Author Topic: Barnaby's Pizza recipe (Read 9113 times)

TMTM · « **on:** March 31, 2010, 09:52:49 PM »

I've been trying to recreate Barnaby's pizza.. I've only been to the Mishawaka and South Bend, IN stores... I know there are other locations and recipes may vary... I'm hoping to perfect a recipe and looking for others inputs to perfect it. The best recipe I've found so far is one off of a Facebook Group for Barnaby's fans (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=47853026721) by Phillip Johnson. Here is his Recipe:

" Phillip Johnson: I have experimented with pizza dough and I have come pretty close to barnaby's. 11/2 tsp rapid rise yeast, 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour. 1/2 cup yellow corn meal coarse if you can get it. 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup vegetable oil, 1tsp sugar 1 tsp salt 1 cup warm water. Put all in a kitchen aid mixer and mix at lea...st 10 minutes. leave it in the bowl and let it rise. Beat it down and let rise again. Beat it down and rise again and you are ready for pizza. Sauce I use is one 15 0z can of italian stewed tomatoes and one 8 oz can tomatoe sauce. 1tsp basil 1 tsp oregano. It's to much for one pizza but that's the way I make it. You can buy ground itlaian sausage pepperoni and cheese. Roll out the dough put it on a pan dusted with yellow corn meal put on the sauce and put on what you want and then the cheese and bake in 400 degree preheated oven about 15 minutes, all ovens very so just watch it til it's golden brown. You can use a pizza stone too if you have one. Good luck"

Barnaby's has also been being discussed in this forum under other topics http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,10052.0.html I think it falls under the "Chicago style" If anyone tries above recipe or has a great recipe of their own.. please share it here! Thanks!

BTB · « **Reply #1 on:** April 01, 2010, 07:54:45 AM »

Barnaby's was and still is one of the super best small chain pizza restaurants in the business. I'm normally not a big fan of corn meal, but they seem to use alot in their recipe, but it turns out fantastic. When in the area, I go most often to the Barnaby's on the northeast side of the So. Bend area. They make a very unique and good pizza. Worth trying to replicate. I'll put your recipe on my "bucket list." Thanks.
--BTB

ayoob · « **Reply #2 on:** June 10, 2010, 06:06:53 PM »

I liked Barnaby's. Lots of sauce, crispy cheese, very tasty. Good post-little league stuff.

TMTM · « **Reply #3 on:** June 12, 2010, 02:45:48 PM »

I've been working on this one.. here is my recipe so far:

1 dough ball=

3 tsp yeast
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour or 1/2 pound, weight 8.0 oz
1/4 cup of durum, weighted 1 oz
1/4 cup oil
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup warm water

When mixed well.. put on a lightly oiled plate with a brush, lay the dough ball on the plate and lightly oil the exposed area of the dough and wrap it with plastic wrap. The just leave it on your counter top for 10 hours or so and let it ferment at room temp... it'll smell like beer/wine after 10 hours... then use it. Warm the oven to 500.. use a pizza stone if you got it. Dust the dough with AP flour and put a lot of cornmeal and press out the dough on the cornmeal.. and on your pizza peel or pizza pan.. make your crust like Barnaby's by pinching up the edge... then top it and bake it for about 15 minutes, just turn it and check on it. If you like sausage.. be sure to put some pinches of raw sausage as this is how they do it.. it will give the pizza more flavor to let it be cooked on the pizza... it'll get fully cooked don't worry... just put on nickel size pinches.

TMTM · « **Reply #4 on:** November 13, 2010, 11:01:44 PM »

I've recently changed my recipe a bit:

Use fine ground corn meal in place of the durum wheat

The amount of yeast can be less if you like.. its mainly for flavor.

DonC · « **Reply #5 on:** November 24, 2010, 07:42:28 AM »

I love Barnaby's pizza!! We just moved up into the woods in SW MI. but lived 5 minutes from the Mishawaka Barnaby's for yrs.The only things I miss about living in town are high speed internet(DSL unavailable here!!) and Barnaby's!!! Cosimo and Suzie's in Mishawaka also has very good pizza.I'm so glad(and surprised)to find this recipe here and since it's just my wife and I for Thanksgiving this yr,I'm going to try this for my Thanksgiving dinner while my wife has her turkey drumstick.Thanks so much!!!!

