Margherita Bar Pizza

Plenty of the nation’s top pizzerias buck the conventional and apply cheese under the sauce and today we are jumping on board. Breaking outside the traditional pizza procedure of dough, followed by sauce and cheese, we are moving the sauce to the top, creating a completely different type of pizza experience and flavor profile. Switching up what you are accustomed to is where the magic happens. 

One of our favorite pizzerias to follow is Mama’s Too in New York.  Aside from the incredibly brilliant squares they produce, their house slice is a masterpiece, which is their spin on the traditional Margherita pizza. They apply sauce scattered on top of a low moisture mozzarella, and add some hard cheese and basil after the bake to finish the pie.

We knew we wanted to make a crispy Margherita Bar Pizza, based on Mama’s Too house slice. Moving the sauce to the top of the pie will ensure an ultra crispy slice, and put the pure flavor of the tomato at the forefront.  

Anytime you are placing sauce on top you have to account for just how much the sauce will reduce and intensify during the bake. Keeping things simple and lightly seasoned is our best bet.  

Today, we are using Sclafani crushed tomatoes.  They are really great tomatoes from New Jersey.  You can get a 12 count shipped from Amazon to your door for about the same price as any good canned tomato in the store.  

Although we are progressive here in Joplin, Missouri, and have amenities such as running water, and electricity, there are sadly no Whole Foods with Bianco DiNapoli tomatoes to be found. Overcome and adapt, simply use what is available and you have access to.

 

Sauce

• 28 oz. can Sclafani Crushed Tomato (or any good quality tomato)
• 1 tsp. Sugar
• ½ tsp. Salt
• (½ tsp. Oregano optional)

Simply combine all.  I’ll typically mix this up the night before or earlier in the day and store it in the fridge until needed.

**If not using Sclafani, you may need to adjust the salt/sugar ratio to your tastes and particular brand of tomato.

Basil

You can add whole leaves, snip with scissors, or hand tear and apply across the pie. Although no wrong or right way to apply it, I like to cut it lengthwise at a slight angle using a couple of cuts per whole leaf as shown below.  Use as much or as little as you want, and prepare it any way you’d like, just make sure to use fresh basil here.

 

Assembly:

We have our prepared bar pie dough in a 14-inch cutter pan, lightly brushed with a little olive oil.

 

Apply between 7.5 and 8 oz of mozzarella cheese across the dough, making sure the entire edge of the pan is covered.  You could also use a blend of mozzarella and white cheddar as well.

With a large spoon, scatter lines of sauce on top of the cheese across the pie.  I don’t pre-measure the sauce when applying like this, but you’ll probably use ½-¾ Cup.  Keep in mind the sauce will reduce during the bake.

Add a few pinches of a grated hard cheese like parmesan or pecorino romano.

 

Bake in a 500-degree oven on a preheated BakingSteel for 8-10 minutes, rotating as needed. Remove from pan and bake directly on the BakingSteel for an additional 1-2 minutes or until the desired doneness.  I’m always in favor of getting a well-done bake.

 

Place on a cooling rack for a few minutes before slicing. Slice on a cutting board and add another few pinches of your grated hard cheese, a good drizzle of olive oil, and cut basil.

 

Enjoy!

 

If you want the full experience and a complete step-by-step walkthrough of exactly how we make our bar pizza, check out our Bar Pie Guide. The Guide contains around 30 pages of highly detailed info and teaches our bar pie process to help you take your pizza at home to the next level.