The conventional method for cooking pizza is of course in an oven. However using a grill is also very effective as the hot dry air in a grill is similar to the air in a traditional wood-fired pizza oven, so you might say grilled pizza is almost as good as the real deal! In the summer months, grilled pizza is particularly great if you have an outside grill as it means you can socialise as you bake!
Image by Robert Mommaerts
Grilled Pizza Recipe: Bacon, Mozzarella and Tomato
Ingredients
1 ½ cups warm water
1 teaspoon salt
2 packages active dry yeast
4 tablespoons olive oil
¼ cup cornmeal
¼ cup all purpose flour
2 teaspoons light brown sugar
3 ½ cups unbleached white flour
½ cup mozzarella
3 rashers cooked bacon, chopped
3 slices ham, chopped
1 fresh tomato, chopped
½ sweet onion, chopped
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
Method
Mix the yeast and sugar and ½ cup of the warm water and let it stand for 5 minutes until a froth gathers on top. Sift the flours, cornmeal, and salt into a bowl. make a hole in the middle, and pour in the rest of the warm water and 3 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add the yeast mixture and mix with your hands until it forms a dough. Place the dough on a floured board.
Knead for 10 minutes adding more flour as you go if the dough is too sticky. Place the dough in a bowl greased with olive oil until the dough itself is coated in oil. Cover the bowl and put it in a warm place for 45 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.
Preheat the grill to very hot. Roll the dough out, about ½ inch thick and coat both sides in olive oil. Place it on the grill directly over the heat until the top starts to bubble, this should take around 2 minutes. If you need to, rotate it with a spatula.
Remove the crust and turn it over. Brush with olive oil and add the cheese, toppings, and herbs.
Sprinkle more olive oil over the top and grill for another 3 or 4 minutes.
Summer Pizza Ideas…
If you’ve got your mates around and are preparing your grilled pizza outside, why not also throw together some of these dishes that work well alongside pizza.