TMTM · « **Reply #6 on:** December 02, 2010, 10:06:10 PM »

I reread the recipe I posted here.. I now just leave it out on the counter top for about 4 hours and then refrigerate it overnight and pull it out of the fridge a few hours before use or just set it on top of the stove while the oven heats up should make it soft enough to roll out. I found I like whole 1 lb. block mozzarella cheese and just cut it into 1/4 inch blocks and sprinkle them over the pizza instead of store bought shredded cheese.

BTB · « **Reply #7 on:** December 03, 2010, 08:22:51 AM »

TMTM, in your retry with corn meal added in Reply #4 above, how did it turned out? Better or worse than the earlier durum version? And what size pizza does your version make (I think it's halved from the Johnson recipe)? I've had this (and many others) on my "bucket list" and it's coming up to try. I wouldn't use 1/3rd the amount of yeast that you did, tho, as that seems to be an awful lot.

I seem to remember a good spice flavor to the sauce, but am uncertain what it was. It had a nice flavorful Italian spice taste to it and I'm thinking it might have possibly had crushed fennel in the sauce, along with other things. Huh, getting hungry as I think of it.

--BTB

TMTM · « **Reply #8 on:** January 12, 2011, 05:20:23 PM »

BTB, I know my recipe isn't prefect for sure... I've been to Barnaby's recently and they make the pizza thinner than I do but when I roll mine thinner it doesn't come out well.. tho I like my own recipe. The yeast.. I always remembered Barnaby's as having a nice beer smell to it.. that's what the yeast helped it do for me.. I have over done it with the yeast once and it tasted strong/sour... that can be adjusted to taste... I do like it with the cornmeal in the dough over the durum.. as I do think for sure that cornmeal is in the dough. I also press the dough ball firmly into a pile of cornmeal and roll it out in a lot of cornmeal and let the excess fall off. As for sauce.. I'm no good as making sauce.. so I just use Ragu pizza sauce hehe.

I'd love to hear your results and recommendations to making even better.

TMTM · « **Reply #9 on:** January 12, 2011, 05:23:51 PM »

Here is my current recipe:

1 dough ball for a 10” pizza. I do roll it out to about 11” – 12” and after pinching up to make the crust it’s a 10’ pizza

2 tsp to 4 tsp of yeast (this is for flavor as I let the dough set out for 6 hours and the dough goes flat)
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour or 1/2 pound, weight 8.0 oz
1/8 cup of cornmeal (fine) weighted 1 oz
1/4 cup oil (I like corn oil) veg or olive was fine too.
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup warm water (I found a little bit less water was good, 10% less)

When mixed well.. put on a lightly oiled plate with a brush, lay the dough ball on the plate and lightly oil the exposed area of the dough and wrap it with plastic wrap. The just leave it on your counter top for 6 hours or so and let it ferment at room temp, put in the fridge after that and use it in the next day or 2, it'll smell like beer/wine after 6 hours... then use it. Warm the oven to 500.. use a pizza stone if you got it. Dust the bottom of dough with cornmeal and put some spread out to press out roll the dough on the cornmeal.. and on your pizza peel or pizza pan.. make your crust like barnaby's by pinching up the edge... then top it and bake it for 12 - 15 minutes. If you like sausage.. be sure to put some pinchs of raw sausage as this is how they do it.. it will give the pizza more flavor to let it be cooked on the pizza... it'll get fully cooked dont worry... just put on nickel sized pinches.

I use Whole milk cheese “O-Polly”

When I get more time I'll take pictures and get better details... anyone with idea's or a better Barnaby's recipe is welcome.

BTB · « **Reply #10 on:** January 13, 2011, 12:23:00 PM »

TMTM,

Funny you should bring this up again, as I was thinking of deleting some information and pictures of this that I tried a month or so ago. I just quickly experimented at making a Barnaby's Clone pizza based on much of your initial thinking's and some more on what I thought may be in the dough ingredients (just doing some "guessings"). I had mixed results.

