coat it all. Take the garlic oil and drizzle 3 tablespoons of the oil and garlic pieces all over the pizza.
- Place the pizza onto the lowest rack and cook for 12 minutes rotating the pan 180 degrees after 6 minutes.
- After 12 minutes remove the pizza from oven and check the bottom for browning. If the pizza is well-browned, bake on top rack for 6 more minutes. Otherwise, leave the pizza on the bottom rack for 6 more minutes.
- After 18 minutes of baking remove the pizza and sprinkle with the oregano and Pecorino Romano cheese. Bake for 2 minutes more on top oven rack.
- If the Grandma pizza is not crisp enough on top, you can broil for 30-60 seconds. Watch very carefully though!
- The total cooking time will be approximately 20-22 minutes. Let the pizza sit for 5 minutes before cutting and serving. Enjoy!
Notes
- The dough can be cold fermented for as little as 12 hours in the fridge, to as long as 72 hours.
- If refrigerating the dough ball in a metal bowl use a bit more oil to coat. The metal bowls tend to stick more than plastic.
- Cooking time will vary depending on the exact oven temp. After 12 minutes of cooking on the lowest rack the pizza should be very brown and crisp. If it’s completely blond the pizza should be cooked for the remaining 8-10 minutes on the lowest rack.
- The Grandma pizza needs a lot of oil. More than you think! The oil helps develop the amazing crispy bottom, so please use enough of it.
- Leftovers can be saved for up to 3 days and the pizza can be reheated at 350f on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet until hot. About 10 minutes.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Can I use my mixer for kneading dough for pizza
Yes, you can. Please refer to the section “Making Grandma pizza dough in a Kitchen Aid mixer” for the details.
I have electric stove how should I bake it
Josephine
Hi Josephine, please follow the instructions outlined in the recipe for how to bake it. We also have an electric range.
hi, would KAF 00 pizza flour work, in place of bread flour, with this recipe as written. I have a lot on hand to use
thank you
Hi Rita, 00 flour typically needs about 900°f to get adequate browning and is really meant for a wood fired pizza oven. You would probably have to add more sugar and/or diastatic malt powder to equal the browning you would get from this recipe, though we haven’t tested it and can’t say for sure. We recommend using bread flour, as written, or all-purpose flour.
The dough was very runny; to the point where it would have been physically impossible to knead. I added more flour, but didn’t want to add too much. I just bypassed the kneading stage, covered the dough and refrigerated it for 24 hours. While slightly firmer, it was still runny. I cooked it that way until the bottom crust was golden brown and then finished it on the top rack. While the flavor was good, the dough seemed undercooked in the center. Not sure what went wrong.
Hi Marco. I would check your measurements carefully and ideally weigh them for more accuracy. This is a firm dough since it’s only a 64% hydration.
I weighed everything on a digital scale. I’m baffled..,
Hi – thanks for the recipe! I see a lot of other folks online cooking it on a baking steel first and then finishing on top rack. Is that not recommended if we were following this recipe? Thanks!
Hi Jordan, you don’t need to place the pan on a baking steel first. Our recipe has been tested hundreds of times at this point so we recommend following how we do it here.
Love this pizza!!!!
I was wondering if you can make the dough ahead of time and freeze it? If that is possible at what point would I freeze it and what would I do on the day I want to use it?
Thanks in advance for any hep
Hi Robin, yes. Freeze the dough after the cold-ferment is done. Once it’s fermented, place the dough on a baking sheet (unwrapped) and freeze until it hardens. Then take the frozen dough, wrap it in plastic wrap, then foil and place in the freezer. You can remove the dough from the freezer the day you plan to make it.
Hi, can I use a 17×12 cookie sheet pan? How much dough would I need at that point? This looks yummy, and I am going to make it soon.
Hi Brooke, you can. The grandma pan Jim uses is 16×12 so the 17×12 should work with roughly the same amount of dough.
Could I use one pound of store bought pizza dough for this recipe?
