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Italian Hot Dogs Bread

Subject: Italian pizza bread
From: Henry
Date: 6/18/2020, 2:46 PM
To: phaedrus@hungrybrowser.com

On 6/18/2020 12:37 PM, Henry wrote:

 Good afternoon Chef this is Henry Hunter with Henry’s Bread Kitchen in 
Columbia South Carolina. I have a client who is suffering withdrawal for 
the Italian pizza bread used to make Italian hot dogs in Newark New Jersey. 
Are you familiar with this and if so how would I go about getting a copy 
of the recipe. Thank you for your attention. I look forward to your reply.

~Henry

Hello Henry,

I am indeed familiar with Newark Italian Pizza Bread. I searched for the bread recipe previously, in 2011. See: 11-17-2011

The Newark "Italian Hot Dog" was created by a restaurant called "Jimmy Buff's." See: Jimmy Buff's

It's served on a "roll" they refer to as "pizza bread". The bread is said to simply be made from leftover pizza dough or is said to be "almost like mufulletta bread but with a bagel-esque hole in the middle."

A number of bakeries in the Newark area sell the bread.

Henry, none of the restaurants or bakeries that sell this bread have been willing to give out a recipe. There is no authentic recipe available publicly. People that want to make these "Italian hot dogs" at home use pizza dough or make it with a mufulletta bread recipe. I could not find any particular pizza dough recipe that is used in Newark, so I assume it's just a typical pizza dough recipe.

Note that I have never been to Newark, I have never had one of those Italian hot dogs, and I am not a chef or baker, just a "recipe sleuth". However, I would consider the recipe given in “The Great American Hot Dog Book: Recipes and Side Dishes from Across America” By Becky Mercuri to be the best choice. I think she did her research well. The book is excellent. Her recipe is below.

If you want to learn about Newark Style Italian Hot Dogs, see these sites:

Chowhound 2

The Fresh Loaf

There are some ideas about the bread on these sites:

There is a "copycat" recipe here: Melanie's Kitchen

Chowhound 3
"can’t get Calandras style pizza bread for Italian Hot Dogs. It took years to figure it out, but here’s the answer and it’s simple!!!
1. Buy pizza dough in the tin from your local Jersey-type pizza place.
2. Leave it out at room temp for an hour or so.
3. Turn it out into a cookie sheet (the dough should have come oiled in the tin).
4. Put a hole in the middle with a wooden spoon handle.
5. Bake at 400-425 for 15-20 min.
DONE!!"

Pizza Making
 "I grew up a 15 minute (kid walking speed :) ) From Jimmy Buffs (the original site).  As kids we walk there and watch those babies being made in that special frying set up that was angled.  I have made them many times since I no longer live in NJ. You need to make a really wet same day pizza dough with a high yeast amount and bake the round on your stone."

Phaed

From “The Great American Hot Dog Book: Recipes and Side Dishes from Across America” 
By Becky Mercuri:

Pizza Bread

Olive oil (not extra-virgin)
1 pound prepared, refrigerated pizza dough

Lightly oil a large mixing bowl. Place dough in the bowl and turn to lightly coat.
Cover with a towel and set in a warm place for one hour. Preheat oven to 350°.
On a lightly floured board, punch dough down, shape into a circle about 1-inch in
thickness, and let it rest for 15 minutes. Place the round on a baking sheet
lightly brushed with olive oil. Lightly brush the dough with olive oil and bake
for about 30 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the bread sounds hollow
when tapped with the fingers. Remove from oven and let cool for at least 15 minutes.
Vertically cut bread in half and remove some of the interior bread in each half,
forming a pita-like shell. Serves 2.