I generally stay away from volume recipes as was given, but figured this wouldn't be difficult, only I wasn't certain what size pizza this recipe would give me as no size or diameter was given. But I use a 14" cutter pan and it can accommodate any size up to that and that would be worth trying, I figured. Much, much prefer weights over volume as that way I can in seconds convert from one size to another very easily. And in so many ways, weights are much easier. But whatever.

The formula variation that I settled on for the Barnaby's Clone -- which just reflected some "guessing" on the flour blend component of the crust on my part -- was as follows:

9 oz. Flour Blend*
1/4 cup oil (half vegetable, half OO)
1/2 tsp proofed ADY
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp of NFDM
1/2 cup cold water (minus a shot glass full of water warmed to 105 degrees F to proof the ADY for 10 min.)

* The Flour Blend I settled on was a combination of a number of things that I thought may possibly be in the crust recipe. It consisted of 4.5 oz. of KAAP, 1.5 oz. of Semolina, 1.5 oz. of corn flour, and 1.5 oz. of corn meal (med. grind). The dough ball weight after all ingredients added and after several rises was 413 grams or 14.6 oz. if I remember correctly and if my notes are accurate from back then.

I mixed all the dry ingredients first with a wooden spoon, then added the proofed ADY yeast (much less than yours), then the remainder of the cold water (except for the yeast, I think cold water is better), then the oil and mixed all together by hand for 5 or so minutes. It went together nicely, slightly oily, but not too much. I rolled it into a ball, covered the bowl with Glad wrap, and put it in a very slightly warmed oven for about an hour, then rerolled the ball, then in another hour repeated the same, then on the countertop for a number of hours and into the refrigerator for a day or so., etc. With a half tsp of "proofed" ADY, this dough rose and rose and rose nicely. I can't imagine what 2 to 4 tsps of yeast would do to the dough! (Parenthetically, I'm puzzled by your phrase "and the dough goes flat" because with my half tsp of proofed yeast, it could never go flat within a day or so.)

The dough ball handled ever so nicely and it proofed up several times ever so beautifically that made me very optimistic about the outcome. I rolled the dough out to fit my 14" cutter pan and pinched up the edges of the pizza rim accordingly, dressed the pizza with some Glen Muir pizza sauce, pinches of uncooked Italian sausage (almost the only way to go with a Barnaby's pizza), cheeses and oregano/basil spice sprinklings and ready for the 450 degree F oven for . . . much, much longer than I thought (guess it was 20 to 28 minutes).

BTB · « **Reply #11 on:** January 13, 2011, 12:25:44 PM »

The reason I say much longer than I thought was that I checked the botton of the pizza with my handy/dandy frosting spatula several times and even tho I put the pan on the absolute bottom oven rack in my GE Profile electric oven (with no visible electric heating coils), it would NOT crisp or brown up underneath the crust very well. I couldn't get this dough to crisp up like a Barnaby's pizza should to save my soul. It just wouldn't crisp up the crust on the bottom and at one point I had to pull the pizza out of the oven. The top of the pizzas on the bottom oven level rarely browns up like shown in these pictures without the bottom of the crust substantially browning up first. And I'm at a loss at figuring out why it didn't. But here are a couple of pictures of the baked pizza which look beautiful.

BTB · « **Reply #12 on:** January 13, 2011, 12:28:42 PM »

Regarding the Glen Muir pizza sauce, I wouldn't get it again. I generally love their products, but this one is a bummer IMHO. The best prepared sauce for thin crust pizzas that I've had has been Enrico's and I've tried dozens so far (including Centos and Don Perino's pizza sauce or something).

When I said "mixed results" above, I meant that I wasn't excited about the taste and characteristics of the pizza crust. It just didn't do it for me. It didn't taste like the Barnaby's that I remembered from Niles, IL, Mishawaka, IN, Northbrook, IL and other locations. So I wasn't high on the experiment, BUT when my adult son came home, he tried the rest of the pizza that I had and thought it was great. He really loved the pizza. Not from the Barnaby's perspective -- as he really never had tasted Barnaby's very much -- but he loved the corn meal and crust alot. After thinking about it, I may have rolled out the dough skin too thin, but as you recently said, Barnaby's does do their crusts pretty thin. And I would cut back on the oil substantially, I think.

