Grilled Pizza

I posted a photo of grilled pizza on my photo blog and had a request for the recipe, so here we go!  I've been wanting to try a summer grilled pizza since we enjoy the simplicity of pizza but not the heat of the oven.

After researching online, messaging with a friend who had recently tried the same thing, we decided to give it a try.  I was curious, to say the least, and of course toted the camera along to document the experience.

I love whole wheat pizza dough crust, and I've posted it previously here.  The bread machine does the hard work of kneading and rising, leaving me the easy job of scooping it out and rolling the batch into two smallish pizza rounds.

Next up, get those toppings outside and by the grill.

At this point you need to handle the dough, so you might as well try your hand at spinning the dough the way the Italians do on TV.  It's fun, and pizza dough is pliable enough to make it relatively simple.  I was showing off like a pro to a somewhat-impressed Len when I almost dropped it.  Don't drop it.

You can, however, plop it straight onto a grill that has been well cleaned and preheated to about 300-350F.  If you worry like I did that the dough will slip right through the grill, it won't.  Check it out.

The dough will start to puff up right away.  Close the lid for a bit, but not too long.  At this point, you want to make sure that all your supplies are laid out and accessible, since you'll be topping the dough while it's on the grill.  Keeping a close eye on the browning of the dough, be prepared to add those toppings as soon as you flip the dough for the first time.  We made the mistake of browning both sides of the pizza dough first, and ended up with darker dough than we would have liked.  Flip it once.

And load on those toppings.  You'll want to work quickly for two reasons: one, you want to keep the BBQ as hot as possible so your toppings will cook and two, you don't want to burn yourself.  Practical, aren't I?  Start with the sauce and (if you love cheese like I do) sprinkle a small amount of cheese to help hold the toppings.

We added some yummy onion.

And then some lean turkey pepperoni, lots of chopped mushrooms (good source of potassium, those) and some more cheese.  I normally also add some peppers and occasionally broccoli or zucchini, but my fridge was a little emptier than I estimated.

Close up the lid and let the grill regain its heat.  Again, you'll want to keep a close eye on the pizzas; cooking time is much faster than in the oven and anything more than ten minutes is probably overdoing it.  We had to pull ours off a little sooner just because we had made the mistake of flipping the dough twice before adding the toppings, but it was still delicious!

So there you have it: pizza without the oven and even more taste!  And really, probably half the time.

We did watch another video where, rather than placing the dough directly on the grill, the chef prepared it on a baking sheet, heated the grill, and then placed the cookie sheet on a triangle of three empty, overturned soup cans.  This way the heat is able to radiate around the entire pizza (with the lid closed, of course) and cut your cooking time in half.

Another option is, of course, to take a stoneware round and place that directly on the grill.  I may try that one time. I'll post an update if I do.

So off  you go... have at it!  Let me know how it works out!