Grilled Pizza

If you could only top your pizza with only three items, what would they be?  Cheese is already included, of course. 

Quick, don’t think about it…You shouldn’t have to think about it.  It should come as quickly to your mind as your phone number, address, and favorite ice cream flavor. 

Mine would be mushrooms, onions, and pepperoni.  Oh sweet heaven!  And favorite ice cream flavor is chocolate, if you were wondering.

I love pizza.  I enjoy my pizza cut into squares, not slices.  I prefer thin crust to thick and doughy.  I like a red sauce, not white – they have their place, but not on my pizza.  I think Friday’s dinner should always be pizza.  Cold pizza is my breakfast of champions.  I like pizza parlors and delivery is heaven sent on a snowy winter night.  Homemade pizza tastes best.  I have given pizza a lot of thought!

I was craving pizza and it just happened to be Friday – love how that happens!  OK, so my pizza craving may have started mid-week and the waiting until Friday (aka, Mallory’s National Pizza Day)  may have been premeditated…but the only thing that matters is that pizza was made and my craving satisfied. 

With it being July and comfortably warm and breezy, I have turned my a/c off and opened the windows to let in some fresh air.  Therefore, on Friday I had no desire to turn on my oven and grossly heat up the house.  So I turned to my beloved grill.  Grilled pizza is awesome!

Grilling pizza will test your abilities in heat/flame management on the grill, but if I can do it – you can!  You just can’t take your eye off of the task at hand.  Have all sauces, toppings, utensils, a.k.a. everything one will need, ready to go and within reach.  Make sure toppings are able to be heated through quickly and do not need much cook time once on the pizza. 

So are you ready for a pizza night?  Let’s roll…literally.

Sprinkle yeast over warm water…not hot, but warmer than luke warm.  Vague enough? 

And…voila!   Not really, well kinda.  The mixing bowl contained flour and salt, to which I added some olive oil and mixed to combine.  Then, with bread hook attached and mixer on low speed, the yeasty water was slowly added to the bowl and mixed until … well, voila!

Form it into a nice, roundish ball and place it in a lightly greased bowl.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.  I made my dough 3 days before I made my pizza…see, premeditated.

Roll – correct term is pulling, but tearing seems appropriate if you aren’t careful!  Divide dough into 4 equal balls and turn them out onto a lightly floured surface.   If you are using the oven, you can divide into 2 balls if using large sheet pans, but smaller pizzas are easier to manage on the grill.  Pull them out to an even and desired thickness.  

Brush olive oil on side 1 and place side 1 down onto a clean, preheated, greased grill.  Brush oil on side 2 now.

When side 1 is done, give it a flip. 

Top it. 

Tip:  I turned the heat to low and closed the lid – creating an oven atmosphere.  I eventually turned the flame off to prevent burnt crust, but allowing the cheese to melt.  Just work with your grill, no right or wrong way here.  This only took a few minutes!

Cut into squares and enjoy! 

Grilled Pizza

Dough will make 2 medium to large pizzas, serving 6 or so.

I cut the dough recipe in half and it could have easily served 4.

I topped mine with caramelized onions, mushrooms, pepperoni, and fresh mozzarella.  Make it your own!

Ingredients 

• 4 Cups All-Purpose Flour, plus extra for dusting
• 1 Teaspoon Active Dry Yeast
• 1 Teaspoon Salt
• 1 + 1/2 Cups Warm Water
• 1/3 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil (if you are cutting the recipe in half, the volume of this would be 2 Tablespoons + 2 teaspoons), plus extra for grilling.
• Tomato Sauce
• Toppings of your choice
• 1 grill
• Pam Grilling Spray (optional) – makes life easier!

Directions

Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of yeast over warm (warmer than lukewarm) water.  Set aside.

In a mixer, combine the flour and salt.  With the mixer on low, slowly drizzle in the 1/3 Cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil until combined – you can use the bread hook or paddle attachment for this.

Attach bread hook to mixer and turn on low and slowly add the yeasty warm water.  Mix until a ball forms.  Remove from mixing bowl and shape into a nice round ball. 

Lightly coat a medium sized bowl with olive oil and place dough in bowl and cover with plastic wrap.  Place in refrigerator until ready to use.  It can remain in the fridge for up to 3 to 4 days. 

When you are ready to make your pizza,  prepare your toppings first.  I thinly sliced a red onion and cooked it over medium heat in 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter until they became translucent (about 10 minutes) and then added 2 portabella mushrooms – roughly chopped.  I continued to cook for another 10 to 15 minutes until they were tender and slightly caramelized.  I also sliced pepperoni and fresh mozzarella and had my tomato sauce ready to go. 

Clean and preheat your grill.  If you are going to use Pam Grilling Spray, make sure to apply to grill before you turn it on!

Remove dough from refrigerator and divide dough into at least 4 evenly pieces (2 if recipe is halved).  Dust work surface with flour.  Either using a rolling pin or your fingers, stretch dough out evenly into the shape of your liking.  Using the tips of your fingers to finish.  It will be thin, be careful. 

Brush side one with olive oil and place oiled side down on preheated grill over medium – low flame.  Brush side 2 with oil.  Grill for 2 to 3 minutes on side one, checking every 30 to 45 seconds to maintain appropriate heat/flame.  Once golden brown, flip.

 Once flipped, add toppings quickly and continue to cook.  At this time, you may want to turn the flame to low and close lid, letting the cheese melt.  Checking every minute or so.  Once the crust is golden brown on the bottom, you can turn the grill off, shut the lid, and let the captured heat continue to melt the cheese and heat the toppings.  Once crust is a golden brown on bottom, toppings are heated through, and cheese is melty, remove from grill.  Cut into squares and enjoy!  Phew…

Oh and hey, look at my flowers…I may or may not have taken my eye off the grill to take this photo 🙂