Barbaro begins with nature. Wild yeast, organic grain and open flame. Our sourdough is alive, shaped by hand and baked until it blisters and crackles. Fire becomes an ingredient. Time becomes structure. Every pie reflects its environment. Nothing forced. Nothing unnecessary. Just balance, restraint and respect for what nature provides.
A pizzeria where sourdough and open flame run in perfect stride.
Wild by Nature, Crafted with Fire
Since July 2025
This did not start as a brand. It began with sourdough starter and the passion to keep going. What followed was repetition, adjustment, and discovery. One bake at a time, the process sharpened, the menu expanded, and Barbaro began to find its stride.
The name holds its own story. In Italian and Spanish, bárbaro evokes the wild and untamed. In everyday speech, it signals something exceptional. For us, it honors Barbaro, the Kentucky Derby champion whose spirit, resilience and grace captivated a nation. His name stands for heart, courage and the pursuit of excellence without compromise.
That spirit guides everything we do. Fermentation demands patience. Fire demands precision. Craft demands discipline. Together, they run in perfect stride.
Created a sourdough starter from scratch and baked my first loaf of bread ever. No baking background, no pizza experience — just a bag of flour, water, and a wild idea.
Five days after baking bread for the first time, the wood-fired oven sang. Four pies in one session — margherita, pepperoni, white, and red. No technique, no benchmarks, just instinct and fire.
Back at the oven within a week. Building muscle memory for stretching dough, reading the fire, and understanding heat. Every bake a lesson.
Weeks of steady baking through the summer. Experimenting with hydration, flour blends, and learning the personality of the wood-fired oven. Leoparding and char start to show.
The sourdough biga method debuts in the wood-fired oven. Elote Calabrese — Mexican street corn meets Calabrian heat. The next week brought overproofed dough and WFO temperature fights, but Forest Floor and Del Mar Turf emerged as keepers.
Warm ferment pushed to 40% rise with a shorter 72-hour cold ferment. Clean, simple pies proving the fundamentals are landing. Blistered Brussels sparks debate — some see scorched sprouts, others see flavor from controlled char.
Leaven Foods ISD enters the picture. Same rheology, same flavor, tighter control, fewer variables. The crumb structure spoke for itself. Emberoni sealed the deal. This discovery would eventually lead to retiring the original starter.
Inspired by a fellow pizzaiolo's tri-tip chimichurri pie, a signature creation is born. Raw beef, bold flavors, and sourdough that felt truly personal. Lomo Fresco followed with chimichurri cream.
Rain forces the first indoor bake ever. The wood-fired oven gives way to the Baking Steel. Chimi Sunrise and Pickle Patch prove that constraints breed creativity.
Canadian bacon meets Ezzo on ISD. Pesto Bosco microblisters show up dressed to impress. Neo New York vibes emerge — color and sheen up top, airy lacy crumb underneath.
First gluten-free sourdough pies for Mom (celiac). Daughter Allie's first time piping ricotta for Roni Rosette. Pilgrim Pie and Plymouth Pie made from Thanksgiving leftovers.
Pickle Patch and Blistered Brussels get recipe updates. Fiscalini Farmstead trio takes center stage. Three filet mignon pies close out the stretch — Forest Floor riff, raw beef on vodka sauce, and chimichurri cream.
Beet crema and cantaloupe push the boundaries. Christmas Eve brings garlic-miso shrimp on ghee with scamorza. The Grinch steals the show. Garlic-miso shrimp wins the adults' table vote.
Four months into this pizza journey and hooked. The homemade starter is retired. ISD takes over permanently. Bittersweet, but a no-brainer. The top 5 crumbs told the whole story.
Stretch Pizza NYC became an obsession within the obsession. Wylie Dufresne's approach resonated deeply. Three riffs: Golden Oldie, Wylde Buffalo, Wylie Lox. The kids' verdict? Fun, but not all fans of pickled onions and smoked fish.
Le Miso brings umami depth. Campo Bianco and Campo Verde explore mushroom and artichoke. Duck Libre meets sourdough. El Puesto goes doble elote. Za'atar lamb divides the room.
Three shrimp pies, three directions. Golden Current, Red Current, Ember Current. No cheese on seafood? No ranch on pizza? Rules written by people who stopped experimenting.
The Barbaro website launches — 38 pizzas across five chapters, a full sourdough dough recipe, and a brand identity forged through months of relentless baking. Starter to brand in seven months.
Crimson Bloom for Valentine's — a lesson in knowing your audience. Blistered Brussels gets the Valentine's edition. Fennel Crunch closes out the mid-February bakes.
Three pies, one prime cut. Crimson Cut on tomato, Golden Reserve on cream, Tender Tide on miso-ghee. Beef tenderloin placed mid-bake to keep it rare. Second Line closes the weekend.
The interactive pizza builder goes live — start from any Barbaro pizza or build from scratch, with a live balance meter tracking richness, acid, heat, and more. Garlic Marinara and Brickhouse Salad join the lineup.
Las Vegas. International Pizza Expo & Conference — the biggest pizza industry event in the world. Walking the floor for the first time, surrounded by the craft, the equipment, and the people who live this every day.
