Summer is officially here and that means grilling season! We are big fans of pizza and especially when we can make it on the grill. I would typically purchase pre-made dough at the supermarket or make a quick Greek yogurt dough like this one. But, I thought I’d challenge myself and go in search of the perfect homemade grilled pizza dough recipe — one that we can turn out all summer long. For the next six weeks, I’ll test out six different recipes and share the results.
WHICH RECIPES?
A Google search will yield an endless list of recipes, so for the purposes of this challenge I’m sticking with the big name sources. There are slight variations across the recipes including mixing method, type of flour, and measurements.
THE METHOD
To keep things fair, I’ll mix each dough recipe and grill it exactly as it’s written. A few other variables will remain the same week to week:
- Toppings – I’ll use the same brand and amount of toppings (pepperoni, Italian sausage, fresh mozzarella, organic store bought sauce)
- Whether or not the recipe calls for it, I’ll split the dough into 4 smaller portions (way easier to handle)
- Once all pizzas are cooked on the grill, I’ll transfer them to the broiler for a couple minutes to get that bubbly, slightly toasted top
CRITERIA FOR THE PERFECT DOUGH
This is certainly subjective, but here’s what I’m looking for:
- Easy to mix & knead (the dough comes together as described and maintains its texture / form)
- The grilling process results in a crispy shell, chewy interior and holds up to the toppings — no soggy dough!
- It’s got to taste good (different flours may have an impact here)
WEEK ONE
Actually, I started with Martha Stewart’s Basic Grilled Pizza Dough. Made it twice and it completed failed on me during the kneading process. I’m not an experienced dough person, so perhaps my technique was the cause, but what came together as a lovely ball of dough in the bowl turned into a gooey, sticky mess on the board even with the addition of more flour. Both batches ended up in the bin. You know how hard yeast is to come by these days, so that was a big bummer. Moving on…
The Kitchn’s The Best Pizza Dough for Grilling was so easy compared to my previous disaster. First of all, it all takes place in the bowl of a stand mixer. The texture was soft but held together well when I divided it for rising. Shaping the dough was comical, but I managed not to tear any holes in it and got it sufficiently thin for my liking.
The grilling process uses two zones. You start the dough over direct heat, flip it onto indirect heat to add toppings and complete the cooking. It was as easy as it sounds and the result was what you’d expect. Once I grilled all four pizzas, I placed all of them at once under the broiler for just a couple minutes to get that bubbly cheese goodness. Between our three-member household, there were no leftovers!
Obviously, we’ll have to reserve our verdict for later, but this was a good start to our summer grilled pizza challenge. If you’d like to follow along with us, I’ll be making the dough portion only from this Food Network recipe next!
Featured image photo by Argan Yoga Nugroho on Unsplash
