GRILLED INDIVIDUAL PIZZAS
By bjnelson55
From the Star Tribune June 2009 article.
Note: If you need to make a lot of pizza crusts, double the recipe. Then continue with double batches rather than multiplying the recipe too many times at once. For a big crowd, it's helpful to partially bake the crusts so they are easier to handle at grilling time. From "Come One, Come All: Easy Entertaining With Seasonal Recipes," by Lee Svitak Dean.
But for this set of tastebuds? I reach for grilled pizza, the kind with a fragrance that teases the neighbors and has me going back for just one more bite.
What's not to like? It's smoky, chewy and the flavor options are infinite. Perhaps a tomato and fresh mozzarella pizza tonight, and a caramelized onion pizza tomorrow. I'll save the sautéed mushroom variety for later in the week. With some fruit and a salad, I'm set with all the summer variety I need.
The best part, beyond the good taste, that is? It's easy and -- not so incidentally -- cheaper than if you had one delivered. As important, grilled pizza is fun to prepare, which may be all it takes to get that favorite teenager to help with dinner ("Who wants to top the pizzas?").
Grilled pizza does have a few differences from oven-baked.
• It tastes smoky.
• The toppings need to be minimal or the crust will burn long before the ingredients are warm or melted.
• Small pizzas are easier to handle on the grill than large ones, unless you have a wooden pizza peel for placing and removing the crust on a hot surface.
To get that brick-oven flavor that your favorite wood-fired pizzeria offers, all you need is a grill (gas or charcoal) and some pizza dough. We've got a recipe for you if you want homemade dough. Too busy? Turn to frozen dough or some prepared dough from your pizzeria (call ahead and ask if they will sell you some).
For a cooking method that's been popular for more than a decade, I have rarely run across this outside my own back yard, though it's ideal for all sorts of meal-time gatherings at home or at picnics. Who wants a burger or tube steak when there is pizza to grill!
And it's not just the flavor that is so pleasing. Topping the pizza is a great way to interact with your guests or family members: They get to choose their toppings. What's not to like? I've served it to great enthusiasm for a variety of summer entertaining, from family reunions to graduation parties.
I mastered the art of pizza on the grill when my daughter graduated from high school. Before she mentioned that there would be 100 of her closest and dearest friends at the gathering, I had agreed to grill pizzas. What I initially expected to be an impossible task turned into a manageable one that may have been one of the most fun parties I've put on.
But you don't need to wait until you have a crowd that big. This is suited to any gathering, big or small, that needs a little pizazz.
I'm thinking that a Greek pizza would be just right tonight.
Lee Svitak Dean is editor of Taste.
Ingredients
- Crust
- • 2 envelopes dry yeast
- •1/2 tsp. sugar
- • 11/2 c. warm water (105 to 115 degrees)
- • 31/2 c. flour
- • 1 tsp. salt
- • Olive oil
- Pizza toppings
- • Commercial pizza sauce (squeeze bottles are useful for a crowd)
- • Olive oil (for white pizzas)
- • Variety of pizza toppings (shredded cheese, diced vegetables, cooked or cured meats, etc.)
Preparation
Step 1
For crust: In a bowl, stir yeast and sugar into 11/2 cups warm water. Set aside for 10 minutes, or until foamy; stir again. Measure flour and salt into a large bowl; add yeast mixture and mix thoroughly by hand. The dough will be sticky.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead, adding a little flour if necessary, for 5 to 10 minutes, until dough is no longer sticky. (Or knead with an electric mixer with attachment for 5 to 7 minutes.)
Lightly oil dough and place in a bowl large enough to allow it to double in volume. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap that has been oiled on the side that touches the dough. Let stand at room temperature for at least 1 hour, or until doubled in volume. At this point, dough can be refrigerated for several hours or overnight. Do not punch dough down.
To form pizza crusts: With floured hands, pull off enough dough to make a ball 2 to 3 inches in diameter. Roll out dough into a 5- or 6-inch circle. Place on lightly greased cookie sheet. Repeat, using remaining dough to make 8 more pizza crusts. Cover and set aside in refrigerator. Bring to room temperature before assembling pizza.
To parbake crusts for future use: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake the crusts on a lightly greased cookie sheet for 3 to 4 minutes or until crusts are just firm (do not brown). Remove them from the oven and pierce in several spots with a fork to release steam (they will have puffed up in the oven). Cool the crusts and place in an airtight container to either freeze for up to several weeks or store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Bring to room temperature before assembling pizza. You could also partially cook the crusts on the grill.
For pizza assembly: Raise the grate on the grill as far from the coals as possible. Bring coals to medium heat (you should be able to hold your hand over the coals for 3 to 5 seconds). You don't want a blast furnace effect or the pizzas will burn. You may want multiple grills going if you have many pizzas to make. Have pizza sauce and toppings ready for guests to assemble. Let them know they shouldn't pile the ingredients more than 1/2 inch high.
Place the pizzas on the grill and lower the grill cover. If pizzas are being added frequently to the grill (which is likely with a crowd), place a pie pan over each individual pizza--and then cover the grill -- to maintain steady heat. Watch the pizzas carefully, because grilling will take only a few minutes. They are ready when the cheese has melted.
If pizza crusts are not parbaked: Lightly grease the grill before starting the coals. Place crusts on heated grill and turn over after a few minutes when the crusts have become firm. Repeat on second side. Remove crusts and pierce any puffed areas. Add toppings and finish on grill.