An Illustrated Guide to Grilled Pizza

I'm always amazed at the looks of disbelief I get from friends and family when I ask if they've ever made grilled pizza. It seems like a very well kept secret, but it's easy and a great way to make pizza in the summer without heating up the kitchen.

With take-out pizza prices starting at $15, making your own pizza is a much lower cost solution and it's simple and fun. You can cheat by buying pre-made dough, but it's fast (save the rising time) and you can make enough to freeze for next time.

Here's my favorite pizza dough recipe, and I guess you could say it's my own since I substantially tweaked the one I originally found in a book.

DAMN YANKEE PIZZA DOUGH

• Add 1/4 t (one of those little envelopes) of Rapid Rise yeast to 1 1/3 cups warm (not hot water).
• Let it set while measuring the rest of the ingredients .
• In a large mixing bowl, combine 4 cups flour, 2 T olive oil, 1 T sugar, and 1 t salt.
• Give the yeast mixture a quick stir and add it to the flour mixture.
• If you have a mixer with a dough hook, combine the ingredients and knead (low speed) for 10 minutes, otherwise stir until combined and knead by hand on floured board for ten minutes.
• Form into a ball and place in a lightly oiled bowl.
• Cover lightly and let stand in a warm place for about 1 1/2 hours.
  

Punch down dough and decide how many pizzas you want to make now and divide the dough. Let these rest lightly covered about a 1/2 hour. This recipe makes approximately 4 12 inch thin crust pizzas. I divide the dough in three, freeze two balls and make the third into a 12 inch for Sweetie and me, and a 6 inch personal pizza for Pipsqueak.

Now for the grilling part...

Prepare your grill. We use charcoal, so I can't give directions on gas, but you'll find numerous sources on the internet. Once your coals are ready, push them around the outside of the grill, or if your grill is bigger, in a circle that resembles this photo.

Oil one side of the dough and place it oiled side down on the grill. It should only take a couple of minutes to brown the bottom. If you're making multiple pizzas, grill one side of all of them now.

Remove from the grill, and oil the uncooked side and turn it cooked side up. Add your favorite toppings to the cooked side. Sweetie and I have sauce, cheese, onion, red and green pepper, pepperoni and sometimes marinated artichokes. Pipsqueak has just sauce and cheese. The sky's the limit here. I've even heard of a dessert pizza made with caramel sauce, sliced apples and course-chopped walnuts. Once you have your toppings on, return it to the grill and put the cover on.

Check the bottom after a couple of minutes. Once it's browned to your liking, slip a heat shield under it. (A pizza pan would work, but keep in mind it will get discolored so don't use your favorite one and then yell at me because it's ruined.)

Close the cover and continue to grill until the top is hot and bubbly (usually under 10 minutes depending on how hot the coals are and the density of toppings.

Now you, too, can amaze your friends!