Grilled Pizza Adventure

What had meant to be a quick and relaxing celebration of summer turned into a long & exhausting walking tour of our apartment grounds. Out here in California, we’ve settled into a little bit of a retreat for young, former city dwellers. The sprawling joint is equipped with multiple pools and barbeque grills, lest any of us actually have to actually more than 100 feet from our apartments to enjoy the community amenities. Ritz Carlton, it’s not but it’s certainly a far cry from our previous shoebox sized city apartment.

We had been meaning to make grilled pizza for awhile. Both patience (allotting time for the dough to rise) and a warm evening had been eluding us. A few weekends ago, inspiration hit us and we followed all of the many tutorials that strongly suggested having a mise en place – having all the fixin’s ready at the go.

We marched out to the pool, only to find an army of hungry residents and screaming kids waiting in line at the grills. Usually, we’re greeted with one or two other couples, quietly grilling up a hamburger or two. To make a long story short, we spent the next hour and a half hopping from pool to pool, armed with 2 risen pizza dough rounds and a heavy bag full of sauces and toppings. We soon discovered that our lovely management had closed every pool area for the night. That evening, only? What luck! We even tried to sneak into a neighboring complex’s pool. If only we had succeeded and been detained for trespassing, I’d have a much more entertaining pizza story for you all. Instead I have an UGLY yet DELICIOUS pizza to share.

I was constructed in darkness, please pardon my ugliness.

Despite our setbacks, we managed to have a great time making these pizzas. By the time we secured our own functioning grill, it was nearly pitch black outside and almost bedtime for me. Not knowing too much about grilling pizzas, we forged ahead and created these masterpieces in the dark.

Making grilled pizza certainly isn’t as easy as calling up Papa John’s, but the crust was the perfect combination for us: doughy on the inside (for me), crusty on the outside (for hubby).

We went with our favorite flavor combination, Barbeque Chicken Pizza with a Garlic Herb Crust. Follow these tips & the recipe and you’ll be off to another dreamy land – that’s how good these were. Just make sure you have a grill to use :)

Tips for Grilling Pizza

• Liberally oil the grill grates & pizza dough before grilling
• After grilling one side of the dough, flip the dough onto a flat plate or pizza paddle and place the sauce & toppings on the grilled side. Pulling the dough off the grill allows you ample time to arrange the toppings as you wish
• Once the pizza has been “dressed” return the dough to the grill and close the lid to allow the toppings to warm and the cheese to melt.

The recipe below is for the garlic herb crust. Play around with the toppings as you like. For the Barbeque Chicken Pizza, we simply used Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce, grilled chicken (cooked on the grill), sauté mushroom and sweet onion (cooked inside), Monterey jack cheese, and lots and lots of cilantro.

Grilled Garlic Herb Pizza Dough
Adapted from Allrecipes.com and Cooks Illustrated

Pizza Dough
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 teaspoons Kosher salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 1/3 cups bread flour
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
Cornmeal for dusting

Garlic Oil for grilling
½ cup olive oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic

1. In a bowl, mix yeast with warm water and mix in sugar. Let stand for 10 minutes, or until frothy.
2. While yeast is proofing, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a small skillet. Add garlic and sauté over low heat until garlic softens, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat and allow garlic and oil to cool.
3. In a mixing bowl, combine yeast mixture, salt, garlic oil, and flour until dough pulls away from sides of bowl. I used a Kitchen Aid Mixer with a dough hook to complete these steps. Knead until smooth, about 8 minutes. If dough is too dry, add 1 tablespoon of water at a time. Place dough in a well oiled bowl and cover with a damp kitchen towel. Set aside until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch down and knead in fresh basil. Cover and set aside to rise for 1 more hour, or until doubled in size.
4. Heat ½ cup olive oil and garlic for 30 seconds in the microwave and set aside to cool. Punch down dough and divide in half. Roll each into a round shape about 3/8 – ½ inch thick. Sprinkle a plate, cookie sheet or parchment paper with flour & cornmeal. Place dough round on sheet.
5. Heat grill and brush grill grates with garlic oil. Brush tops of dough with garlic oil and sprinkle with Kosher salt if desired. Grill oil side down until grill marks begin to appear and the crust is lightly browned, about 3-4 minutes. While pizza is grilling, lightly brush the other side of the dough with olive oil.
6. Carefully remove dough from grill and place onto a flat plate or cookie sheet, grilled side up. Dress pizza dough with sauce and toppings. Return pizza dough to the grill and close the cover to allow the toppings to heat and the cheese to melt, about 2 – 3 minutes.