BLUE CHEESE AND PEAR PIZZA

Blue Cheese And Pear Pizza image

Provided by Craig Claiborne And Pierre Franey

Categories pizza and calzones, appetizer

Time 2h10m

Yield Six to 12 appetizer servings

Number Of Ingredients 14

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
2 teaspoons granular yeast
1 teaspoon dark brown sugar
3/4 cup rye flour
2 3/4 cups, approximately, all-purpose flour, plus enough for rolling out dough
Salt to taste, if desired
1 tablespoon olive oil
Oil for greasing a bowl
4 firm, ripe, unblemished pears, about half a pound each
1/2 lemon
Cornmeal for sprinkling on tin
2 1/4 cups grated Gruyere cheese
1 1/3 cups crumbled blue cheese
1/4 cup melted butter, approximately

Steps:

Put the water in a warm bowl and sprinkle the yeast and brown sugar on top. Stir to dissolve and set aside.
Combine the rye flour, all-purpose flour, salt and olive oil in a mixing bowl and blend well. Add the yeast mixture and blend. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board and knead about 10 minutes. The dough should not be sticky. Add a litle more flour if necessary.
Shape the dough into a ball. Lightly oil the inside of a mixing bowl, place the dough in it and cover closely with a sheet of clear plastic wrap. Let the dough stand in a reasonably warm place until it is doubled in bulk, 45 minutes to an hour. Punch the dough down, shape into a ball and return it to a clean, lightly oiled bowl. Let stand again until doubled in bulk, 30 minutes or so.
Meanwhile, peel the pears and rub them with the lemon to prevent discoloring. Cut the pears in half lengthwise and remove the cores with a melon-ball cutter. Cut the pear halves into the thinnest possible slices. There should be about six cups.
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.
Punch the dough down and divide it into thirds. Roll out each third into a 10- to 11-inch circle. Sprinkle three pizza tins or baking sheets lightly with cornmeal and place a circle of dough on each.
Arrange a first layer of pear slices close together in concentric circles on each round, leaving a margin of about one inch from the outer rim of dough. Scatter a third of the grated Gruyere over each. Cover with a slightly smaller portion of pear slices and sprinkle with crumbled blue cheese. Brush the rim of each pizza with melted butter.
Place the pizzas on a rack in the oven and bake 10 to 12 minutes.