Pizza dough for the grill

11 years ago

Hi--I'd like to make grilled pizza with a thin, crisp, airy crust, preferably with some whole grain in it. I won't be putting any red sauce on it, so it won't need stand up to that, but I might use thinly sliced tomatoes.

Please tell me how to get a crust like that. Thanks!

Featured Answer

PRO

Lars/J. Robert Scott

11 years ago

Here's the recipe I use:

Lars’
Whole Wheat Pizza

2 to 2-1/8 cups water
2 tsp malt powder (or 1
tsp sugar)
2 tbsp VWG (vital wheat
gluten flour)*
1 cup semolina flour
1-5/8 tsp IDY (instant dry yeast)*
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups whole-wheat flour
1-1/2 cups bread flour
1 tbsp salt

Pour 2 cups water into
Kitchenaid mixing bowl, and add malt powder, VWG, and semolina flour. If you do not have VWG, it can be replaced
with regular flour. Whisk together, and
then add the IDY and olive oil. Add the
whole-wheat flour, and put the bowl on the mixer with the dough hook, and mix
until blended. Then add the bread
flour, along with the salt. If the
dough is too stiff, add the rest of the water, one tablespoon at a time. You may have to adjust the amount of bread
flour to get a dough that is smooth and comes away from the bowl. The dough will be slightly sticky when
finished. Complete the kneading by hand for a few turns, and place the dough in
a bowl greased with a bit of olive oil, and allow to rise at room temperature
for 1-1/2 hours. Divide the dough into
thirds, and place in oiled plastic bags in the fridge overnight or two nights.

Remove dough from fridge
and allow it to rest at room temperature for one hour before handling. Stretch the dough into a 12-13” circle and
bake on a pizza stone or pizza screen at 500° for 8-10 minutes, or until
done. If your oven will reach a higher
temperature, that would be preferable and will reduce baking time. If your oven will only reach 400°, you may
want to melt a layer of cheese on the crust before adding other toppings.

*Note: both VWG and IDY
should be stored in the refrigerator, and the yeast can be frozen to make it
last longer. If using packaged yeast,
use 2 tsp.

Single Pizza: (make by
hand – not in mixer)

2/3 - 3/4 cup water
2/3 tsp malt powder (or
1/3 tsp sugar)
2 tsp VWG (vital wheat
gluten flour)
1/3 cup semolina flour
2/3 tsp IDY (instant dry yeast)
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2/3 cups whole-wheat
flour
1/2 cups bread flour
1 tsp salt

The guys at the Pizza Making forum helped me develop this recipe.

When I grill pizza, I first stretch the dough onto a screen and parbake it at 375 degrees for about 5-7 minutes, usually with some grated Mozzarella cheese on it. I tried it with Fontina, but that burns too easily. Then I let it cool, add toppings, and grill on the pizza stone in my BGE at 450 degrees (using the thermometer at the top - the stone is actually hotter). It takes another 10 minutes to get done with the additional toppings. If you put less on top of it, it will get done faster. Hardwood will get hotter than just charcoal, and I use a combination for the fire.

I have not photographed it yet.

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Comments (15)

