New Years Pizza
Every New Year's Day for the last 16 years or so if we are home I make homemade pizza. Our favorite is clam and garlic. When my wife and I were dating we would order this pizza at Tony and Alba's in Mountainview. So for Christmas 15 or so years ago my wife got me a pizza peel and a pizza stone. I started to make pizzas back then on a daily basis but I have slowed down a bit since then and I make them only a few times per year. This year I made a clam and garlic pizza and a 4 cheese and pepperoni pizza. They were both excellent and did not last very long.
Here is what I did:
Take a cup of warm water (105 to 115 degrees), a 1/4 ounce envelope of active yeast, a table spoon of extra virgin olive oil and a teaspoon of honey. Mix these in a large bowl and let set about 5 minutes until the water becomes foamy. You can experiment with the yeast, go to your local bakery and get the fresh variety. Every little thing you add or change will give the pizza a slightly different taste. The pizza stone and the peel are an absolute must. The crust is not the same in a pan pizza but it can be done.
Now add 1 1/2 cups flour, 1 teaspoon salt and mix by hand. Keep adding flour a 1/4 cup at a time until the dough is slightly sticky which is about 3 cups of flour. Place on a floured surface and kneed the dough for about 5 minutes. Place the dough in a large bowl with one tablespoon extra virgin olive oil and coat the dough.
Ok, cover and let rest in a warm place for at least and hour and a half if not 2 hours. This will make the dough light and fluffy. I have tried this using a dough making machine but it is not the same. There is something special about making it from scratch by hand. The flavor is much better this way.
Once the dough has risen break it in half and place the half on a floured surface, flour the pin and roll out the dough. If you are in an adventurous mood put your fists into the rolled dough and toss it into the air while spinning it. This also adds to the light airy crust.
Once the dough is thinned out place some extra course corn meal on the pizza peel. I use polenta mix and it works excellent. The corn meal acts like little wheels that help roll the pizza onto and off of the stone. It also acts as a lubricant while cooking so the pizza crust crisps and does not stick.Place the dough onto the peel, fold over the edges of the dough and add olive oil to the dough. You are now ready to add your favorite toppings.
For this particular pizza I used tomato sauce, canned clams and fresh garlic. I topped the pizza of with 8 ozs of shredded mozzarella cheese. I added about 2 teaspoons of oregano to the tomato sauce and mixed it in.
Use the wetter ingredients sparingly so the pizza does not get soggy.
Add tomato sauce first, then clams and garlic. Lastly top with cheese.
Make sure the oven has been preheated to 450 degrees and has had the pizza stone on the middle rack for sometime. You want the stone hot so that the crust will be crisp. Once the stone is hot and the pizza is ready to go onto the stone sprinkle some corn meal on the hot stone as well. Then slide the pizza off the peel and on to the stone with a quick sliding motion. This size pizza will take about 10 to 15 minutes. Keep an eye on it. Once the cheese is melted and bubbling and the crust is light brown it is done. Slide your peel under the pizza and remove from the stone. Place on a surface that you can slice the pizza, serve hot and enjoy.
A variation on my clam and garlic pizza was a 4 cheese and pepperoni pizza. I simply used the same tomato sauce and replaced the clam and garlic with pepperoni. The cheeses were a mixture of mozzarella, provolone, assiago and Parmesan cheeses. They were both excellent pizzas.
My family and I made them disappear in minutes.