But in any event, this reflects my report on my recent experiment doing a Barnaby's Clone. Continued good luck to you and let us know when you hit the jackpot (and also, pick up that camera).

--BTB

TMTM · « **Reply #13 on:** January 13, 2011, 05:10:00 PM »

It looked like a Barnaby's for sure! Seems your son was a good test.. as he didn't have much preconceived feelings about what a real Barnaby's is.. my recipe isn't exactly a Barnaby's but closest thing I can do from home and it taste good as its own pizza.

The longer cook time issue.. I know at Barnaby's it does take a long time before they serve the pizza even when I'm the only customer in the shop.

Corn flour? I'll have to get me some of that.. sounds like with the 1.5 oz. of Semolina, 1.5 oz. of corn flour, and 1.5 oz. of corn meal = 4.5 oz together vs I just put 1 oz of cornmeal or Semolina, not both.. it was more gritty then mine.. was it too gritty to you as far as gritty goes? compared to the grit of a real Barnaby's?

You used a pan.. I know at Barnaby's they slide it off the peel onto a Stove Oven I believe.. I use a stone at home.

Can you describe the how the crust was? taste and texture?

Anyway thanks for giving it a go and using some of your own best guesses.. I found Homerun pizza at Costco while back as ive never had it and to me it was the closest thing to Barnaby's for a store bought and then i read here the recipe for Homerun and compared it to Philip recipe I found and did a little of my own guessing and the recipe I post is the one taste good to me but I know I haven't hit the real Barnaby's recipe yet. I hope someone will post it here! hehe

NFDM? what was your thinking this would do to the recipe?

BTB · « **Reply #14 on:** January 16, 2011, 07:02:44 AM »

TMTM, I'm going to have to pay more attention to Barnaby's methods and equipment when I visit one of their places again next summer (I'll sneak my camera in). As I recall, they have steel deck ovens -- the good kinds -- and haven't converted over to the dreaded conveyor types. Many or most of the old style deck ovens had steel or metal decks, some with stones or bricks also. The cutter pan that I use closely duplicates the effect of a steel deck oven and I much prefer it over the use of my baking stone -- and I don't like using a peel. From Pizzatools.com, not to make a commercial out of it. But depending on one's oven, you must use a low oven rack level for the proper bake.

Forget the corn flour. I've tried it now on a number of different style thin crust and deep dish pizzas hoping it was the magic ingredient. It wasn't and I may discontinue its use entirely. Semolina and KA's special Durum flour is another story, however, and I've been extremely satisfied with their use in a number of pizza formulations. The baker's non-fat dry milk is an extra thing used for crust color and tenderness. It is optional and I've only found it by internet or mail order and for the small amount one would ever use, wouldn't recommend going out of your way to get it.

The next time I return to trying a Barnaby's clone, I'll have to think more about the formulation, but preliminarily I would eliminate the corn flour, retain the semolina, reduce the corn meal a bit and try to make the Bob's Red Mill corn meal that I have a little finer by running it through the food processor. I was thinking of doing that before, but hate to pull out the equipment for such a small quantity. Where did you find the fine ground corn meal?

I would also reduce the amount of oil a good degree, I think. The oil has a "tenderizing" effect and often times with thin crusts works against a crispier crust. I suspect that's what may have happened in my case with my being unable to achieve much of a crisp or crunch in the crust, except at the rim.

Anyway, Barnaby's is a much beloved brand of pizza. I'm sure you've seen the many accolades and praises of it on this and other sites. The LTHForum site has a thread of Barnaby's lovers, but no recipes. Good luck and let us know how things go with your future trials.

