Grilling Pizza

Pizza bones, pizza sauce, and fresh mozzarella will be the only constant elements for each grilled pizza. Making an appearance in a unique freestyle configuration will be: fresh whole basil leaves, sun-dried tomatoes and peppers, mushrooms, marinated garlic, jalapenos, and slices of hot Italian sausage. Awesome. A  tiny space on one pizza will be infected with olive slices (their juices had better not even think about intruding into any other place on that particular pizza) and I will not refer to them again in this blog, but I will acknowledge their presence now only to serve as a warning to me to look before I bite.

Because this was a later in the day decision and I don't have any dough in the freezer, I am going with Mama D's bones rather than Benny's luscious crust. Although I do wonder if Benny's recipe might be better over coals and will test drive that one day soon. Will also use my sauce.

How to grill a pizza with special notes on how NOT to grill a pizza

Make a round of your favorite dough and when it's is ready separate into four smaller rounds. This part is one of the greatest things about pizza dough - you can seal all four of these little lovelies in plastic wrap and freeze them. Then whenever you want pizza, just take one out and thaw in the fridge (you should have a nicely thawed bit of dough at dinner time if you take it out in the morning).

Make each crust about the size of a dinner plate. Pressed and rolled them out to a sort of rough circle each about 1/4 inch thick. Do not make a rim like you would usually do with a pizza. The reason for this is that you need the entire pizza crust to cook at the same amount of time because it's going to cook very very fast. Don't get all bent out of shape about dimensions and please do not use any sort of caliper to check measure at regular intervals, just make the dough reasonably even.

If you are making several pizzas, you can stack them well dusted with corn meal between layers of wax paper and keep them in the fridge a short time to stall off more rising (not more then an hour or two or they will rise any old way). This is one reason I make the pizza the size of a dinner plate, please feel free to make yours the size you want it to be.

First special note of caution: The coals needs to be just passed the point where it is the hottest with the coals in a reasonably even distribution. If you put the pizza on when the coals are their hottest you the charring gets, well, a tad out of hand.

When you are ready to grill, bring out the crusts, a bowl of olive oil with minced garlic and a brush, a couple cookie sheet or pizza paddles, with a small bowl of flour or corn meal, and all your topping ingredients prepped and ready to go so you don't have to rush about at a very inconvenient time trying to find more slices of fresh mozzarella or garlic.

Prep the grates with one of those nice sprays they make for grills to minimize sticking. Note of caution: do not spread the grates with olive oil no matter what people say because all it does is create dense clouds of smoke.

Sprinkle some corn meal on the paddle and put one of the pizza crusts on it, the flour should make the crust slide easily onto the grill. Slip it onto the grate, close the lid, and cook for just a couple minutes - then check the bottom to see if it is lightly browned. Yet another cautionary tale: I strongly suggest that you not walk about talking and going in the house to check on the game or go to the bathroom or any other such distracting activity once the pizza is on the grill. Trust me. The result is not particularly pretty nor edible.

Use the pizza paddle to remove the crust from the grill and flip it cooked side up onto another paddle or cookie sheet well dusted with corn meal, and brush the cooked side of the pizza with the garlicky olive oil.

Notes on the excessive use of sauce: With a VERY light hand, apply sauce, toppings, and cheese. Light is especially important for the sauce - remember there is no rim to keep it in! Sauce makes a lot of smoke too. Please note what happens if your sauce is to generously applied in the pic to the (left).

Slide the pizza back onto the grill and close the lid and mostly close the vents to make it more like an oven inside. If you are using an electric grill lower the temp. Cook about three minutes more or until the bottom is starting to char and the cheese bubbly.

Remove, and repeat for as many pizzas as you want! It doesn't matter that the first pizza sits a couple minutes as that's good for making the crust easier to cut anyway.

Now, this is a very special warning. Do remember that these things cook at only a couple minutes on each side. With that thought in mind, imagine how difficult it would be to keep three pizzas going at the same time on two different grills. Now hold onto that picture only make the crusts quite a bit blacker then you would prefer, yes, that is your fate if too many are attempted at one time. In fact, we were thinking of using that rule as a springboard and turn the meal into quite a positive mindful thing by establishing a lengthy pizza grazing tradition - grill, talk nosh, grill talk nosh, grill talk nosh with individually addressed perfect pizzas. Trying to get five of these beauties ready and hot all at the same time did not make for a nice quiet mindful time.

