The groundbreaking chef Wylie Dufresne has made delicious food over the years, and for me it includes an extraordinary birthday party at dinner in his much-missed temple of molecular gastronomy in Clinton Street, wd-50; a bunch of delicious meals at its experimental East Village venue Alder, which was repeated by several menus before closing in 2015; and dozens of his donuts at Du’s in Williamsburg, living in a pandemic “break.”
As of today, however, Dufresne is busy with something completely different and, as it turns out, extremely delicious: making pizza from his big Breads Bakery with his partner Gadi Peleg and selling pre-ordered pies every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday night. the latter’s Union Square flagship store. The operation is called Stretch Pizza, it’s the first time in about five years that Dufrense has cooked anything deliciously salty. Based on some stellar pastry pies I ate last night, we can only hope it stays that way for a while.
‘During the first months of the pandemic,’ Peleg said, ‘we would run into each other all the time in the area, and Wylie started bringing me pizzas he had made in his house. croissant-type ideas, but Wylie said he had been going down the hole of the pizza rabbit for a whole year and wanted to run with it. ‘And so, with the help of Breads “dough master” Darwin Castillo, Stretch Pizza was born.
Scott Lynch / Gothamist
The twelve-inch pies at Stretch Pizza call Dufresne and Peleg ‘New York Style’, with toppings that are really present, lots of cheese and crust that are not too crunchy, not too doughy, not too wet in the middle, just a few classic NYC folds. “We’re both from the city,” Peleg said, “so we did not consider any other kind.”
There are four types to get things started. The all-around cake is fantastic, with cream cheese, excellent aged mozzarella and a generous sprinkle of all-bagel spices (garlic, poppy, sesame, salt) and small pieces of chives covering the top. Dufresne plans to use the Union Square Greenmarket as a primary source for scream-fresh offerings, and that means at the moment disasters, which he roasts and lays on top of a pie, along with a lively Romesco sauce and two types of cheese, called Sketches of Spain. .
The Classic New York pizza features Dufresne’s homemade tomato sauce and more of the aged mozzarella, all charred and sticky. Your fourth choice for now is the Couch Potato, which combines fingerlings with sour cream, rosemary, shallots and cheese. As a delicious bonus, the duo also offers a fantastic Calzone, possibly the sleeping hit of the whole operation, a large, thorough package filled breakfast style with soft scrambled eggs, melted pattern and American cheese, and spring onions for a little bite .
Dufrense coined the name “Stretch” as a tribute to all the pizza makers who make it look so easy, even meditative, the dough. “I have nothing but respect for those guys,” he said. “It’s hard to do.”
Stretch Pizza will serve its pies every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 5pm to 8pm at Union Square Breads Bakery, 16 East East 18. Pre-order via Tock, with new open slots being added regularly.