Clam Pizza Recipe

HOMEMADE PIZZA DOUGH (MAKES ABOUT 20 OUNCES OF PIZZA DOUGH. OR USE STORE-BOUGHT DOUGH; NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT.)

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (about 11.25 oz., or 319 grams)
• 1 1/2 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
• 3/4 teaspoons active dry yeast, or 3 grams fresh yeast (about a dime-size ball)
• 8 ounces lukewarm water (about 227 grams)
• Olive oil

1. Place flour in large bowl. Stir in salt.
2. Dissolve yeast into water. Pour into flour and stir with a fork until it comes together. Dough will be sticky.
3. Drizzle some olive oil over the dough and along the sides of the bowl. I use an oiled bowl scraper to help knead the dough, scraping, pressing and folding the dough for a minute or so.
4. At this point, lift the dough up with your hands, (you may need a touch more oil on your fingertips to lessen the stickiness), and hold along one edge, letting the rest of the dough hang down and stretch out. Move along the entire edge of the dough, turning it in more or less a circular pattern. The kneading and stretching step should take you about 5 minutes.
5. Gather dough into a ball and place back in the oiled bowl. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap, lay a dish towel over it and place in a warm spot. I always stick my bowl of pizza dough in the microwave, a warm and out-of-the-way place. Sometimes, before putting it in, I heat a mug-full of water, to get the microwave nice and warm.
6. Let rise for 1 hour. Punch dough down, and let rise for another hour.

FOR WHITE CLAM PIZZA

• 24 littleneck clams, scrubbed, shucked, juices strained and reserved for another use
• 1 wedge Pecorino-Romano cheese
• 1 handful of fresh oregano, to taste
• 4 fat garlic cloves, sliced
• Good quality extra virgin olive oil

1. Place a pizza stone on bottom-most rack in oven. Preheat oven to 550°F at least a half hour before you will bake the pizza.
2. Cut dough from above pizza dough recipe into two equal pieces, about 10 ounces each, weighing it with a kitchen scale if you have one. Place the second piece of dough in a freezer bag and freeze, or make a second pizza of your choosing (e.g. dollops of ricotta cheese, a sprinkling of shredded mozzarella, and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil on top). Yum!
3. Line a quarter-sheet pan, small cookie sheet or a 12" pizza pan with parchment paper and lightly oil the parchment paper.
4. Place dough on parchment, press down and spread the dough evenly in all directions with your oiled fingers until you have a nice thin layer. It probably won't cover the entire pan; that’s okay. If dough is not cooperating, it helps to let the dough rest for a few minutes.
5. Scatter the clams over the dough, followed by a drizzle of olive oil, a very generous grating of Pecorino (a good half-cupful, using a microplane grater if you've got one), the oregano and the garlic. And that's it!
6. Place pan directly on pizza stone. Or, if you've got a pizza peel, pull the parchment and pizza onto the peel, then slide parchment and pizza directly onto pizza stone. Bake for 5 minutes, or until crust is nicely browned and crisp, and bottom of pizza has some nicely browned spots as well. Use a long-handled metal spatula, or the pizza peel, to lift up the pizza and take a peek underneath. 5 minutes should be plenty; don't turn your clams into rubber, please! The parchment will turn black, but it won't catch fire, so don't worry.
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7. Remove from oven using the pizza peel if you have one. Cut your pizza into pieces and enjoy!

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Homemade Pizza - Tomato with Fresh Mozzarella and Basil - The challenge

Fellow Foodies.

Who doesn't love pizza?  Having grown up in Chicago we have such great Pizza places and so many varieties to choose from.  This past summer my wife asked me to make her a special type of Pizza with Tomato and Fresh Basil.  The challenge for me was making the dough from scratch.  One of my buddies, who is from New York helped me with this by providing me with a gift of 10# of special pizza flour. So, it was time to attempt this new challenge.

Pizza Dough Recipe.

Dough ball

3 cups of bread flour
2 Tsp of Yeast (Fast Acting)
1 Tbs Olive Oil
1 Cup of Warm Water
3/4 Tsp Salt


In a bowl, combine the flour and salt and mix together.  Using a pyrex measuring cup, fill with 1 cup of warm water (110 degrees), add the yeast and wait for about 10 minutes for it to activate.

Once you see the yeast foaming, add to the dry ingredients along with the Tbs of Olive Oil and begin working it with your hands.  You must keep folding it.  I then transfer the mixture to a cutting board that I have dusted with flour and continue folding the mixture into itself.  Depending on the day, you may need to add a bit more water to help with the density of the flour.  The dough mixture needs to look like its come together as you form a ball.  See picture above.  Once the dough has been folded together, put back into a bowl cover with a towel, and let it alone for about 30 minutes.  If the yeast has worked, you should see that the dough ball has risen.

Dough Fitted to Pizza Pan

After the dough has risen, you will need to rework the dough.  In this recipe I cut the dough in half, as this recipe will make 2 pizza shells.  Take half of the dough and form into a ball.  Use flour on the cutting board so that you are able to roll the dough out.  If you want a thin crust you will need to work the dough with  a rolling pin until you get both the size and the thickness that you desire.  This is one of those tasks that you learn as you go.  Once I have the pizza dough rolled out, I use a pizza pan as my guide to finish sizing the dough.

Finished Dough ready for toppings

One other suggestion that you may want to do, is to use a fork to puncture the dough after fitting in the pan. The purpose is to even out the cooking of the crust.  When that is finished I use Olive Oil to paint the dough,  See picture on the right.  I also use corn meal to sprinkle on the bottom of the pizza pan.  This helps the bottom cook evenly and crisp.

Tomatoes added to the dough

For this type of Pizza I use Del Monte Italian Stewed Tomatoes - these are already marinated with Basil, Garlic and Oregano.  I drain the liquid and then slice the pieces so that I have even slices.  I lay out the tomatoes across the dough shell evenly to cover the entire surface.

Finished Pizza with Tomatoes, Mozzarella and Basil

OK, now to finish the Pizza, I use Fresh Mozzarella, not the packaged type. You may use that if you are not able to find Fresh.  Fresh has a wonderful taste and consistency.  I slice the Mozzarella in thin slices and then add to the pizza covering most of the tomatoes.  I add fresh basil over the Mozzarella.  By using "fresh basil" the flavor pops. 

Pizza in the oven

Finished Pizza - Ready to Serve (Yum)

I cook the pizza using a pizza stone at 475 degrees for about 15 - 18 minutes in a preheated oven.









The finished Pizza has an incredible aroma.  Slice quickly and serve.  This is a Pizza you will want to make again and again.  This also makes a great party dish.

Great Eating!!
Memphis Food Guy

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