Bada Bing Recipe

Preheat and prepare dough

Preheat your wood-fired oven (or conventional oven as fallback) to its highest safe temperature: 700–900°F (370–480°C) for wood oven, or 500–550°F (260–290°C) with a pizza stone in a conventional oven. If using a pizza stone, place it in the oven while preheating for at least 45 minutes. Stretch or roll the pizza dough to a 12-inch round on a lightly floured surface, leaving a slightly thicker rim for a crust. Transfer the stretched dough to a floured pizza peel or an inverted baking sheet dusted with semolina or flour.

Brush the entire surface of the dough lightly with 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, leaving the rim unbrushed so it crisps and blisters in the oven.

Make the quark-mascarpone spread

In a small bowl, combine 3 oz quark and 3 oz mascarpone until smooth and homogenous. Season with 1 teaspoon fine sea salt, 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest. Mix thoroughly. Taste and adjust seasoning — the mixture should be tangy, creamy, and spreadable.

Spread the quark-mascarpone mixture evenly over the oiled dough, leaving a 1/2–3/4 inch border for the crust. Use the back of a spoon or an offset spatula to get an even layer about 1/8–1/4 inch thick.

Cook the bacon

While the oven finishes heating, pan-fry the 6 slices of bacon over medium heat until they are crisp but not burnt, about 6–8 minutes, turning occasionally. Transfer to paper towels to drain and cool, then coarsely chop or break into bite-sized pieces.

Apply jams and toppings

Dot or spoon 3 tablespoons jalapeño jam in small spoonfuls evenly across the quark-mascarpone layer, concentrating slightly toward the center but not overloading. Then add 2 tablespoons strawberry jam in a few small dollops distributed across the pizza — these will melt and create sweet-spicy pockets. Scatter the chopped bacon pieces evenly over the pizza. If you like heat, sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes sparingly.

Bake the pizza

Slide the pizza into the preheated wood-fired oven (or onto the hot pizza stone in the conventional oven). Bake until the crust is blistered and charred in spots, the rim is puffed, and the toppings are bubbling and set — about 2–4 minutes in a wood-fired oven or 8–12 minutes in a 500–550°F conventional oven. Rotate once for even cooking if necessary.

Remove the pizza from the oven to a cutting board. Immediately scatter 1 cup fresh arugula over the hot pizza so it wilts lightly but stays bright. Sprinkle 1/4 cup shaved young Parmesan or pecorino over the arugula. Drizzle 1 teaspoon finishing olive oil and sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon flaky sea salt over the top.

Let the pizza rest 1–2 minutes, then slice into 6–8 slices and serve hot so you get the contrast of creamy spread, savory bacon, spicy-sweet jam pockets, and peppery arugula.