Hi Zebular, this pizza uses a 24 ounce dough ball (1 pound equals 16 ounces). So you’d need to use more than 1 pound of store bought dough if you wanted to follow this recipe.
I have the 18” x 13” Lloyd’s grandma pan. Would you increase the dough amount, I don’t want it too thin.
Hi Cindy, You would need to increase the dough by about ~16%. That would mean a 28oz doughball instead of the 24 in the recipe. Hope you enjoy it!
Had this pizza at Humberto’s in Fort Lauderdale. Great! pizza! The one difference was our pizza ad basil laves added to it. Again it was delicious!!! Thanks for th recipe!
Hope you enjoy it, John.
First, I love reading your emails that I get and have saved so many that it might take me a long time to make all of them.
My Nonna made pizza like this and it’s my favorite pizza. My question is can this be made with regular flower or does it need to be bread flour?
Thank you in advance for your response.
Regards,
Louis Macaluso
Hi Louis, thanks for the comment. You can definitely use all-purpose flour in place of the bread flour here. Hope you enjoy!
Has anyone tried this with King Arthur GLUTEN FREE bread flour. Celiac here.
Rookie dough maker and pizza maker. I have recently purchased the Chefman pizza oven and have baked this recipe once before in a lloyd 12″ round deep dish pan. Very tasty. I grew up in NJ, kind of know what good NY/NJ pizza tastes like. I used whole milk string cheese, which was a pain to chop and spread evenly. Pretty much the only whole milk I can find in the southeast. Did you use the packaged sliced cheese sown in the video? I can purchase that here. I believe that is low moisture skim. I’m ok with that with if you have used it with success. Thanks, love your site and videos.
Hi Willie, the packaged sliced mozzarella cheese works great for this recipe.
I made this today although I did not have the right pan nor did I make the dough, I bought it. WOW THAT’S A LOT OF OIL!! I’m still cooking it, we’re going on more than 20 mins. It is not done at all on the bottom. I soaked a lot of the oil out of it but I don’t think I’ll be able to eat it. I DID order a grandma pizza pan and I’ll make the dough and cook it again this weekend. Hopefully it works cuz I really luv pizza!!
Hi Denise, is the pan on the lower rack of the oven (close to the oven coil)?
Absolutely best recipe for grandma pizza. Made lots of times and followed the recipe to the t. Could you do a recipe for a thin crust Chicago tavern style pizza? Thank you…..
Hi Stephen, we’re so happy you enjoyed the grandma pizza recipe. Yes, we have a few more pizza recipes on our to-do list including the thin crust bar pie.
My 16 year old made this. It’s our new go to for Friday nights. Thank you.
So happy to hear that your 16 old made it and liked it!
I made this for the first time last night, after cold proofing the dough as instructed and followed your directions/ingredients precisely. I have to say, this was just delicious. I really do appreciate all of the thoughtful commentary you provide and your low key, careful, step by step guidance. Your video and photos were very helpful.
This pizza was fabulous. My family loved it. What a hit! Thanks for a great recipe. This will now be one of our regular pizza night pizzas for sure. Best regards,
We’re so happy you enjoyed it, Stephen, and that you found the instructions to be helpful. Thanks for the comment!
Love your recipes
So happy to hear that, Angela!
Love this pizza recipe! It’s nearly perfect every time. This has become a favorite staple in our household!
We’re so happy to hear that, Anthony!
You spend 2 days making a pizza crust and then ya burn it🤷♂️
Sounds like me!
Looks delicious, even burnt!
Fantastic pizza. I’ve made this a few times now and I’m wondering. If I want to make this style pizza but add a lot of toppings like Sausage, peppers, onions, mushrooms, and of course the pepperoni shoul I par bake the dough first? I would cook the veggies ahead of time as well as the sausage. Just wondering if the dough will still rise with the extra weight on it?
Hi Jerry, Jim uses the grandma pizza as a base for his pepperoni pizza and doesn’t par bake the dough. That recipe can be found here: https://www.sipandfeast.com/best-pepperoni-pizza/