Grandma Pizza has grown in popularity over the past 20 years, going from a regional specialty found at pizzerias in Long Island, New York, to a trendy style that’s increasingly a menu standard, even getting upscale treatment at times. These days, many square or rectangular pan pies, some as tall as 2.5 centimetres, get the “Grandma” name, but the original Grandma Pizza was much thinner —0.5 to 1 centimetres tall. At its most basic, this is a gas oven-fired, light, crispy-chewy, square pan-cooked pie with a scattering of mozzarella, a light addition of uncooked crushed tomatoes, and garlic.

Sofia Pizza Shoppe founder and Sofia Wine Bar owner Tommy DeGrezia’s pizza pedigree doesn’t harken back to Long Island, but it does run deep in New York pizza lore. His grandfather was one of the founders of J & V Pizzeria in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, one of that borough’s most famous spots going back to 1955. Tommy’s traditional take on the style stays true to that same thin, crispy-chewy approach.

Tommy’s recipe, which calls for a dough made with a blend of “00” and all-purpose flour and prepared two days in advance, yields one 24-ounce dough ball designed to be baked in the 30cm by 46cm pans he uses at his pizzeria. But the amount also works nicely in a 40cm by 40cm pan, which will fit into Ooni’s Karu 16 and Koda 16 ovens (you’ll just need to stretch the dough out a bit more). If you want to preserve Tommy’s dough-to-pan ratio in smaller square pans, you’ll want to adjust the amount of dough respectively: 520 grams for a 36cm pan and 382 grams for a 30cm pan.

Just remember, whatever pan size you choose, you’ll need to allow about three hours between removing the dough from the fridge and baking it in the oven!