White clam pizza was first made in New Haven in the mid-twentieth century. While its exact origin is uncertain, one frequently repeated story is that a clam vendor in an alley off Wooster Street near Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana convinced Pepe that the two of them should pool their resources. Raw little-necks on the half-shell already were on Pepe’s menu as a prepizza hors d’oeuvre. Pepe used them on a pie with neither tomatoes nor mozzarella cheese—just the freshly-opened clams, minced garlic, a dusting of sharp Pecorino cheese and a sprinkle of herbs. The elegant medley is really more a flatbread than a pizza, its crust ultra-thin with a rugged underside from grains of semolina on the oven floor, its circumference puffed up in a golden circle that offers profound resilience in every bite.
Elaborations proliferate in Connecticut and beyond. A clam casino pizza adds bacon to the topping; when fresh clams are not available, some local pizzerias offer shrimp in their place; and while purists scoff at the idea, mozzarella cheese may be added, transforming an elegant pizza into one that is profligate.
White Clam Pizza
Dough
1 package dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup warm water
2–2¾ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
Cornmeal
1. Dissolve the yeast and sugar in ¼ cup of the warm water. Add the remaining ¾ cup water to 2 cups of flour. Add salt and when the yeast is proofed, add it, too. Stir together and turn out onto a floured board. Let the dough rest while you clean and oil the bowl.
2. Knead the dough vigorously for a full 15 minutes, adding flour if necessary to create a silky dough. Return it to the bowl, cover with two tight layers of plastic wrap, and let it rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 2–3 hours.
3. Punch down the dough and flatten it on a lightly floured board. Pounding with the heel of your hand and lifting the dough to stretch it, carefully and methodically work the dough into a round about 15 inches in diameter. Sprinkle a baker’s peel with cornmeal, and put the dough on it. Cover the dough and let it rest.
4. Place your pizza stone in the oven (on the bottommost shelf) and preheat the oven to 500°F while you open the clams and gather other toppings.
Topping
3–6 large cloves garlic (to taste)
¼ cup olive oil
2 dozen littleneck clams
1 teaspoon oregano
2 tablespoons grated Romano cheese
1. While the dough is rising, mince the garlic and let it steep in the olive oil. After the dough has rested 10 minutes, brush on the oil and garlic, leaving a half-inch of untouched diameter. Open the clams and spread them around the pie with a dash of their own juice. Sprinkle on the oregano and cheese.
2. Slide the pizza off the baker’s peel onto the preheated pizza stone. Lower the oven heat to 450°F and bake 15 minutes, or until the crust is medium brown. Remove, cut into triangles or squares, and serve immediately.
SERVES 2 AS A MEAL; 4 AS HORS D’OEUVRE