Lobster Pizza

This recipe uses the dough and type of sauce from my New York Pizza recipes but is baked in a pan. I read a lot of different recipes and the one that had the most appealing ingredients and great reviews used Fontina cheese, which I was not able to find. I read that substitutes for this mild cheese are Gruyere and Gouda so I used some of each and mozzarella plus some grated Parmesan. It's an expensive pizza to make and you should use the claws from two lobsters and at least one and a half tails (depends on how big they are and what will fit), so you'll be buying two lobsters. I used two that were between a pound and quarter and a pound and a half each. It turned out to be simply amazing and totally worth the time and expense. Not an every day pizza, but one to remember. I have made my own sauce in the past (see New York Pizza sauce recipe) but that's even more work, so I used a jar of San Marzano pizza sauce. I also used fresh basil leaves and I see no reason to skimp and use that dried stuff. BIG DIFFERENCE. Note that if you read the directions, you will be spending about an hour and a half one day making two pizza dough balls and maybe an hour getting the lobster ready. Since the dough has to finish developing in the refrigerator overnight, you will be making the pizza THE NEXT DAY and have another pizza dough ball which you could use within a couple of days or freeze. Note: This makes a normal thickness pizza crust like a New York style pizza. If you want a thicker, airier crust, like a pan pizza (this will, after all, cook in a pan), you can use two packets of yeast or substitute some lager beer for half of the water needed. If using some lager, make sure to bring the lager/water mixture to 110F before using. For the picture below, I just used water and one packet of yeast.

Equipment

• 10 to 12 inch cast iron skillet

• Large mixing bowl

• 4 smaller bowls

• Plastic wrap

• Pizza stone (optional - to effectively transfer heat to skillet)

• Pizza cutter

• Cheese grater

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups 00 flour, plus more for dusting

• 1 tsp kosher salt

• 1 packet instant yeast

• 2 tsp sugar (or 1 tsp sugar and 1 tsp honey)

• 3/4 cup warm (110 deg F) water

• 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil, plus more to coat pan

• up to 1 cup pizza sauce (recommend San Marzano)

• 6 oz mozzarella cheese (most of an 8oz log)

• 4 oz Gruyere cheese

• 3 oz Gouda cheese

• 1 oz grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese

• 10 fresh basil leaves

• 2 TBSP butter

• Extra virgin olive oil

• Garlic (I recommend liquid organic garlic but if very finely chopped garlic is OK)

• Onion powder

• Italian seasoning

Directions

1. Boil the lobsters, remove all the meat, place in baggie, and refrigerate (may be done a day or two ahead of time). How? "Look it up." If you want the best results, do not overcook the lobster as it will be baked into the pizza later.

2. Combine flour and salt in a large bowl or mix well in a stand mixer.

3. Combine warm (110F) water, sugar, yeast and oil in a small bowl. Let proof for 10 minutes. It should be foamy. Better to use Spring water and not chlorinated tap water.

4. I recommend using a stand mixer but you can use your hands instead. Mix liquid a little bit at a time into the flour until no dry flour remains. Might need more warm water. It will be a sticky shaggy ball. Add more flour if necessary.

5. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap, making sure that the edges are well sealed, then let rest at room temperature for a half hour.

6. Knead the dough for 5 minutes, recover, and let rest for another half hour.

7. After dough has rested, knead again for 5 minutes and let it rest for another half hour.

8. Sprinkle top of dough lightly with flour, then transfer it to a well-floured work surface. Divide dough into 2 pieces and form each into a ball by holding it with well-floured hands and tucking the dough underneath itself, rotating it until it forms a tight ball.

9. Wrap both balls in plastic wrap, separately, and refrigerate overnight.

10. STARTING ON DAY 2, remove one pizza dough ball from refrigerator, then just let it sit out at room temperature for 30 to 60 minutes.

11. While waiting for dough to warm and rise, prepare the cheeses. You will be using most of an 8 oz mozzarella log, about 6 oz. These are usually presliced but the slices are about twice as much as you want in one spot, so I would first shred about half the mozzarella and for the rest, slice that into smaller pieces. The Gruyere and Gouda cheeses you will have to shred and perhaps the block of Parmesan (which is better than the jar stuff). I would also leave some small, very thin chunks of Gouda to be distributed evenly like the small chunks of mozzarella. Keep the different cheeses in separate bowls.

12. Sprinkle a small amount of flour on a very clean work surface and flatten out the dough into a rather thick circle using just your hands. Do not use a roller. Press your fingertips into the dough all over to make the circle larger. Lift it up by the edge and let it hang down and work your fingers around the perimeter, then repeat the pressing down method. Keep doing this until you have a circle 8 to 10 inches in diameter, then cover in plastic wrap and let sit for about 30 minutes.

13. Pour 1 to 2 tablespoons oil in the bottom of a cast iron skillet and spread it evenly, even up the sides. Place dough circle in pan and turn to coat evenly with oil. Using a flat palm, press dough around the pan, flattening it and spreading out around the entire bottom and edges of the pan. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let dough sit at room temperature for half an hour.

14. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat oven to 400 F.

15. Lift up one edge of the dough to let any air bubbles underneath escape, then repeat, moving around the dough until there are no air bubbles left underneath and the dough is evenly spread around the pan.

16. Melt 2 TBSP butter in a small bowl and several drops of liquid garlic, 2 finely chopped basil leaves, some italian seasoning, a little onion powder, and a dash of salt. Mix this well and brush all over the top of the dough.

17. Place skillet in oven and par bake for about 10 minutes. Keep an eye on it and pop any large bubbles that may form with a knife. This par baking step is to ensure a firm crust. Check underneath for browning. It will be cooked at a higher temperature later so you are not looking for it to be totally done. Remove skillet from oven and place on stove top.

18. Increase oven temperature to 500. You have a little work to do next and don't place the skillet back in the oven until it has preheated to 500.

19. Top the dough with pizza sauce, spreading sauce to the very edge with the back of a spoon.

20. Cut the lobster tails into small medallions and distribute evenly over the pizza (Leave the claws alone, they will be added to the pizza when that's done.)

    

21. Cover with all the cheeses... so each piece after cutting the pizza will have some of each kind of cheese. It is good idea to mostly cover the lobster tail with cheese because it is already cooked.

22. Transfer skillet to 500 degree oven and bake until top is golden brown and bubbly and bottom is golden brown and crisp when you lift it with a thin spatula, about 10 minutes. While this is happening, warm up the claw meat (30 percent power microwave for 30 seconds should do it).

23. Remove skillet, place on stove top, and turn off oven. Arrange warmed claw meat so it looks nice. Check the underside of the crust. If bottom is not as crisp as desired, place pan over a burner and cook on medium heat, moving the pan around to cook evenly until it is crisp, 1 to 2 minutes.

24. Remove the pizza from the very hot skillet using two spatulas and transfer it to a cutting board. Let it cool for about 5 minutes. Place fresh basil leaves on top evenly.

25. Cut pizza and serve your very lucky guests slices they will remember forever.