Grilled Pizza

Pizza dough
Pizza sauce
Toppings (cheese, meat, greens, etc...just keep them light)
Olive oil
Equipment:  Grill, gas or charcoal
Brush...

Metal tongs
Metal spatula
1 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast
1 tsp. sugar
3/4 cup warm water (about 105°F)
1 cup cake flour
1 cup plus 3 Tbs. all-purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil

Instructions for 2 pizzas

In a small bowl, whisk together the yeast, sugar and warm water and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.  In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the dough blade, combine the cake flour, all-purpose flour and salt and pulse 3 or 4 times.  Whisk 1 Tbs. of the olive oil into the yeast mixture. With the motor running, slowly add the yeast mixture to the flour mixture, allowing each addition to be absorbed before adding more. Pulse the machine 10 to 15 times to knead the dough. The dough should clean the insides of the bowl but will be slightly sticky.

Coat the inside of a large bowl with the remaining 1 Tbs. oil. Dust your hands with flour and remove the dough from the food processor. Form the dough into a ball and place in the bowl. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Divide the dough in half and roll out as directed in the pizza recipe. Makes two 10-inch thin-crust pizzas.

Heat the grill. You should heat it quite hot; my grill was about 600°F with the lid on while baking this particular pizza. If you have a choice on your grill between direct and indirect heat, set it up so the pizza is over direct heat.

Gather your ingredients and toppings. Set up a table or bench near the grill so that you have easy access to everything. Good grilled pizza is as much about the organization and logistics as it is about actual cooking!

Also have your tools close to hand. You will want a pair of long metal tongs. A spatula may be helpful, although not absolutely necessary. You may want a hot pad or oven mitt if your grill lid gets hot.

Prep your dough. It should be stretched or rolled out into a thin circle. (Circle-ish — as you can see, my pizzas usually resemble continents more than they do the moon!)

Brush the dough with olive oil.

Take the lid off the grill. Lay the dough round on the grill, olive-oil-brushed-side down. Brush the top of the dough with a thin layer of olive oil too. Let the dough cook for about 3 minutes, with the lid off. Use the tongs to lift up the dough from time to time, checking on how it is doing. You want nice grill marks on it, but you don't want the dough to get crispy.

Flip the dough over with the tongs or spatula. The dough should come up easily and flip without tearing. Now is where your organization comes in! You need to top the pizza quickly. Spread on a thin layer of sauce, some cheese, and toppings. It shouldn't be too heavily loaded, or the pizza won't cook well.

Put the lid on and cook for about 5 minutes.

Remove the lid and check the pizza. The edges should be crisp and well done, and the cheese should all be melted. Drag the pizza off with the spatula or tongs. Let cool for 3 minutes, then cut into pieces and eat!

Additional Notes:

Of course, you need to keep an eye on the heat. This method works perfectly every time on my own grill. But it depends on thin you stretch your dough, and how hot your grill gets. Flipping the dough gives you an extra measure of control and certainty, though, that the crust will be cooked through by the time your toppings have melted and warmed.