The Grandma Pizza. Call it what you will, to me, it’s a beautiful pan pizza that is definitely something my Grandmother has served to the family.

In the New York Pizza Market Brooklyn-Staten Island , Bronx and Queens the Grandma pizza is a thin and crispy square pizza. Sometimes striped with sauce and cheese. Sometimes no cheese at all  or cheese on the bottom. Sometimes with a lot of olive oil ,grated cheese and fresh basil too. It’s thin and crispy, and  it’s cooked in a square or rectangle pan.the dough bottom has lots of crevices.

The Grandma pizza is  baked in a pan with a good amount of oil and this actually gives the dough bottom  a crispy sought of fried texture. The rest of the dough is rather moist and chewy. It’s a great combination of both crispy and chewy.  Here are some photos of traditional grandma pizza so you can have an idea of what I’m talking about.

Ingredients 

1 Large dough ball  19 oz

Olive oil 4 oz

6 oz Tomato sauce crushed plum tomato

Mozzarella Fresh Or shredded 6 oz

Grated Cheese 1 oz

6 Cherry Tomatoes  small, red, fresh ,sliced thin

Basil Fresh

Techniques

Oil Pan well, and be sure to get the side too. Start with your dough flat and stretched out a bit before you put it in the pan. It will make the process easier. Place dough in oiled pan and press down until the dough has covered the pan.The dough will have a tendency to pull back due to the oil underneath but you can let it rest a few minutes and press it out again. I like to let mine rest in the pan for about an hour. I also  cover it with plastic wrap and let it rise a bit more, this allows the crust to rise a bit more and produces a lighter dough with more structure.

After you have your dough all stretched out and relaxed. Cover the dough lightly with some crushed tomato sauce  not too heavy just enough to keep the dough moist and be enjoyed .  You are doing this to keep the dough from rising while we give it its first bake and it also keeps the dough on top nice and  moist.  Cover the dough tray with foil and bake for about 5 minutes or so. You don’t need a lot of fire on top just a hot floor. What you are doing is cooking the bottom of the dough, when you remove the foil and cook the top it will cook fast, so you want to be sure that the bottom is cooked well.

Then cover the dough tray with foil and bake for about 5 minutes or so. You don’t need a lot of fire on top just a hot floor. What you are doing is cooking the bottom of the dough,  be sure to turn the pan so the and check on the dough to see that it’s cooking nicely on the bottom. You want it to be lightly brown when you remove the foil and cook the top it.

One you see the bottom is cooked (always check before you put on the toppings) you can put on your toppings.

Topp with some cheese, tomatoes slices, and olive oil.

Place the tray back in the oven.  Bake until cheese melts and has some browning.  Be sure to rotate the baking tray as you cook to get an Even Bake.

When it come out you can top with shredded parm and fresh chopped basil.

 Fire Tips

Cook the pie well on the bottom with a hot oven be sure to turn the baking tray around as you cook.  Use a small flame or embers only when cooking the top of the pizza. 

Love Your “Grandma” Pizza, and Love Life!