slowlane
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks, Lars! I was thinking about your pizza party when I put this on the menu, but I couldn't find the post. This will be perfect!
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My boyfriend is originally from Philly and is incredibly picky about pizza (thin crust only, for example, among other rules). I set my sights on a project of learning to make a pizza at home that he might favour and after some practice and documenting, this is how I make mine (and when I haven't made something in advance and he wants pizza at the last minute, Trader Joe's pizza dough is pretty darned good). Apologies for the overly thoroughness, it's how I got it all down for my records after a few attempts. 5 1/2 teaspoons sugar 2 teaspoons kosher salt 1 tablespoon pure olive oil 3/4 cup warm water 2 cups bread flour 1 teaspoon instant yeast 2 teaspoons olive oil olive oil, for pizza crust flour or cornmeal, for dusting the pizza peel (I used whole wheat flour and found it to be my new favourite(also I do not have a peel and simply use a flat cookie sheet) -Place the sugar, salt, 1 TBSP olive oil, water, 1 cup flour, yeast, and remaining cup of flour into your mixer's work bowl. Using the paddle attachment, start the mixer on low and mix until the dough just comes together, forming a ball. Spray your hook attachment with cooking spray and swap it out with the paddle. -Knead dough for 15 minutes on medium speed. -After 15 minutes, tear off a small piece of dough and flatten into a disc. Stretch the dough until thin, hold it up to the light, and look to see if a taut membrane has formed (also called a baker's window), you should be able to see a webbing of membranes and nearly be able to see through the dough. If the dough tears before it forms, if you aren't able to pull it thin to almost see through before it rips, knead the dough for an additional 5 to 10 minutes. -Form the dough into a smooth ball on the countertop, sealing it unto itself. Place the dough ball in a large stainless or glass bowl and add 2 tsp olive oil, tossing to coat. Cover with plastic wrap (doesn't have to be a perfect seal) and refrigerate for 18 to 24 hours. -Place pizza stone or tile onto the bottom of a cold oven (or if your heating element is on the bottom of your oven, simply place stone onto the lowest position oven rack) and turn the oven on to its highest temperature, 500° or mine goes to 550°. -Split the dough into 2 equal pieces using a knife or dough scraper. Flatten each piece into a disc onto the countertop and then fold each piece into a ball. Wet hands barely with water and rub them onto the countertop to dampen the surface slightly to make it 'sticky', roll the dough on the surface until it tightens into a smooth ball. -Cover with a tea towel and let rest for 30 minutes. If you won't be immediately using the second ball of dough, spray the inside of a ziplock bag and place the dough ball into the bag. Seal and refrigerate for up to 6 days. -Sprinkle flour or cornmeal onto peel and place dough onto the peel. Using your hands, form a lip around the edges of the pizza. -Stretch the dough into a round disc, holding the center with one hand and gently pulling the edges outward with the other hand, rotating after each stretch, try tossing if you're up for it, but do not use a rolling pin! -Shake the pizza on the peel to be sure that it will slide onto the pizza stone or tile. Dress and bake the pizza immediately for a crisp crust or rest the stretched dough for 30 minutes if you want a chewy texture. -To dress the pizza, brush the rim of the pizza with olive oil. Spread the pizza sauce evenly over the pizza. Sprinkle the herbs onto the sauce and then any toppings you might want. Top with cheese. -Slide the pizza onto the tile and bake for 7 or 8 minutes, or until bubbly and golden brown, checking the underside for doneness before removing. Rest finished pizza for 3 minutes before cutting.
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I've been reading these and all of trailrunner's post. They are just great. All the hints were great. I bake bread out of boredom, I rarely use a recipe, for better or worse and like the wet doughs as well as quicker higher yeast doughs for pizza. Someday I'll get that "super peel" with the cloth belt thingy. I am forced to pre-cook my thin pizza crusts without one- My favorite bread is an olive bread that is made locally in the East Bay and sold now only at the local Berkeley farmer's market- you can go to their bakery, and they will sell stuff to you, but it's not a store front, no sales help, no hours- if they are there they'll sell it to you- they're also fresh pasta makers- 'Phoenix Pastificio'- if you're ever in the area. I've never tried to make that bread, it's almost Holy to me...( although I know he uses a biga and those black Kalamata olives). It has a thin almost black burnt crust, with large ciabatta holes to the crumb and flavor to die for.
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Did you make that recipe by the volume measurements or by weight? It looks like they messed up the conversion with the recipe. It says 3 cups (16 1/2 ounces) bread flour. Flour is 4.2 to 4.4 ounces per cup (depending which site you look up the conversion on). I generally use 4.2 ounces per cup when converting recipes to weight because it usually works and I find it easier to add flour to a too wet dough than to work water in to a too dry one. That would mean 3 cups is 12.6 ounces. Even at the high end, it would be 13.2 ounces. That's about 80% hydration so it should be a fairly wet dough. If you make it by the weight measurements, 10.5 ounces of water to 16.5 ounces of bread flour would be a very dry dough - 63.5% hydration. The recipe I usually use is about 76% hydration. A half tsp of yeast should be fine with a long enough rise. Maybe the dough being too dry inhibited it's action. I can't see why rehabilitating the didn't work. That sounds like either the yeast is dead (maybe not totally inactive but mostly inactive so with a small quantity you don't get enough active cells) or something is killing off the yeast.
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If you like crackery thin pizza, that is a different recipe, but I make regular thin pizza by stretching it thinner. :) Really. As to toppings, if you don't par bake a thicker dough, and load up the center to the point where it's weighted down, it gets thin. Generally people who want thin crust aren't looking for a forest of toppings for the balance per bite, but thin doesn't prevent more toppings. what iit's baked on makes a big difference, IMHO. A clay "stone" will absorb excess moisture and give a nice solid bottom, from leathery to crusty to crunchy, depending on the recipe, heat, temp/time, etc. A pizza pan will give a more bready bottom. A steel gives a more leathery bottom, but that may also depend on recipe, etc. (I haven't played with it enough to know). I have a stoneware "stone" that's good for bread, but gives a very meh bottom to pizza. I haven't tried cast iron.
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mike_kaiser_gw
11 years ago
If you happen to have a Trader Joe's nearby they sell bags of pizza dough, including I think, whole wheat. It's relatively inexpensive.

