Totally Brilliant. Grilled Pizzas.

From Dish Danielle:

I know I’d heard of people grilling pizza’s before, so I’m not sure what took me so long to jump on the BBQ bandwagon. I had the pleasure of spending a long weekend out in Cape Cod with my best girl and seriously culinarily inclined Aunt Kathryn this summer. She taught Nikki & I a thing or two, and the world of fabulous grilled pizza’s was one of them.

(sidenote: I know that by the time this post comes out, summer will technically be over, BUT. Sept & Oct are amazing times to be grilling outside in NYC.)

Dough Ingredients:
1.5 cups warm water
1 package fast-rising yeast
1 tbsp sugar
2 cups bread flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp or so of kosher salt
parchment paper

Pulse the first three ingredients twice in decent sized food processor. Add remaining ingredients and let run for 30 seconds after ball forms. Remove and place in well-oiled bowl. Cover with saran – allow to rise for 3-4 hours.

Now you’ve got some time to plan what you want ON your pizza’s. This recipe will yield 4 crusts, so you better invite some folks over. The day I made them I went simple: 2 Margherita’s (basic marinara & mozz), 1 White pie with pesto (basil pesto, ricotta & mozz), and another with Roasted Veggies right off the grill (basic marinara, mozz, fennel, peppers, red onions). Fresh herbs to top are also a must in my cookbook…

Get your BBQ grill going on HIGH, as hot as you can get that mofo.

Once your dough has risen, toss it onto a well-floured surface. Cut dough glob in half, and then half again so you have 4 smaller balls of dough. Roll out 4 crusts sprinkling the dough and your work surface with flour as needed. Pull out large sheet tray and oil the hell out of it. Once the first crust is rolled, oil the top surface, (I used one of those handy cooking brushes) and lay it on your oiled tray. Cover it with a sheet of parchment—oil the hell out of that, and continue until you’ve stacked your 4 crusts and you’re ready to hit the grill.

This will be a quick process if your grill is super hot, so stay right there. Pick up the top crust carefully and toss it onto the grill. Do two at once if you can. Have a pair of tongs and a large metal spatula handy. They will immediately crisp up on the bottom, so check it after 45 seconds to gauge how much longer they will take. (the grill I was working on was top notch so this literally took 60 seconds, tops). Once they’re a touch underdone, flip and repeat on second side. Crust will puff & bubble from the heat. You may want to cover grill if it’s not piping hot to speed up the process and ensure those lovely grill marks on the dough.

Grill the remaining crusts, then pull them off and quickly dress with chosen toppings. Once they’re ready, set back on a covered grill for about a minute (or until cheese melts).

Voila! You will wow your friends. I promise.

*Note: you can also make dough, let it rise, and wrap it tightly in saran and store in fridge for use the following day.