By G. Daniela Galarza
The Washington Post
The people of Hawaii were never consulted before the creation of what is known worldwide as “Hawaiian pizza” —- a tomato and cheese flatbread topped with ham and chunks of pineapple. A Greek man invented the sweet-and-salty combination in Canada — and he did not even intentionally name it after the state.
He also did not foresee just how divisive his invention would become. Plenty of people consider it an abomination, and many even (justifiably? harshly?) judge people who like it. My brother, Josh, is not one of these people. He loves Hawaiian pizza. “It’s a perfect combination of sweet and salty. Like the cheese-and-jam crackers Mom used to make us as a kid,” he told me recently. This recipe, for sliders inspired by the fruity, porky pie, is for him.
I’ve been to Hawaii only once, but I did not see pineapple on pizza while there. What I did see was Hawaiian bread. The plush, sweet rolls popularized by King’s Hawaiian were on offer at bakeries, restaurants, hotels and local markets.
Hawaiian bread as we know it was invented by Robert Taira, a Hawaiian-born son of Okinawan immigrants. In the 1940s, he studied baking and pastry in the United States, and he graduated at the top of his class. His dream was to move to Tokyo and open a Western-style bakery of his own. But in 1950, after Japan closed its borders because of the Korean War, Taira was barred from obtaining a Japanese visa. That same year, he opened a bakery in his hometown of Hilo, according to a 2002 profile in the Los Angeles Times.
Taira’s cakes and pastries were a hit. But in 1958, the baker struck gold when he developed a recipe inspired by a sweet bun he’d eaten as a child.
In the 19th century, with sugar cane plantations in need of tending, Hawaii accepted more than 10,000 Portuguese immigrants, largely from the Azores and Madeira islands. They brought Catholicism, malasadas, the braguinha (precursor to the ukulele) and pao doce, a soft, pale, slightly sweet roll also known as massa sovada.
“It was a good bread,” Taira told the L.A. Times, “but we called it stone bread, because in a day or so it would be as hard as a rock.” In the late 1950s, he developed a recipe based on pao doce that was shelf-stable. The new Hawaiian bread stayed pillowy for weeks and could be mass-produced. Today, King’s Hawaiian is a lucrative family business with wholesale bakery facilities throughout the United States.
In this recipe for Hawaiian Pizza Sliders, ham, provolone and a pineapple-relish sauce are stuffed inside 12 Hawaiian mini rolls. Then, they’re cut into individual sandwiches and baked until the cheese is melted. If you like things that are sweet and savory — whether you love pineapple on pizza or not — you might like these. The ingredients here can, of course, be tweaked, but it’s worth seeking out King’s Hawaiian rolls. If nothing else, I’d like to think we can all agree that they’re a worthy innovation.
Hawaiian Pizza Sliders
Inspired by the love-it-or-hate-it Hawaiian pizza, these sliders feature the salty-sweet combo of pineapple and ham — but stuffed into plush Hawaiian bread rolls with provolone cheese and a tangy sauce. Baked until everything is hot and melted, these make a fun family dinner on game night or any night.
Makes 6 servings (12 sliders)
INGREDIENTS
1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple in juice (with no added sugar)
2 tablespoons mustard, preferably deli-style
2 tablespoons ketchup
2 tablespoons Sweet relish
1 (12-count) package Hawaiian rolls
8 deli slices provolone cheese (at least 4 ounces total)
6 deli slices ham (at least 3 ounces total)
DIRECTIONS
1: Position a rack about 6 inches away from the broiling element and preheat the broiler on HIGH.
2: Set a fine-mesh strainer over a small bowl and drain the pineapple. Use a flexible spatula to press on the solids to drain as much of the juice as possible. You should have about 2/3 cup pineapple. (Reserve the juice for another use — or drink it!)
3: In a small bowl, stir together the drained pineapple, mustard, ketchup and relish until well combined.
4: Using a serrated knife, slice the slab of rolls in half horizontally. (Don’t separate them into individual sliders yet.)
5: Line a large sheet pan with a piece of foil long and wide enough to wrap the rolls; use two overlapping sheets if necessary.
6: Place the slab of bottom halves on the foil, cut side up. Using a spoon, spread the pineapple sauce evenly over all of the bottom rolls. Lay 4 slices of the provolone on top, covering as much surface area as possible. Follow with the ham, covering most of the surface and overlapping the slices if necessary. Place the remaining slices of cheese evenly on top.
7: Broil, uncovered, for 2 to 4 minutes, or until the cheese is completely melted. Remove from the oven and top with the slab of roll tops. Turn the broiler off and switch the oven to 375 degrees.
8: Using a small serrated knife, separate the rolls into individual sliders, tracing their edges and taking care to cut through the ham and cheese, but not through the foil.
9: Carefully wrap the sliders in the foil, leaving a little opening for steam to escape. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until the sandwiches are heated through. Serve hot or warm, family-style.
Substitutions: Not into ham? Try smoked turkey, or make these vegetarian by swapping in slices of pickled jalapeño, roasted red peppers or apple. No relish? Skip it or sub in chopped pickles. Also good inside these sliders: chopped baby greens, sliced endive or radicchio, fresh herbs, garlic oil, roasted peppers, Maggi seasoning or a little hot sauce.
Variations: If you don’t like pineapple, omit it and you’ll have Cuban-style sliders.
Storage note: Refrigerate for up to 3 days. Reheat wrapped in foil in a 400-degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes.
Recipe from G. Daniela Galarza.
