South Shore Bar Pizza

When I got a request for this recently, I did a search, and realized South Shore Bar Pizza was the same thing we grew up eating, except we called it cracker crust pizza–the style of pizza we got anytime we’d go to a bowling alley, a movie theater, or any kind of snack bar location. It’s probably the easiest pizza to make, and I’m excited to share my take with you.



South Shore Bar Pizza
Ingredients

Pizza Dough:

  • 2 1/4 teaspoons dry active yeast (1 packet)

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons white sugar

  • 1 cup warm water, at about 105 degrees F (41 degrees C)

  • 3 2/3 cups all-purpose flour or bread flour

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

  • 2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter

  • 2 tablespoons corn oil or other vegetable oil

Sauce:

  • 1 1/2 cups San Marzano tomato puree (from 1 can San Marzano tomatoes), or plain tomato sauce

  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt

  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, or to taste

  • 1 pinch cayenne pepper

Pizzas:

  • 1/2 cup corn oil, divided, to grease pizza pans

  • 8 ounces grated sharp white Cheddar cheese

  • 8 ounces grated Monterey Jack cheese

Instructions
    1. Stir yeast, sugar, and water together in a bowl; let sit for about 10 minutes.

    2. Stir in flour and mix until a dry, shaggy dough forms. Add salt, butter, and 2 tablespoons oil and mix to combine. 

    3. Knead with your hands in the bowl until dough comes together, then turn out onto the counter and continue to knead until a stiff but smooth dough forms, about 1 to 2 minutes.

    4. Return dough to the bowl; rub the surface of the dough with a small amount of oil. Cover the bowl and let dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size, up to 6 hours. Alternately, place dough in the refrigerator to rise overnight.

    5. Meanwhile, make the pizza sauce. Blend San Marzano tomatoes until smooth using a stick blender or in the jar of an electric blender. Measure out 1 1/2 cups of the tomato puree and place into a bowl. Stir in 1 teaspoon kosher salt, dried oregano, and cayenne pepper. Refrigerate until ready to make the pizzas.

    6. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C). Drizzle 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons oil into a 10- to 12-inch pizza pan.

    7. Divide dough into 4 pieces and roll into balls. Keep dough covered when not using. Press 1 dough ball into a round disc and place on the prepared pizza pan. Press and stretch dough flat, almost all the way to the edge of the pan. Poke the dough all over with a fork.

    8. Once the dough is properly punctured, top with about 1/3 cup sauce, spreading all the way to the edge of dough. Top the entire surface with 2 ounces each of Cheddar cheese and Monterey Jack cheese.

    9. Bake in the preheated oven until cheese is bubbling and bottom of pizza is browned, 10 to 12 minutes. Repeat with remaining ingredients to make 3 more pizzas.

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