Ingredients
The Pizza Dough
- 1 ½ cups lukewarm water
- 2 teaspoons granular yeast
- 1 teaspoon dark brown sugar
- ¾ cup rye flour
- 2 ¾ 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
The topping:
- 4 firm, ripe, unblemished pears, about half a pound each
- ½ lemon
- Cornmeal for sprinkling on tin
- 2 ¼ cups grated Gruyere cheese
- 1 ⅓ cups crumbled blue cheese
- ¼ cup melted butter, approximately
Six to 12 appetizer servings
Preparation
- 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.
2 hours 10 minutes
Dining and Cooking