--BTB

TMTM · « **Reply #15 on:** January 19, 2011, 06:39:23 PM »

I live in Atlanta but from Mishawaka... but I just happen to be in Northbrook, IL for business and went to Barnaby's here... the crust is very thin and crisp (at Mishawaka I remembered them being thick than this but few months ago went to mishawaka and they was also very thin.. makes me think they changed)... I notice they make the pie skins in advance at Northbrook and also at Des Plaines.. at Mishawaka years ago i saw them working with the dough. I believe they makes these skins hours in advance and yet you see no raising.. they are flat.. the pizza comes out so crisp they aren't flexible.. it will snap the crust. I notice the edging is very uniform and may not be done by hand... I got an idea however and after read some out the Homerun recipe that they use some kind of dough press.. I'm wondering if Barnaby's is using some kind of dough press or pie stamper.. stamping out the skin with the edging already done with the stamping of some kind. About the oven type.. they all use a rotating deck oven.. its kinda like a ferris wheel.. and i think its stone but not sure.. i do know they slide the pie off the peel into the oven.. i'll have to try this pan you use. The cornmeal i use is just good old kind found at the store.. name brand.

I'll try some experiments in the future.. may try leaving out the yeast... i'll try to make some form of dough press/stamp and use a heavy weight to hard press it.

pizzard · « **Reply #16 on:** January 19, 2011, 07:22:19 PM »

I know once upon a time Barnaby's definitely used a dough sheeter. The one I went to as a kid had a viewing window to watch pizza being made, and remember them running the dough through a large sheeter. At the time I remember thinking..."gee, that's efficient, wish I had one of those."

I was probably only 13 years old. Such a great family restaurant!

BTB · « **Reply #17 on:** January 20, 2011, 09:37:37 AM »

Yes, I remember Barnaby's using sheeters, too, as did 90% of the midwest mom and pop pizzerias. I use to watch them use sheeters at Home Run Inn, Aurelio's and many other pizzerias, also. But things have changed and new pizzamaking equipment like the dough presses have come into widespread use. And I don't think the press devices would make an inferior dough skin as opposed to the sheeter, but I guess it's quicker, as well as cheaper or a labor savings $$$ thing. Those rotating deck ovens are really beautiful pieces of old equipment, tho. Most of them in the midwest were steel deck upon which the pizzas were baked. That's why I think a good quality pizza baking pan closely duplicates that bake in a home oven application, but it depends upon many other factors also (oven characteristics and rack level, temperature, etc.).

TMTM, nice that you could visit the Northbrook Barnaby's. That location is reported on many of the Blog sites as the best Barnaby's location still in existence (and the one in Schaumburg, IL as the worst). I don't know if leaving out any yeast is the thing to do, but experiment and see. The Imo's pizza (http://imospizza.com/) and many other famous St. Louis style thin crust pizzas use no yeast (or very little) and reportedly use baking powder and/or baking soda instead and are renowned for their great pizzas.

They still use the good old fashion sheeters at the many Giordano's restaurants in Illinois and Florida, tho. See the one here in Tampa in the photo below.

--BTB

c0mpl3x · « **Reply #18 on:** January 20, 2011, 12:53:59 PM »

move the pizza to the lowest rack in your oven. might need to stick a cookie sheet or pan on the topmost rack to deflect heat from the top of the pie

dms · « **Reply #19 on:** January 25, 2011, 06:23:15 PM »

Sheeters fall under a federal regulation on "hazardous occupations", which prevented their use by employees under 18. That's made them unpopular among pizza operators who want to be able to hire high school kids. Many places that still use them sheet things in advance, so there's a stack of pre-made skins ready to dress and get in the oven. The HO rules were rewritten last year; one of the changes makes it legal for kids to use certain classes of sheeters (with suitable guards that keep fingers out, and which won't work with the guards not in place. Many, many commercial sheeters don't meet those requirements), but kids can't clean or adjust them.

Deck ovens (the Mishawaka Barnaby's has a rotating deck oven. The south bend one did, too, but I've not been in in years to see if it's still there.) require some amount of skill from their operators, as the the placement of pies, the amount of time it takes to bake varies based on what' s in the oven, and how busy it's been. Any moron can use a conveyor (Conveyor operators usually ignore the difference in time required based on what's on the pie, because that's hard.). Put it in, and when it comes out the other end, it's "done".