Calabrese & Sweet Cherry Pepper Bar Pie

Ingredients

• 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons bread flour
• 1⅓ teaspoons kosher salt
• 2/3 teaspoon sugar
• 1/16 teaspoon instant dry yeast, essentially a generous pinch
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons room temp water, just nothing noticeably warm
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• ½ - 3/4 cup tomato sauce
• 6 ounces low-moisture mozzarella, shredded
• 3 ounces Calabrese salami, thinly sliced
• ¼ cup sweet cherry peppers, sliced - but drained really well and patted dry with paper towels before using
• Freshly grated Parmesan, to finish
• Hot honey for drizzling
• Crisco or neutral oil for the pans

Method

1. Put the flour, salt, sugar and yeast in a large bowl and stir briefly. Add the water & oil, then mix until everything comes together and there's no dry flour remaining. It will look a little rough, and that's fine - cover and let rest for 30 minutes
2. After the 30-minute rest, knead the dough by hand for 2 to 3 minutes, until it becomes smoother, tighter and slightly springy. Cover and let rest for another hour. And no need to chase a perfectly smooth dough - two or three minutes by hand will develop enough strength for these thin bar pies. Cover and let rest for another hour
3. Divide the dough into two equal pieces, approximately 7½ ounces each. Shape into balls, put each in a lightly oiled covered container and let proof at room temperature for 2 to 3 hours
4. Make ahead: If making the dough ahead, refrigerate the covered dough balls after shaping. Take them out 2½ to 3 hours before you want to make the pizzas so they can warm up, relax and finish proofing
5. Generously grease two 10-inch bar-pie pans with Crisco or neutral oil - or make one at a time
6. Put one dough ball in each pan and gently flatten it a little. If you find it doesn't want to stretch, let it relax in the pan about 30 minutes
7. Once relaxed, use your fingertips to gently press the dough all the way to the edges, then top with half the toppings for each: the sauce (start with about 1/4 cup), mozzarella, sliced Calabrese, the sliced sweet cherry peppers and a bit more mozz. But keep the toppings fairly light. This is a thin pizza, and piling on too much can make the center soft and prevent the bottom from crisping
8. Preheat the pizza oven until the stone reaches approximately 750°F - or your regular oven as hot as it will go
9. Put the first pan in the pizza oven and immediately turn the flame down to low (or your regular oven, leave it on high)
10. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the pan regularly for even browning
11. It's ready when the cheese is bubbling and the edges and bottom are deeply golden and crisp. Remove from the pan and finish with a drizzle of hot honey and some freshly grated Parmesan.
12. Let the oven come back up to temperature before baking the second pizza