Pizza on the Grill
I love cooking on the grill and have been cooking pizzas on the grill for a few years. I often run into problems with burned areas on the dough...probably because of my cheap grill.
This is my procedure:
Spread dough>Olive Oil it>Toss it on the grill on low>Close cover and cook for few minutes>Olive Oil top>Flip>Quickly add toppings>Close top and cook for few minutes>shut off heat and leave cover closed for few minutes>Remove and eat.
I don't use a stone and like the texture the bars make on the dough. They trap sauce and are a nice touch.
I am picking up a new grill tomorrow with more surface area and supposedly more even heating. Hopefull that helps with the burned spots and uneven heating.
What other techniques are out there to help with grilling pizzas?
"Pizza Screen"
You can put the dough directly on the grill, but to cheat a bit while you build confidence an inexpensive pizza screen is a big help.
Type it into your favorite search engine...
I too put my dough directly onto the grill grate. It will work, have faith. I use my peel to transfer the dough onto the grilll. I used to use olive oil, but now skip it entirely. I make sure to use plenty of flour to keep the dough from sticking to work surface/hands/peel. Keep the toppings light: red sauce or pesto, cheese, maybe some stir-fried veggies. I cannot take credit for the dough formula, and I don't remember where it came from, but here is what I use:
Pizza on the Grill (makes 6 rounds)
½ recipe 2/3 recipe
The night or two before making the pizzas, place all the ingredients of the final dough in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix on low (speed 2 on a KitchenAid mixer using the spiral dough hook) until the dough is fully developed, about 17-20 minutes. Divide the dough into equal pieces by weight and shape each piece into a small, tight boule. Place each boule into a lightly oiled, round container, cover and refrigerate overnight. The next day, take the dough out of the refrigerator and let warm to room temperature for one hour. After the dough has sat at room temperature for one hour remove from its container, shape into approx. 10″ disk (should be very thin, I can just about see through it). Use pizza peel to load directly onto grill grate. Watch carefully, it only takes a few minutes for dough to bake. Flip, let bake for a few minutes, and put toppings on pizza.
Making pizza dough to grill is no big deal. It helps to use bread flour at say 64 percent hydration and to add a bit of olive oil to help release the grill. But a stone is IMO way wrong on a grill. The pizza screen too if you know how to handle dough.
It WILL irmprove your dough handlirng technique!
Jay
I recomend using a GOOD stone. You will get a more even bake and heat distrubition and a nice char. Here is a link to our pizza recipes.
Chow!
Jim Baugh
www.jimbaughoutdoors.com