The Hirshon New Haven Style White Clam Pizza Food

WHITE CLAM PIZZA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Place a pizza stone or inverted rimmed baking sheet on the bottom rack.
• Mix the garlic and 1/4 cup olive oil in a small bowl. Knead the dough about 6 times on a lightly floured surface. Roll and stretch into a 12-inch round. Place the dough on a pizza peel, or another inverted baking sheet, dusted with cornmeal.
• Brush half of the garlic-oil over the dough; season with salt. Scatter the mozzarella and clams over the crust; drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the reserved clam juice and the remaining garlic-oil. Sprinkle with the oregano, parmesan, and salt to taste. Slip the pizza onto the preheated pizza stone or baking sheet (the cornmeal will help it slide off). Bake until the crust is light brown, 13 to 15 minutes.
• Just before the pizza is done, drizzle the arugula with olive oil and lemon juice. Slice the pizza; top each piece with arugula and season with red pepper flakes, if desired.

THE HIRSHON NEW HAVEN-STYLE WHITE CLAM PIZZA

Steps:

• Whisk together the flour, yeast and salt in a large mixing bowl, then pour in the milk and oil. Use a fork or your clean hands to combine; the dough will be sticky. Knead once or twice to form a ball.
• Oil a large bowl and set the dough in it. Lay a sheet of wax paper loosely over the top, then cover with plastic wrap. Place a clean dish towel over the bowl and allow the dough to rise at room temperature, undisturbed, for 24 hours. Turn the dough once in the bowl about 3 hours before you want to use it. The 24-hour fermentation process takes the place of kneading the dough.
• When you are ready to grill your pizza, divide the dough in half, put half back in the fridge for a future pizza.
• Preheat your oven to a minimum of 450 degrees or higher with the stone or steel in it for at least 30 minutes. As hot as you can get it!!!
• Toss the flour on your work surface and spread it thin. Place the dough in the center and begin working it outward and roll it thin, less than ¼". It doesn't need to be a circle - in fact, an irregular-shaped pie is the standard.
• Move it to a peel if you are cooking on a pizza stone (or my preference - a steel) or to an oiled pan - either works fine. Put some cornmeal on the peel or pan to help the dough slide on and off, and for a bit of flavor.
• If using, brush the dough with the melted bacon fat. Pat the clams dry and place them on the dough, spreading them out evenly, and take them to within 1″ of the edge.
• Then sprinkle on the garlic, then the cheese, then the oregano, then the pepper flakes and finally drizzle on the oil. The oil will pool but don't worry, it will spread out in the oven. You can also take a brush and paint a little oil on the edges of the dough.
• Bake until the dough on top and the bottom is tan to golden. If you wish, you can let it go until there is a slight blackening on the bottom, but too much char can ruin your pie. Whatever you do, don't pull the pie until the clams are cooked through.

NEW HAVEN-STYLE CLAM PIZZA

Steps:

• 1. In a small bowl dissolve sugar in 1/4 cup water. Sprinkle yeast over water and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.
• 2. In a large bowl stir together 2 cups flour, remaining 3/4 cup water, salt, and yeast mixture.
• 3. Transfer dough to a floured surface and clean and oil large bowl.
• 4. Knead dough vigorously, incorporating as much of remaining 3/4 cup flour as necessary to create a silky dough, a full 15 minutes.
• 5. Transfer dough to prepared bowl, turning to coat slightly with oil, and cover bowl with 2 tight layers of plastic wrap. Let dough rise in a warm place 2 to 3 hours, or until doubled in bulk.
• 6. While dough is rising, in a small bowl combine garlic and oil and chill, covered.
• 7. Punch down dough and flatten on a lightly floured surface. Pounding with heel of hand and lifting, stretch dough carefully and work into a round about 15 inches in diameter (or into 2 smaller rounds).
• 8. Put pizza stone on bottom shelf of oven and preheat oven to 500°F.
• 9. Sprinkle baker's peel with cornmeal and slide dough onto it. Cover dough with a kitchen towel and let it rest, covered with the kitchen towel, about 15 minutes. While dough is resting, let garlic oil come to room temperature.
• 10. Brush dough evenly with garlic oil, leaving a 1/2-inch border untouched. Arrange clams with a dash of reserved liquor over garlic oil and sprinkle with oregano and Romano.
• 11. Shake and slide pizza off baker's peel onto pizza stone in oven. Reduce oven temperature to 450°F. and bake pizza 15 minutes, or until crust is medium brown.
• 12. Serve pizza immediately with plenty of napkins. Serves 2 as an entrée or 4 as an hors d'oeuvre.