Pizza on the grill

Yep, you heard right – pizza cooked outside, directly on the gas grill grids, no stone or cookie sheet.  Let me tell you, it’s fabulous, delicious and a different social thing to do with family or when you have friends over.  By some miracle, the crust doesn't stick!  Last night was the 6^th time I’ve done it; the crust was perfectly crisp and the toppings gooey and melty and flavourful and simply the yummiest!

I’ve discovered Fleishmann’s Pizza Crust Fast and Easy yeast.   I’ve been using the recipe on the pouch at the back, starting with one cup of all purpose flour, and then adding the yeast, salt, sugar, oil and warm water.  I mix it up quickly and add enough flour so that it’s not sticky.  Then I knead it for a couple of minutes.  This is where I detour from the pouch recipe {which is not necessary, but I'm having better results doing this the last 2 times.}  I divide the dough into 2 balls per recipe, and let them rise for an hour in a floured mixing bowl with plastic wrap over and a towel to keep it draft free.  Then it goes in a warm place until it’s time to have the fun.

The toppings take a while to assemble.  Decide on a base sauce – a tomato base or a pesto base…last night my friend just brushed olive oil on hers, which was simple but looked really good too. Caramelized onions are something that hands down, simply make a yummy pizza, and lots of garlic too – so I definitely have those as a topping.  Sometimes I lightly cook mushrooms, other times I have them sliced and raw.  Gosh – really it’s whatever floats your boat.  I’m not much of a meat eater, so shrimp or prosciutto or chicken - that would be up to you.  Here are some ideas:  olives, buffalo mozzarella, artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, torn fresh basil leaves, shredded cheese.

When you’re almost ready to cook, it's time to take the dough and flatten it out into personal pizzas.  I get 2 out of each pouch of yeast/recipe.  They are bigger than a dinner plate, so about 12 inches I’d say.  You’ll know how big to make them as you can’t make holes in the dough by stretching it too much {or else you’ll have a difficult time – that’s why!}  Place each ‘pizza’ on a plate or cookie sheet, and brush the top with oil.  This will be the side that you put face down towards the flame on the grill.

When the grill is ready {last night it was set on low, said 500°F and was perfect}, carefully turn the blank pizzas over onto the grill.  They may lose their shape. Yep, that’s just the way it goes.  With grilled pizza, they aren’t all round, and you just gotta get over it!  Close the top of the grill but don’t go away!  Peek in after 5 mins and lift up a corner.  You definitely don’t want to char your pizza at this point.  When it’s nicely browned, use a spatula – a nice big one really does help  – transfer to a plate and you’re ready to put the toppings on.  If you’re making more than 2, go ahead and start the other pizza’s on the grill.

Sauce goes on the cooked side, then cheeses and then toppings.  When the grill is  ready for these to cook, using your spatula, transfer them, close the lid and bake for about 5 to 10 minutes.  It varies, but do watch like a hawk.  

Your family and guests will have their own ideas of how to do it, and how much they like to pile on, and this is definitely the fun for them.  I love watching them enjoy the novelty of making their dinner....and then eating the results. 

I just remembered this!
                                 - have yeast will travel!


Last year I took some pizza yeast with me to South Africa when I knew I'd be staying in a self catering B&B with Shannon, my daughter.  We were in the gorgeous Golden Gate National Park's traditional Basotho village, staying in a little mud hut, and having a blast waking up to a host of zebra grazing down below us on a verdant pasture.  One night we had delicious pizzas, cooked over the coals that Shannon artfully prepared from firewood on a very windy night.  We waited for what seemed like utter ages for the coals to "cool down", and even so, the crust got a bit charred.  {Okay, it was bloody black on the bottom waiting for the cheese to melt!}  We enjoyed them and it was memorable mother-daughter evening with a daughter who lives very far away!