To grill pizza successfully, you will need patience and some extra dough to master the technique.
You can use your favorite pizza dough or try ours. We recommend using an all-purpose unbleached flour. It has the right amount of gluten to produce a dough that stretches easily with just a little resistance.
Grilling pizza requires a hot fire started with kindling and fueled with hardwood charcoal. Build your fire on one side of the grill. For cooking, you will want a cool area on the grill in order to add the toppings without burning the bottom of the crust. If you have a hibachi, build the fire on one side. For kettle-type grills, create a center line with two or three bricks laid end to end and bank the charcoal on one side. A large grill is more convenient than a small one, but if your grill cannot accommodate a 12-inch round of dough, simply divide the dough and make 2 or 3 small pizzas.
Set up your work area as close to the grill as possible. The dough, olive oil, and a variety of topping ingredients should be close at hand and ready before you begin. The crispy, chewy texture of the grilled pizza comes from the irregularity of the dough stretched by hand rather than with a rolling pin. When you transfer the dough from the work surface to the grill, it has a tendency to stretch and sag a bit, so it is a good idea to work very close to the grill. Stretch and grill the pizzas one at a time.
When choosing toppings for the pizza, keep in mind that less is more. If the ingredients on top are too thick, the dough will burn before the top has a chance to cook. The pizza should cook in 5 to 8 minutes. If after 8 minutes the cheese is not melted and the toppings are not bubbling, either your fire is not hot enough or you have placed an excess of ingredients on top. More time on the grill will only dry out and toughen the pizza.
