Trenton tomato pie with cheese-under-sauce layering

Dough spec

Flour

Bread flour

Hydration

62%

Salt

2.2%

Oil

3%

Scale this guide

Use the dough calculator with this hydration/salt/oil and a 320g ball weight for any number of pizzas. Open the full dough calculator for more control, or the fermentation schedule builder to work backwards from a target bake time using this guide’s cold fermentation approach.

Related techniques

Steps

1. MixMix flour, water, salt, and oil to a smooth dough with moderate gluten development, the same logic as a standard New York-style mix.
2. Bulk fermentBulk ferment at room temperature for 1-3 hours.
3. Divide and ballDivide into 320g portions and ball tightly.
4. Final proofCold-ferment for 24-48 hours, then bring to room temperature for an hour or two before shaping so the dough stretches rather than tears.
5. ShapeHand-stretch to roughly 32cm, similar technique to New York-style shaping.
6. TopApply cheese directly on the dough first, then spoon a thick, chunky, well-seasoned tomato sauce over the top in broad strokes — the reverse of standard pizza layering, and this style's defining characteristic.
7. BakeBake on a preheated steel or stone at 280-310C for 6-9 minutes, until the base is well browned.
8. RestRest for a minute before slicing — the top sauce layer needs a moment to settle rather than sliding off a fresh-cut wedge.
9. ServeCut into wedges and serve.

Bake notes

An under-thickened top sauce is the most common way this guide goes wrong — since the sauce sits exposed on top rather than protected under cheese, it needs to be cooked down enough that it doesn't leave the pizza too wet.