Over the past year, my husband became quite the pizza maker. Since the oven is off (as much as possible) this time of year, we took the process outside.
We start with a basic pizza dough recipe, Josh is partial to Mario Batali's recipe. These days, you can even get pre-made dough balls at places like Trader Joes and Wegman's. The next step is to think about sauce, cheese and toppings. We made a pepperoni/margarita pizza and a caponata and taleggio cheese pizza. While I made the sauces and sorted the toppings, Josh got the grill going/charcoal smoking, you want the fire nice and hot!
After your dough is rolled out, cover both sides with semolina flour and olive oil, then toss it on a hot grill. The first side takes about 5 minutes to cook.
When the first side was done, we brought the pies in for toppings. We did a reverse topping style, cheese, sauce, then meat. It seemed to help melt the cheese, but I think we'll test the traditional topping order next time.
Our three year old was involved in each step of the process, grilled pizza is fun for everyone in the family. Even the family dog, who scored a few pieces of cheese and some salami.
Grilled pizza has become one of our summer staples, I hope it becomes one of your favorites too!