One pizza at a time is a very mindful rule for a wondrously mindful get everyone involved meal. Enjoy.

Benny the Chef's Roman Pizza

I am very thankful to Benny for allowing me post this recipe from his newest cookery book, The Art of Cooking According To Me. The book is fast becoming one of my favorites, do check it out!

If you are a novice cook, don't let the long rise time or the two step dough process worry you. This Roman pizza crust is absolutely perfect in taste and texture and remarkably easy to make. Benny recently built a gorgeous Roman Coal Fired Oven and posted a bunch of great pics on FB showing the process and food (like the pizza below) cooking in it, so go Like Benny the Chef! on Facebook and check them out!

Roll the crust out thin, it's the Roman way.

Benny the Chef!

Pizza

I set the nutrition facts at Calorie Count for four thin pizzas.

Ingredients:

2 lbs of flour, "00" or pizza/bread flour
20 fl oz of warm water
1 3/4 oz of yeast
salt

Preparation:

Put 1 lb of flour on a table and make a well. In a small glass bowl put 10 fl oz of warm water, the yeast, and let it dissolve completely. Add it to the well and start to mix. Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic. Make a ball, cover with a towel, and place the dough in the refrigerator. Let it rest for 3 hours.

Now put the rest of the flour on a table and make another well. In  another small glass bowl, put the other 10 fl oz of warm water, add 5 teaspoons of salt, and let it dissolve completely. Add it to the well and start mixing. Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Flatten the salty dough a little bit. Place the yeasty dough on it, and mix together. Knead until you get the homogeneous and very elastic dough. Make 4 balls, cover with a towel, and let them rest for 6-9 hours. The dough has to rise far from air-conditioning and heaters. The perfect temperature is between 74F and 78F.

pizza cooking in Benny's Roman Wood Fired Oven

Now roll the dough and make your pizza! Make it with anything you like, but remember the more simple the pizza, the better it will be.

(!): for a perfect Neapolitan style pizza, you should use, as we do in Italy, natural or beer yeast. You have to roll the dough very thin in the middle and leave it a little taller at the boarder. Place it in the oven at 450F and cook for about 10 minutes. If you like a less crispy pizza, place it in the oven at 375F and cook for 15-20 minutes.

(?): Pizza is probably the most eaten food in the world. Originating in Napoli (Naples), soon it became very popular in the cuisines of many different countries. The most famous and delicious pizza is the Margherita: made with fresh tomato sauce, mozzarella, and basil. This pizza was created in 1889 by the Neapolitan master pizza makers for the visit of Margherita of Savoy, Queen of Italy. The pizza was named Margherita in honor of the queen, and served for resembling the colors of the Italian flag: red (tomato), white (mozzarella), and green (basil).

@: Add two teaspoons of sugar to the warm water for the yeast. It will give more fragrance and a golden color to the Pizza.

As you can see by the pic of my Roman pizza to the left, I made mine thicker than Benny's. It was excellent thick too - light yet chewy in texture, but next time I'll roll it out thinner like Benny does!

Make your first dough after breakfast and the salty dough three hours later, the combined doughs then just sit and rises til almost time for dinner allowing plenty of time for lots of mindful decisions about the toppings.

Some Sauce to Put on Those Pizza Bones

I gave you the pizza bone recipe, but not the sauce recipe! I make Mama D's sauce because I usually make her crust and they do rather suit each other nicely. When I make a Mama D recipe, I almost always change the same things. I reduce the oil, either eliminate or dramatically cut the salt, increase the garlic, and jazz it up with something like red pepper flakes and some other spices depending on what's needed. The doctor would not like it if I used all that salt and when you cut salt you really do have to ramp up the other seasonings.

Pizza Sauce 

The nutrition facts for the sauce and for my favorite toppings can be found at Calorie Count!

Ingredients:

1 29 oz can tomato puree
3 T olive oil
1/2 t salt
1/4 t or so of fresh cracked black pepper
1/2 t oregano
1 t or so of garlic powder
A dash or three of red pepper flakes
Often I add a small pinch or two of sugar it all depends on the acidity of the tomatoes.

