Jen’s Grilled Pizza

This is a tribute to an awesome dinner put together by Jen (and a really nice evening).  It included 4 kinds of grilled pizza, a big leafy salad, and vanilla coconut ice cream with homemade chocolate sables and strawberries for dessert.  It was really, really good, which I think is pretty well reflected in these photos.  It made me consider getting a grill, just for making pizza.  I like my crust really crispy, and on the thin side, and this was really perfect.  At the bottom is the recipe for the dough that Jen has kindly provided.

I would also like to express my sadness that Jen is leaving us for Texas shortly.  I will miss my cooking buddy, but I’m excited to see how the region incorporates itself into her culinary repertoire.

Here are the recipe and comments provided by Jen.

Pizza Dough  Adapted from The Olive Harvest Cookbook: Olive Oil Lore and Recipes from the McEvoy Ranch

Sponge:
½ C lukewarm water
2 tsp active dry yeast
½ rye flour or whole-wheat (I used whole-wheat)

Place ingredients for sponge in a large deep bowl. Mix well. Cover and leave in a
warm place until very bubbly, 20-30 min.

Then add to sponge:
¾ C lukewarm water
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
3 ¼ C unbleached all-purpose flour (plus extra if needed)

Knead until smooth and elastic (I did this with my kitchen-aid dough-hook for about 5 minutes). The dough should be moist, but not sticky. Put in oiled bowl and let rise until doubled in a warm place ( about 1 hr).

Punch down the dough and let rest for about 20 min. Transfer to a lightly floured work surface and divide in half. Make 2 smooth balls. Let rest about 15 min.

Roll out thinly and put on a baking sheet covered in cornmeal. Slide onto grill (on low flame) and let cook until you can pick the dough up with tongs. Flip the crust at this point and put your toppings on. Close the grill lid until the cheese has melted.

Let cool a few minutes off the grill before cutting.

My modification to this recipe was to subtract 2 Tbsp water and add 2 Tbsp olive oil so that the dough doesn’t stick to the grill!  The recipe here includes this modification.