“Give you goosebumps at first bite.”
That’s the kind of pizza Don Guerra wants to make.
Ever since his son Mateo was little, pizza has been something they've bonded over. Pizzeria Bianco is their favorite place to grab a slice.
Since Don is the James Beard Award-winning baker behind Barrio Bread and Mateo is a pizza connoisseur, it only makes sense that they would put their heads together to make something so good it gives you chills.
While a bigger project is still under wraps, Don and Mateo, along with local chef John Riley Stancato, are perfecting their pizza recipe one pepperoni at a time.
“It’s really important for me to leave things for the younger generation, especially someone in my family that’s showing interest, to allow them to develop it,” Don said. “It gives me great excitement and pride to know that this is something he loves.”
Don Guerra (right) and his son Mateo work together to craft pizza for their focaccia pop-ups.
Pizza isn’t something that’s new to Barrio Bread. Once summer rolls around, it's time for the shop to start hosting focaccia pop-ups. Once Don posts about it on Instagram, you know you need to jump into your car and head to the shop, located 18 S. Eastbourne Ave., to ensure you get a $5 slice.
At these pop-ups, you can expect to see several varieties of pizza. They have a classic margherita pizza with San Marzano tomatoes, olive oil, mozzarella cheese and basil, topped off with a pesto drizzle. Other flavors include sausage and peppers with a marinara sauce drizzle; potato and onion with a honey drizzle; verde with pesto sauce, feta cheese, tomatoes, red onions and kalamata olives; and a classic pepperoni slice.
They also always have a vegan option on deck so everyone can try a bite.
During Barrio Bread’s pizza pop-ups, you can expect to see several different slices featuring regional flavors.
All three men work together on perfecting the recipes and trying out new flavors to ensure they are serving up mouthwatering slices. When it comes to flavor development, just like their bread, Don said it's important to include ingredients that are regional.
“It's about representing our community, creating something that's truly local for the people and a representation of who they are and the flavors they enjoy,” Don said.
While the toppings definitely add to the flavor, in order to create a tasty pizza, you have to start with a great base. That means it’s all about the dough.
To create that solid base, Don makes sourdough pizza. Just like his bread, the dough is made with local grains.
Since it is a sourdough base, it goes through a fermentation process, which results in the pizza crust becoming low glycemic and low gluten. “So it’s more digestible, supports local agriculture and is flavorful,” Don said.
When it's all made and ready to go, Don and Mateo both hope that their pizza is so flavorful you can’t help but get goosebumps. Don said their pop-ups get great feedback from customers; you can even see Tucsonans raving about it on Instagram when they share pictures of their slices.
“It's something that he (Mateo) put a lot of heart into, a lot of thought and a lot of focus,” Don said. “It’s made by people who really care.”
While we keep an eye out for exciting news about more Barrio Bread pizza in the future, you can keep refreshing Instagram in hopes that Don announces his next focaccia pop-up.
You can check out Barrio Bread’s Instagram for more information on their focaccia pop-ups.
