Red White & Blue #1: Ode to Grilled Pizza

All I want to eat this summer is grilled pizza. 

I have been making my own pizzas, including the dough, for a couple of years. While they have been extremely delicious, I hadn't been able to replicate the crispiness of the crust... UNTIL NOW! Grilling pizzas is life, the rest is just details. (Remember those t-shirts from the 90's?)

This would be a perfect recipe for your 4th of July cookout! Especially if you are hosting vegetarians, vegetables are always better on a pizza! You could even get the kids involved by having them assemble their toppings on a plate for you. It would probably be smart to apply them yourself because the grill gets pretty hot. 

You can top these little heavenly discs with anything you want! Collect the ingredients for toppings and all of your utensils and bring them out to the grill before you put your first pizza on. Be sure to put toppings on quickly to avoid charring the bottom of the pizza. 

Homemade pizza dough is SUPER easy and it is SO much better for you than buying it from the store since you know exactly what you're putting in it. Don't be afraid! It isn't that hard, and honestly, putting the dough on the grill makes it kind of fool proof.

A hint in case this is your first time making dough with yeast: the dough should not be so sticky and wet that you spend more time trying to get it off of your fingers than actually shaping the dough. If it is too sticky, add small amounts of flour until it becomes smooth and elastic. If you are using a stand mixer, the dough should collect on the dough hook and pull away from the sides of the bowl. If you don't want to make your own dough, most grocery stores sell pizza dough in either a refrigerated or freezer section.

This would be a great addition to your Fourth of July cookout! Let me know what you think by leaving a comment below or make sure you are following me on Instagram, post a pic, tag me, and use #itsallofit so I can see your lovely creation! 

GRILLED PIZZA

Recipe By: Corrie Anderson  

Makes 4 to 5 single sized or shareable pizzas. If you want to make more, make two batches of dough. You can make this as early as the night before and store in the refrigerator, just take it out about 1 - 2 hours before you are ready for pizza. 

INGREDIENTS

Dough

• 2 teaspoons (7 g) instant yeast
• 2 tablespoons (22 g)  sugar
• 2 tablespoons (28 g)  olive oil
• 1 cup (222 g) water 
• 3 cups (360 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
• **OR 2 cups (240 g) unbleached all-purpose flour + 3/4 cup (72 g) whole wheat flour
• additional flour (about 1 cup/120 g) for dusting 
• 1 tablespoon (14 g) sea salt 

Toppings

• 8 oz (237 ml) fresh mozzarella 
• 1 cup (255 g) tomato sauce 
• sliced garlic, peppers, onions, tomatoes
• sliced pepperoni or salami 
• olive oil for drizzling
• sea salt and freshly ground pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Add sugar, yeast, olive oil and water into a large bowl and whisk ingredients together. 
2. Then add the flour and use a dough whisk or spatula to mix until a smooth dough is formed.
3. Using your hands, or a stand mixer and dough hook, knead dough for about 10 minutes until it has pulled all of the flour away from the sides of the bowl and it is nice and elastic. If your dough is too sticky and wet, add flour in very small amounts until it is smooth and elastic. If it is too dry add TINY TINY amounts of water, try starting with a teaspoon. 
4. Line mixing bowl, or whatever bowl your dough will be rising in, with olive oil. Place dough inside and cover loosely. Leave in a cool place to rise for 1 to 2 hours. OPTIONAL: Let dough rise for 30 minutes and then finish the rise in a refrigerator. Pizza dough loves cool temperatures! 
5. Divide dough into four to five balls. Since the dough is being grilled, it is best to stick to smaller pizzas so it is easier to transfer to the grill.  Place dough balls on a clean surface sprinkled with flour. Your dough should not be sticking to your hands so much that you spend more time trying to get the dough off then actually shaping it. Cover balls of dough with towel until they are ready to be used. 
6. Heat grill to 450 degrees, or 400 degrees if you live in the South and have already taken 2 showers today. In the meantime, on a clean floured surface, roll out your first pizza into about an 8 inch circle. You can use your hands or a rolling pin. Sprinkle with sea salt.
7. While grill is heating up, get all of your toppings ready. Bring them out to the grill, the pizzas cook really fast so you will need everything out there to avoid any burning. Here are some hints:
   • Put pizza sauce into a taller glass container
   • If you're using meat, like pepperoni or salami, separate each piece
   • Pull mozzerella pieces apart
   • Put all chopped vegetables into their own container
   • Bring all of your utentsils out to the grill. Some helpful tools include; a long handled pair of tongs to flip pizza and for taking it off of the grill, a cutting board or pizza peel, spatula for spreading pizza sauce evenly
8. Here's the drill:
   • Place dough on CLEANED grates and grill first side for 1 - 2 minutes.
   • Flip dough and immediately start applying your toppings. Do this very very quickly so that the pizza doesn't burn.
   • Close the grill and let pizza cook for 4 more minutes. Take pizza off and let it cool for a couple of minutes before eating. (If you can wait that long)