Pizza Dough!

There were some requests for the Pizza Dough recipe that I used for the grilled pizzas at last week's Burke Area Farmer's Market. 

This crust is our kitchen's tried and true. Hubs and I began making pizza together from a Chef Boyardee box while dating and have journeyed through crusts both frozen and from a tube to find our home with this excellent homemade recipe that makes two thin crusts. One will keep in an oiled, covered bowl in the fridge for a couple of days to make an easy weeknight dinner, or par-bake and freeze for another time.

I have included directions for both oven baking and grilling. While you can use all the dough to make a thick crust with the oven method, I do absolutely recommend dividing the dough for 2 pizzas when grilling. The full recipe of dough is too much to easily handle when transferring and flipping on the grill. 

Pizza Crust

(makes 2 thin crusts)

1 cup warm water (100 to 110 degrees)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 packet (1/4 ounce or 2 1/4 teaspoons) Active Dry Yeast
2 1/2 cups flour, plus additional for shaping
1/2 teaspoon salt
olive oil
corn meal

In a 2-cup measuring cup, combine the water and sugar. Stir in the yeast. Allow to sit for 10 minutes for the yeast to bloom.

Meanwhile, in the mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a bread hook, add 2 1/2 cups of flour and stir to form a well. Pour the bloomed yeast/water combination into the bowl and stir with the mixer to combine. Use a spatula to push any flour from the edges into the dough. When dough has pulled together, sprinkle in the salt and drizzle in 1-2 tablespoons olive oil. With the mixer, knead for 6-8 minutes, until smooth. Add more flour as kneading, a tablespoon at a time, if dough seems sticky. (This will depend on the weather and temperature of kitchen.)

When dough has kneaded and is smooth, pull out of mixing bowl. Coat the bowl with additional olive oil and replace the dough into the bowl. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rise in a warm (but not hot) place for 20 minutes. 

Preheat oven to 450F and place pizza stone (if using…we do have the best crispy crusts with a preheated stone) in the oven to preheat.

After the 20-minute rise, divide dough in half and shape into a 10-12 inch round on a floured surface. Remove preheated pizza stone from oven and sprinkle with cornmeal. Arrange the crust on the stone. (Alternatively, sprinkle a pizza peel with cornmeal and arrange the crust on the peel. After toppings are added, use the peel to transfer pizza to the hot stone in the oven. Hubs has perfected this technique. I have not.)

FOR THE GRILLED PIZZA CRUST:
Preheat your grill to high. When using the Traeger (smoker), I set the temp to High, which is around 425-450. When using the charcoal grill, I arrange the hot coals in a ring around the outer edge of the grill leaving the center of the grill for the dough to cook over the residual heat.

After the 20-minute rise, divide the dough in half and shape into a 10-12 inch round on an OILED surface. (I use a metal pizza pan.) Make sure that the dough is coated completely with oil (I use olive oil.). This keeps it from sticking to the grill. 

Transfer to the preheated grill (I can't seem to maintain a round crust at this point; mine always stretches to oblong. It still tastes good.) Grill for roughly 2 minutes on each side. Remove crust from grill and add desired toppings. Return to the grill just until cheese is melted and toppings are heated through. (You will want to leave the grill closed to hold in the heat, but watch/smell for the crust to not burn. It may be necessary to move pizza away from direct flame -turn off half of the burners on a gas grill, or move away from the hot spot on the Traeger).

ENJOY!!