Directions with cautionary notes:

Combine all ingredients in a medium pot. The seasoning amounts are the minimum, not the maximum or the precise amount needed. Start there and then tweak til it suits you. I add about twice or so what is listed. Simmer uncovered for about 30 minutes. Ok, NOT uncovered or you will get a lot of pretty red blotches all over your kitchen, so put the lid on but leave it tilted so steam escapes and stick that spoon in and stir fast when you stir - a chef's apron is highly recommended or keep the stain stick handy.

Taste and adjust seasonings so that it's the way YOU like it. Ladle on a couple of pizza crusts and top with some wonderful things like basil and gorgeous hunks of fresh mozzarella. This makes more than enough sauce for 3-4 pizzas. Save your leftovers and put it on flat bread or muffins and use your toaster oven to make great individual pizzas!

Homemade pizza is the ultimate Mindful experience and well worth the effort. Enjoy!

Pizza Bones

The most important part to making pizza is giving it good "bones". Nothing is more important than the crust.

Mama D as painted by the great Tony Bennett!

My standard go-to recipe is from my husband's Aunt Jenny, who was better known in Minneapolis St. Paul area as Mama D. Thanks to my new friend Benny the Chef!, I've also learned to make pizza bones in the Roman way - a leisurely slow rising crispy crust with wonderfully chewy bones. Do purchase his new cookery book The Art of Cooking According to Me so you can try it sometime, as his dough is simply awesome.

This time, I'll show you how Mama D taught me.

not quite done kneading, but just about!

Mama D's Pizza Dough 

The nutrition facts for those that like such things, can be found at Calorie Count

Ingredients:

2 envelopes dry yeast
2 C warm water
5 C all-purpose flour
1 1/2 t salt
1/2 t sugar
4 T olive oil

Directions:

Dissolve the yeast in the water. Put the flour into a mixing bowl and stir in the salt and sugar. Make a well in the flour and add the yeast mixture and oil. Mix well until the dough is soft but not sticky - if it is sticky, add a little more flour in the next step.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board (more flour here if dough is sticky). Knead for about 10 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic - it will pop back if you stick a finger into it.

A Bowl Too Small

Place the dough inside a lightly oiled bowl and brush a bit of oil on top of the dough. Cover with a towel and place in a warm place such as in an oven. Allow to rise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until the dough is doubled in size and a hole remains if you poke your finger into the dough. LOL! Make sure your bowl is big enough, as you can see, when I doubled my recipe, I failed to double my bowl!

Shhhhh! The pizza dough is resting.

Remove the dough from the bowl and punch it down on a board..I just LOVE doing that! Divide into 2 equal balls for two large pizzas or 4 balls for four smaller dinner plate sized pizzas, cover and let rest for 10 minutes.

Taking 1 ball at a time, roll it out or pat and stretch it into a circle about 14 inches in diameter with the dough a little thicker and pinched up a bit at the edges. Place on a pizza stone or a lightly oiled baking sheet and prick all over lightly with a fork. Before adding the sauce and other ingredients I like to brush the dough with olive oil, spread with garlic and sprinkle with Romano cheese.

pizza bones with sauce and fresh basil leaves!

My new favorite topping is a bunch of whole basil leaves plucked fresh from the garden and slices of fresh mozzarella - in fact, there is now a new Mindful Rule - you are not allowed to buy pre-shredded mozzarella cheese for your homemade pizza. Nope, not allowed. You must purchase logs of fresh mozzarella and cut slices and lay them on the top with great reverence.

After the bones are topped with the rest of the ingredients, bake in a 400 degree oven until the crust is done - about 20 - 30 minutes depending on how hot your oven runs. I have also, after neglecting to check my recipe first, baked it at 375 or even 350 with good luck so if your oven runs hot, go ahead and do that.

Delicious homemade pizza!

It is so easy and fun to make homemade pizza. The dough is very simple and you can make sauce and prepare your ingredients while the dough rises. You are in charge of the quality of the ingredients and should always choose the best available. Share pizza building with family and good friends - as well as a nice Chianti.

Enjoy your pizza Mindfully, it's good for you. Mama said so.