the last of summer’s grilled pizzas

I may be the last food blogger in the world to post about grilled pizzas this year. Most people think it’s a summer thing. And while this may be the case if you live in Arctic regions such as Alaska or Canada, find early fall might just be the perfect time of year for hovering over a hot grill. I was at Lake Michigan over the long weekend and the weather was perfect — warm and sunny days, salve cool and cloudless nights. As is tradition, we made a bonfire on the beach, toasted up some s’mores and watched the stars while we sipped a Bell’s brew.

One of the nights was grilled pizza night. A new tradition, I think. I made 4 varieties:
yellow tomato, cinnamon basil, fresh mozzarella & prosciutto
sauteed mushroom, fresh spinach, mozzarella & prosciutto (pictured)
caramelized onions, oil-cured black olives, mozzarella & gorgonzola (the undisputed winner!)
fresh peaches, black pepper & gorgonzola

I won’t go into major details about how to make them, just a dough recipe and some pointers below. But, I will point you over to Heidi’s grilled pizza post. I read it through once and didn’t have to refer to it again. As always, she’s clear and detailed and I need not say anything more.

Grilled pizza pointers

• Make sure the grill has pre-heated and is at your desired temperature – Medium Hot – before you start.
• Have all of your toppings prepped and cooked if they need to be (i.e. caramelized onions), and line them all up near the grill. You don’t want toppings that take too long to cook since they’ll only be on the grill a couple of minutes.
• Roll your dough out into rounds before you cook. Use parchment paper or plastic wrap to keep them from sticking to each other.
• Brush the dough with a bit of olive oil before place on the grill. This keeps the dough from burning and adds a lovely flavor.
• Use your lid. Close it as soon as you place the dough on the grill, opening occasionally to check the bottom of the dough. Close it again after you’ve flipped your pies and loaded on the toppings.
• Check the bottom of your dough often. You don’t want it to burn, but don’t be too quick at flipping it or it will still be dough-y on the inside and won’t have those lovely grill lines.
• Have fun!

Pizza Dough

2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 package dry active yeast
1 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. olive oil, plus more for coating
1 cup warm water

Mix all the dry ingredients in a big bowl, mixing well. Then add the wet ingredients and mix together into a big clump.

Flour a surface, and dump contents of bowl onto it. Knead everything together until all the ingredients are mixed well. Super Lazy Mel Tip: you can knead the dough right inside the bowl. You may hurt your knuckles a bit, but the clean up is much easier.

Pick the dough up, then lightly oil the bowl and place the dough ball inside, coating all sides with oil. Cover the ball tightly with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for at least 2 hours. I let it sit out on the counter all day while I’m at work and that seems to be fine as well.

Knead the dough for a bit to remove the air bubbles (Super Lazy Mel Tip: You can do this in the bowl). Cover with plastic wrap and let stand for 30 more minutes.

Makes 4 individual-sized pizzas.