I've done "pizza" on the grill without a stone. Basically roll it out pretty thin and let one side brown. Pull it off with a peel, flip it over, and put your topping on the cooked side. It really doesn't work with traditional pizza sauce but you can use canned diced tomatoes, a light layer of cheese, herbs, and pre-cooked meats or veggies. Basically you don't want a lot of "stuff" on top. It's fun for younger kids to because they can help make their own pizza and it's easy to adjust the size for the kid.
Olychick
11 years ago
I do it like Mike Kaiser. I have all the toppings ready, cook on one side quickly (I make them small so they flip easily) flip, add toppings and grill for a minute or two with the lid to the grill down to melt cheese and heat toppings. I love the TJ's pizza dough.
slowlane
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks for the advice, both of you. Unfortunately, I live in the boonies and don't have TJ's (or Publix OR Wholefoods). I just found out, though, that I'll have five grandkids here on pizza night, so the tips will surely come in handy.
plllog
11 years ago
Is there a decent pizza place near you? I've found them in the boonies. :) If so, you can probably buy some dough balls from them if you want premade. You can also get pizza mixes and kits, including whole wheat, on Amazon.

My pizza recipe is a slow rise and 100% whole wheat. I think it's too sticky for the grill. The recipe Lars posted looks really good for a part whole wheat crust that has guts. (Thanks, Lars! I was thinking I needed something like that!)
slowlane
Original Author
11 years ago
There's a Pizza Hut about 45 minutes from me, but I will try Lars' recipe later this week--it just looks so good.

I'd love to have your recipe, too, plllog, if you don't mind sharing.
sleevendog (5a NY 6aNYC NL CA)
11 years ago
Not sure what type grill you have. Takes some experimenting on and off the higher heat of your grill depending on the heat source...propane, charcoal, wood fired.

I've tried most of the methods posted above. Pre-baking for a crowd and pre-baking directly on the grill. I've have a cast iron griddle that i use on the grill for pre-baking one side and it firms up the dough. I also have a separate grill grate that is beefier and has grates tighter together for thin crust. I just rest it on top of my more permanent grates that came with my grill.

