I gotta say, pizza hut has gone down hill lately in quality, but none the less, pretty cool they delivered pizza to the International Space Station!
“The US restaurant chain Pizza Hut has announced that it has become the first company in the world to deliver a pizza to outer space. “[source]
So what is a New England Bar Pizza? Unlike traditional Neapolitan or New York pizza, New England bar pizza is smaller in size, typically 10″ and cooked in a pan. The crust is more cracker like with burnt edges which gives it an awesome flavor. The Cheese and sauce extends to the edge of the pizza, leaving no crust exposed. Typical pizza uses mozzarella cheese, the New England bar pizza uses both mozzarella and cheddar cheese. Cheddar cheese has more oil in it and helps create a somewhat greasy flavor (trust me its good, how can it not be. It’s cheese grease!) and browned coloring.
Look at that brown bubbly goodness! Notice the burnt edge around the pan. This is what you want with your New England Bar Pizza, it is full of flavor.
- Dough
- 1⅔ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast
- ⅔ cup water
- 1½ teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- Sauce
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- Topping
- 4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (1 cup)
- 4 ounces whole-milk mozzarella, shredded (1 cup)
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- choice of your toppings (I used canadian bacon & jalapenos)
- For the Dough - Combine flour, sugar and yeast.
- Slowly add in the water and mix until combined.
- Let the dough rest for 15 minutes.
- Add oil & salt, mix until the dough forms a ball and is no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl.(about 1-2 minutes)
- Transfer dough onto a lightly oiled surface top and knead until smooth, about 1 minute. Shape dough into a tight ball and place in a greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until it has doubled, 2-3 hours.
- For the Sauce - Process all ingredients in a food processor until smooth, about 30 seconds. Set aside.
- Toppings and Baking - Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat to 500 degrees.
- Combine cheddar & mozzarella in a bowl.
- Using a pastry brush, grease the bottom and sides of two 9 inch cake pans.
- Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface, divide in half and shape into balls.
- Gently flatten 1 dough ball into a 6 inch disk using your fingers.
- With a rolling pin, roll disk until it is 10 inches round.
- Transfer dough to cake pan and press into corners forcing ¼ inch lip of dough up the sides of pan.
- Repeat with remaining dough ball.
- Spread ⅓ cup sauce in a thin layer over dough.
- Using a pastry brush, brush sauce over lip of dough
- Sprinkle 1 cup cheese mixture evenly over pizza.
- Add your choice of toppings.
- Repeat with remaining dough
- Bake for about 12 minutes or until crust is browned and cheese is bubbly and beginning to brown.
- Let cool for 5 minutes.
- Slice, serve and enjoy!