Grilled Pizza

I have mentioned before that I don’t like to heat up the oven during the summer in order to keep the house cool. But usually I make an exception for homemade pizza. Recently one of my friends has been brining grilled pizza to get togethers and so I thought I would give it a try.  I found several recipes on the internet that described the technique, but I used my usual dough recipe from “The Simple Art of Eating Well Cookbook”.  Honestly this pizza was better than usual and I don’t think I will go back to cooking it in the oven, even in the winter (depending on how cold it is!).

Here is the recipe:

Dough (you can use pre made dough if you like): 

3/4 cup lukewarm water

1 package active dry yeast

1 tsp sugar

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

Toppings (you really can use whatever you want, this is just what I used):

6 oz pizza sauce

6 oz canadian bacon

1/2 medium yellow squash, sliced thin

1 small onion, diced

3 banana peppers, diced

6 olives, sliced

1 handful baby spinach, chopped

6 cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced

Stir water, yeast and sugar together in large bowl. Let sit for about 5 minutes until yeast is frothy. Stir in both flours and salt. I like to use my hands to mix it until the dough comes together.

Place onto lightly floured work surface and knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic- about 5-10 minutes.  Place dough in well oiled bowl, cover with clean kitchen towel and set in a warm place to let it rise. Let it rise about 1 hour or until it has doubled in size.

Prepare all toppings. I sauteed the onions, peppers and squash to make sure they were cooked through.

When the dough has risen roll it out on a lightly floured work space. Turn the grill on high heat and clean off burner. Spray grill with cooking spray to prevent sticking.

Prepare a bowl of olive oil and a basting brush. Brush one side of the rolled pizza dough with olive oil and place on prepared grill surface, oil side down. Dough will start cooking quickly.  When the bottom of the dough has browned flip it over using 2 spatulas. 

Working quickly apply a thin coat of olive oil to the top of the dough, put on sauce, toppings and cheese.  I made sure and had all of my ingredients laid out on a cookie sheet beside the grill. Once all toppings are on close lid of grill and let cook until cheese is melted. Check periodically to make sure bottom isn’t burning.

Enjoy!!

Thanks for stopping by!!

Scout’s Stitches