Another option is to look at some of the grill pans. I have one of these for the smoker...http://www.amazon.com/Mr-Bar-B-Q-06753X-Stainless-Grilling/dp/B009UWLQDY/ref=pd_sim_86_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=04SWPGXPSTE3QRQQJR5A

They can double as a veggie and fruit grilling surface.

-Avoid the ones with non-stick surfaces as they tend to not stand up to higher heat and the non-stick comes off on your food. (ick)

This is a good cast iron one...

http://www.amazon.com/Lodge-Pre-Seasoned-Cast-Iron-Griddle-10-5-inch/dp/B00008GKDN/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1435504426&sr=8-15&keywords=pizza+grill+pan

I use mine mostly on the less hot end of my grill and use it as a warming plate as things are done cooking. I've used it to start the cooking for tortilla pizza. Heat one side then flip, add ingredients, then pop onto the higher heat end near the firebox of my grill. Super thin and crisp. Love that method for very fresh garden harvest ingredients. And when i really do not want all that much bread dough. Costco has an unbaked tortilla sold on their commercial website via shipping. I've heard through a cooking forum that some California store stock them. Only once did the NY store have them during a Mexican holiday. (i bought a few packs and froze them). They get nice puffy bubbles on a hot grill. But very thin and crisp. Just found the brand...

http://www.tortillaland.com http://www.tortillaland.com

I have a big family group that comes through every summer on their way to the Adirondacks. Pizza is the only meal i can pull off for them. They show up loud and starving. I can prep all topping the night before and usually make about a dozen or more in no time. No way can i make the dough from scratch and do all that pull and stretch. Yikes, i think they will be here week after next. Last summer they ate 15 10 inch pizzas as they can out of the oven. Fortunately i had guacamole and pulled pork so made corn tostadas as well. (they always show up on a work week night).

I really should just make tortillas myself ahead of time. Any 2 cup flour tortilla recipe could be 1 cup of that whole wheat. Not tried all whole wheat. I did try rice flour and corn flour once that was good but not really a pizza crust flavor.
plllog
11 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
Pizza Hut isn't really what I meant by a decent pizza place. It's basically fast food and doesn't have the kind of wonderful flavor a good pizza dough has, even if they'd sell you dough. Certainly not worth 45 min. drive.

My pizza recipe is based on this one: http://www.food.com/recipe/100-whole-wheat-pizza-dough-and-pizza-tips-436030 I've made it as stated and it makes good pizza. The changes I've made for myself are to suit my wheat and my tastes. I don't know if this has enough guts (i.e., well developed gluten that isn't cut by the bran content) to stand up to direct grilling (i.e., on a grate or grate pan), though you could certainly make it on a solid pizza pan on the grill. It runs sticky, so oiling the pan is a good idea. It's best to use a high protein whole wheat flour, like King Arthur hard (soft is for cakes). You could sub in some bread flour, like in Lars's recipe or add some vital wheat gluten to up the gluten as well.

My version uses home milled flour (finest setting on electric flour mill appliance). You can buy both hard white whole wheat flour and hard red whole wheat flour, but you could use all of either. Use the very freshest flour you can get if you don't mill your own or you'll need more sweetening, like the honey in the linked recipe. I do the combination for flavor. All red is too sharp and overwhelms the toppings. All white whole wheat isn't tasty enough.

100% Whole Wheat Pizza

Mill flour:
- 204 grams hard white wheat
- 135 grams hard red wheat
Add to mixer bowl with:
- 22 grams barley malt powder (diastatic or middle of the road, not sweetener only)
- Pinch or scant 1/8th tsp
  ascorbic acid (vitamin C crystals)
- 7 grams dry salt (any kind) (heaping tsp.)
- scant 2 grams active dry
  yeast (heaping 1/2 tsp.)
- 241 grams water
- 22 grams olive oil (I use
  EVOO for the flavor, and it seems to be well enough shielded by the dough
  not to go weird at the high heat)
Mix with Danish Dough Whisk or flat wooden spoon and let rest for about five
minutes. Knead in mixer with dough hook for about five minutes.

