Grilled Pizza

Yes, grilled pizza. Not too complicated and well worth the effort. Really. If you make everything form scratch it will take more than 30 minutes, though. You need to organize everything before you start, because once the grill is hot, things happen pretty quickly. You need dough, buy it or make it. Tomato sauce, same thing. Buy it or make it. And decide what toppings you want to add besides cheese. In my family we love classic margheritas, maybe with some prosciutto and definitely some fresh basil. But there are endless possibilities. Just keep in my mind that the quicker the toppings cook, the better. You don’t want a burned crust. You may want to precook some of your toppings or add them after the pizza is done.

Basic pizza dough

• 1 pound + 2 oz / 500 gr flour (preferably bread flour)
• 1 1/4 cup / 300 ml water
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp salt
• 2 tsp active dry yeast / 30 gr baker’s yeast

1. Dissolve the yeast in the water and add the remaining ingredients.
2. Knead until the dough comes together and is smooth and pliable. 5-7 min.
3. If you are the lucky owner of a Kitchen Aid, then attach the dough hook and knead for 5 min. Depending on the weather and the flour, you may have to add a little more flour or water to your dough.
4. Let the dough rest covered until double in size at room temp app 1hr. Or leave the dough in the fridge 8-24 hrs.

Basic tomato sauce

• 1 can (14.5 oz/411gr) diced tomatoes
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1-2 cloves garlic
• 1/4 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt

1. Heat the olive oil and cook the garlic 1-2 min.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer 15-20 min.
3. Blend the sauce if you like it smooth, I like it chunky.

Making the pizzas

All grills work. A gas grill allows you better control of the heat, so does a grill with a lid. If you have a charcoal grill, try to have one end really hot and the other with less coal, so you can move your dough bake and forth, while keeping an eye on the crust.

Get your toppings ready and start the grill. Divide the dough into 6 parts. Roll each out, keep in mind that the thinner the dough, the faster it bakes. You can drizzle some olive oil on the side you are baking first. Bake olive oil side down until lightly golden, keep watching and flip when done. This will happen fast. Now add a scoop of tomato sauce on the cooked dough and the topping you are using. You can do this step off the heat, if you prefer. Bake until bottom is golden, the cheese has melted and the topping is hot. Hopefully this will happen simultaneously, it should. Work with the lid, watch the temperatures or move the pizza around. When done, get the next pizza going…or have someone else take over and enjoy your pizza hot!