| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 1 day 5 hr 40 min |
| Prep: | 20 min |
| Inactive: | 1 day 4 hr 30 min |
| Cook: | 50 min |
| Yield: | 4 to 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 batch Franny’s Pizza Dough, recipe follows
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, more as needed
- 1/2 Spanish onion, peeled and cut into chunks
- 4 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
- 1 bay leaf
- Chili flakes
- 1 1/4 cups dry white wine
- 4 1/2 dozen manila (about 6 pounds), scrubbed well in cold water
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- All-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup chopped parsley
- 2 packed teaspoons fresh yeast (10 grams) or 1 1/2 teaspoons dry active yeast
- 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
Instructions
- Remove the pizza dough from the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before baking.
- Place 1/4 cup oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion, and saute until it is limp, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, bay leaf and a pinch of chili flakes. Reduce heat to low and cook 7 minutes longer. Add wine, and bring to a simmer. Add clams, cover pot, and cook till they start to open, about 10 minutes. As they open, use tongs to transfer them to a large bowl. When all clams are cooked and cooled, pluck out meat, and discard shells.
- Simmer liquid left in pot until it reduces to a thick, syrupy glaze, about 10 minutes. Add cream, and continue simmering until mixture is reduced by a quarter, 10 to 15 minutes longer. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve, and set aside.
- Take a pizza peel and dust the surface with flour. Form the dough into a 12-inch round.
- Working quickly, paint the entire surface of the pizza with one-quarter of the clam glaze. Scatter a dozen or so clams over the pizza and sprinkle with chili flakes. Drizzle with oil.
- Place peel into brick oven. Slide off the peel. Watch the pizza and continue to rotate it in the oven until all sides of the crust bubble up, allowing for some black bubbles, but not too many. (Approximately 2 minutes.)
- Take the pizza out of the oven and sprinkle with chili flakes and scatter with parsley.
- Repeat with the remaining dough balls and toppings.
- If using fresh yeast, mix 1 1/2 cups cold water and yeast together in an electric mixer until yeast is dissolved. If using dry active yeast, mix water and yeast and let sit until the yeast is foamy, about 5 minutes. Beat in flour and salt and mix with dough hook until the dough comes together to form a smooth, slightly elastic dough, 2 to 3 minutes. Do not knead. Place the dough into oil-coated bowl, cover loosely with plastic and store in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours and up to 3 days to proof. At Franny’s we let it proof for 48 hours, at which point we feel the dough has the optimal texture and flavor.
- When you are ready to make the pizza, divide the dough into 4 equal pieces and shape into balls. Return the dough to the refrigerator to rest for 4 to 6 hours, or until needed, up to 12 hours. Remove the dough and let it sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before using (take the dough out of the fridge while you preheat the pizza stone). You can let it sit out longer as long as it doesn’t get too soft and floppy, which will make it difficult to shape. Soft dough is also more likely to stick to the cookie sheet or pizza peel, making it harder to slide onto the stone. If the dough gets too soft, stick it back in the fridge for 10 minutes or so to give it a chance to firm up. Shape and top as directed for in the pizza recipe.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 6 servings |
| Calories | 691 |
| Total Fat | 32 g |
| Saturated Fat | 15 g |
| Carbohydrates | 79 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 4 g |
| Sugar | 3 g |
| Protein | 12 g |
| Cholesterol | 82 mg |
| Sodium | 557 mg |
Reviews
This is the best pizza ever! It’s not hard to make. I have made a good number of pizza’s, made my own dough, and used store bought, both. I don’t use the oven, I use the bbq. I will make this pizza many times more! Just delicious, thank you Franny!
As soon as I saw the episode, I made a mental list to get clams. The dough included in this recipe needed longer that I cared to wait, so I opted to use another pizza that I’ve always made from Ina (Kid’s party ep. I bought 3dz of clams, and was relieved because I had to throw some away- those that did open before cooking and those that remained closed after cooking. Watch for the onions and garlic, they will burn if you leave them for the time suggested in the recipe- so keep an eye on them. Also, I used 1 cup heavy cream, and half a cup 2% milk (ran out of heavy cream.I used lots of parsley. The clam sauce doesn’t call for salt, and later I learned why- it was salty, nevertheless. The sauce was a bit runny, and so it is very tricky to keep it from running to the edges of the pizza and its bottom. My husband asked that I make it again.
The best dish at one of Brooklyn’s best restaurants. I no longer live around the corner, but I can still taste the Clams, Chilies and Parsley Pizza. Now, as soon as I build a brick oven in my back yard, I can make these at home! We miss you, Franny’s.