The dish to eat in Princeton · United States

Thin-crust bar pie

Name: Thin-crust bar pie
Yield: 2
Cuisine: United States
Ingredients: 1 1/4 cups (160 g) bread flour; 1/2 tsp instant yeast; 3/4 tsp fine salt; 1/2 cup (115 ml) cool water; 1 tbsp olive oil, plus 1 tbsp for the pan; 1/2 cup (120 ml) canned crushed tomatoes; 1/4 tsp dried oregano; Pinch of salt and sugar; 5 oz (140 g) low-moisture mozzarella, grated; 1 oz (30 g) aged provolone or Parmesan, grated; 20 slices pepperoni

Photo: Alex114721, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source

A thin, crisp pizza baked in a pan, the kind served at a bar with a beer.

Conte's served Princeton's first pizza on October 13, 1950, and it still turns out thin, crisp pies at the bar on Witherspoon Street. On a weekend night you put your name in, order while you wait, and the pie arrives with the table.

Where to eat it Cook it at home Have a chef cook it at home

Where to eat it: the best three in Princeton

Conte's Pizza
Witherspoon Street
Order: Pepperoni pie
Princeton's first pizza, since 1950.
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Pizza Den
Princeton
Order: A plain pie
Named best pizza in Central New Jersey by a national website.
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Nomad Pizza
Princeton
Order: A wood-fired pie
In the student paper's cheese-pizza comparison.
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All three are on Chef Amazing’s list The best thin-crust bar pie in Princeton, which you can save and take with you.

Cook it at home: Thin-crust bar pie

Serves 2Time 30 min, plus a 24-hour rise

Chef's home version of a bar pie: a lean dough rolled thin, baked in a dark pan on the bottom of a very hot oven so the base fries crisp. Not Conte's recipe.

Pans and tools

12-inch dark steel pan or cast-iron skillet
Rolling pin
Mixing bowl

You’ll need

1 1/4 cups (160 g) bread flour
1/2 tsp instant yeast
3/4 tsp fine salt
1/2 cup (115 ml) cool water
1 tbsp olive oil, plus 1 tbsp for the pan
1/2 cup (120 ml) canned crushed tomatoes
1/4 tsp dried oregano
Pinch of salt and sugar
5 oz (140 g) low-moisture mozzarella, grated
1 oz (30 g) aged provolone or Parmesan, grated
20 slices pepperoni

Steps

Mix the flour, yeast and salt, then add the water and 1 tbsp oil. Stir into a shaggy dough, rest 10 minutes, then knead 3 minutes until smooth.
Oil a container, add the dough, cover and refrigerate 24 hours.
Heat the oven to 500°F (260°C) with a rack in the lowest position for 45 minutes.
Stir the tomatoes with the oregano, salt and sugar. Do not cook the sauce.
Oil a 12-inch (30 cm) dark steel or cast-iron pan. Roll the cold dough as thin as you can, about 13 inches, and press it into the pan up to the edge.
Spread a thin layer of sauce to the very edge, then the mozzarella, provolone and pepperoni.
Bake on the lowest rack 12 to 15 minutes, until the edges are dark and the cheese is spotted.
Slide it out onto a board, rest 2 minutes, and cut into squares or wedges.

Chef’s tips

Keep the sauce thin; too much makes the base soggy.

Cheese all the way to the edge gives the crisp, browned rim.

A cold dough rolls thinner without springing back.

Contains: ['wheat', 'milk'].

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