I made some long-overdue updates to the bar pizza recipe, based on a lot of trial and error over several months. Take a look at the cheese section specifically for some updates based on new products I’ve been able to source, or workarounds if you can’t find the same things.

I changed the ratio of all-purpose and bread flour based on evolving preferences as I’ve made more of these over time. I switched to SAF red instant dry yeast and I get a lot more lift out of it than I was with the Fleischmann’s Active Dry I had been using before. With a good cook, I think this ratio is very solid.

The mild white cheddar was a big win because that’s what a lot of the really old school places use exclusively. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to exist in the Southeastern United States so I do have to order it from Dakin Farm in 8 oz blocks. If you get on their email list, they have sales a few times a year. Dakin farm was recommended to me by Cabot, since they have no suppliers locally.

During the sale going on from mid-January to February 2nd, I was able to pick up some mild white cheddar for $3.39 a block before shipping (discounted from $4.65).

I also updated what kinds of canned tomatoes I like to use as a base for the sauce. There’s nothing wrong with the Coarse Ground Tomatoes I was buying at Wegmans, it’s just that Publix carries Pastene Kitchen Ready Crushed Peeled tomatoes and I think they taste a little bit better and a little less metallic. Any kind of good ground tomatoes will work similarly.

In a recent batch of bar pies I accidentally let my dough age in the fridge for 4 days. I would say I get the best results using the dough the day after I make it. I usually make it the night before I need it and store it in the fridge, taking it out 3ish hours before starting to form it in the pans.