Transfer dough ball to baking surface (silicone mat, lightly oiled is good),
and cut into usable portions (don't use a sharp knife on silicone mats--use a bench scraper or the back of a knife). This recipe makes one really big pizza, two
medium, or four individual. An individual portion is about 152 grams.

Spray sandwich ziplocs with oil and put each portion in one, or the whole
thing in a larger bag. Put all the bags in a gallon bag. Chill (hydrate) for at
least 24 hours (i.e., put in fridge for a slow rise).

Remove dough from fridge and turn out onto oiled thin aluminum pizza pan
when you preheat the oven with baking stone to 475°-500° F. Shape the dough into a
round, using gravity, as usual, or press to the sides with your fingers, but don't overwork--too much handling cuts the whole wheat gluten and spoils the rise. Let it rest for about half
an hour. After it has relaxed a little, you can adjust the shape.

Add toppings. Bake for 9 minutes, or whatever is appropriate for your oven.

N.B. -- In my experience, this dough is at its best 2 days after being made. 24 hrs. is minimum and okay. Two days is spot on. Three days is fine. Four days and the yeast might be exhausted, or nearly, so you'll have more of a thin crust/flatbread, but it's still good. If you're going to keep the dough longer than that, put it in the freezer right after making it up, and defrost overnight in the refrigerator. It will only keep, unbaked, a month or two in the freezer before the yeast gives up. A better way to keep it would be to bake all of the dough on the second day, either as pizzas or untopped (for untopped, dock the dough so it won't puff up--poke all over with a big fork if you don't have a docker). Pull them from the oven before they brown completely. Maybe 7 minutes. Put them on baking parchment or waxed paper wrapped cardboard, and wrap for freezing.
sleevendog (5a NY 6aNYC NL CA)
11 years ago
It does have an easier stretch a day or best two later in the fridge. I use ann-t's Forkish method, (or i should say DH does). We have burger buns in the oven now, A boule to follow, and a bagged ball of dough for tues or wed for pizza.

A desired pizza crust is personal and takes some experimenting. I like so many versions but not thick deep dish. -i did make one in a cast iron pan a bit deep dish recently as it was a bit 'wet', but the Forkish dough was so good i did like it.

We tried years ago to buy it from good pizza places in NYC and they looked at me like i had two heads, no way. Groceries have it but it is so easy to make at home. Home dough is best planned ahead and waiting in the fridge as plllog mentioned. We have used the 'no-kneed' but it seems to not like more than 24hrs in the fridge. Goes flat.
plllog
11 years ago
Interesting about the no kneads going flat. I wonder if it's the amount of yeast? All the no knead recipes I've seen have half a tsp. or less yeast...
slowlane
Original Author
11 years ago
Thank you all so much for the tips, advice and, especially, the recipes. I can't wait to try them out in a couple of days!
PRO
Lars/J. Robert Scott
11 years ago
Here's a thread with some pizza videos that Kevin and I made. The one with me stretching the dough is a bit slow and boring, but the one showing the dough sticking to the peel is a bit more interesting!
sleevendog (5a NY 6aNYC NL CA)
11 years ago
Jim's no-kneed is very wet. For me it gets 'tired' and flat longer than 24hrs in the fridge. I love it for focaccia and fine for oven pizza. Not easy on the grill. (unless pre-baking) I could feed it i suppose with a bit of dusted flour....(?)

The Forkish has a longer fridge life and gets a superior 'stretch' about day 2-3 with an hour out of the fridge, and hour rest after stretching into pies for pizza.
stir_fryi SE Mich
11 years ago
We grill pizza all the time. I go to a nearby pizza shop and they sell me an extra large plop of dough for $1.50! Not even worth me trying to make it and they do a much better job.

Pizza dough for the grill

Lars/J. Robert Scott

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slowlane
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