New England Bar Pizza

 20 March 2023

Recipe from Cook's Country, August 2014 (updated in February 2023)

From the "United State of Pizza" comes this speciality from the south shore of New England. I don't think I've ever made a pizza that I really disliked, so I viewed this a low-risk recipe to try after seeing it made on the Cook's Country TV show. It is amazing how many regional variations of pizza there are across the country. 

This was a relatively convenient pizza to make as both the dough and sauce was made in a food processor and the pizza was cooked in round cake pans. AP flour, sugar, and yeast were combined in a food processor. With the processor running, water was added until no dry flour remained. The nascent dough rested for 10 minutes then olive oil and salt were added and processed until a ball forms and clears the sides of the bowl. This was placed in a covered bowl and rested until it had doubled (actually, more than doubled) in volume. The processor bowl was cleaned and dried and the no-cook sauce was made by processing the ingredients: a can of diced tomatoes, olive oil, dried oregano, sugar, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. After the dough had risen it was divided in half. Each half was flattened into a 6-inch disk then rolled into a 10-inch disk. It was sticky but easy to work with the addition of a little flour. Because it was springy it was difficult to make a nice neat circle of dough and I ended up with some excess dough clumped at the edges of the pans. The dough was placed into a 9-inch round cake pan that had been coated with olive oil. Sauce was added followed by grated mozzarella and sharp cheddar cheeses. It was baked in a 450° oven, removed from the pans, and served after cooling for 5 minutes. For the two of us each pizza provided one dinner. The total time was 3½ hours, much of it hands off.

We enjoyed this pizza and will have it again soon as there is leftover sauce waiting in the freezer. The crust has a real nice chew but could have been a little crispier, suggesting it could have baked for another 5 minutes. The sharp cheddar cheese gives it a great tangy flavor and there is a nice lacy edge from cheese that was placed on the side of the pan. I used store-brand cheeses and it would be interesting to try a better quality cheddar. There is a variation of this pizza that adds baked beans and salami as toppings. We probably won't try that but we might add some toppings the next time we make it.