Somewhere on Aalsmeerweg, there’s a pizza restaurant that’s almost obsessively focused on one thing: New Haven-style pizza. Not Neapolitan, not New York-style, but the style that Italian immigrants developed in Connecticut and that has since taken on a character all its own. The crust is thin, the dough chewy on the inside, and the bottom develops those brown to black blisters—which Americans call ‘char’—when baked at high temperatures. Virtually unheard of in the Netherlands. In De Baarsjes: Five Pizzas.
Behind the business are Sem and Urs. Two founders, one concept, no compromises. They deliberately chose a compact menu of exactly five pizzas so they could devote maximum attention to every detail: the dough, the toppings, and the preparation. That sounds simple, but the logic behind it is sound. Someone who makes five things and tries to improve them every day will ultimately deliver something different than someone who has a menu of twenty and is just trying to keep things running.
The dough is the starting point for everything. Sem and Urs use organic flour from De Windotter mill in IJsselstein, and that dough ferments slowly before going into the oven. That slow process gives the dough depth, a slight tang, and the texture you need for that thin yet chewy crust. The oven is set to a high temperature, baking happens quickly, and the result is a crust that’s crispy on the outside but gives way when you take a bite. The charred edge isn’t a flaw—it’s the whole point.
Someone who creates five things and tries to improve them every day will ultimately produce something different from someone who has a list of twenty.
The Aalsmeerweg isn’t your typical restaurant street. It’s a thoroughfare leading to the ring road, with a mix of workshops, small shops, and residential buildings. Five Pizzas is a takeout and dine-in spot you don’t just stumble upon by accident. You go there because you know what you want. And what you want is that bubbly, charred crust, baked from slow-fermented dough that started as organic flour from IJsselstein. That’s the story of Five Pizzas, and it fits on a small menu.