BASIC DOUGH RECIPE FOR GRILLED PIZZAS & FLATBREADS

I stumbled across a book by Craig W. Priebe called “Grilled Pizzas & Piadinas”. It has beautiful pictures, easy-to-understand instructions, and delightful recipes. His instructions are very thorough, so if you want the full explanation you should invest in his book. It is worth the money if you like to make grilled flatbreads and pizzas. This is my very condensed take on Priebe’s recipe:

INGREDIENTS (makes two 12-inch / 30 cm pizzas):

• ¾ cup (175 ml) warm water, temperature should be between 110 ⁰F – 115 ⁰F (43 ⁰C – 46⁰C)
• 1 packet of active dry yeast (2 ¼ teaspoons)
• ½ teaspoon sugar
• 1 ½ cups (350 ml) unbleached flour
• ¼ cup (60 ml) whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons cornmeal (preferably white, plus additional for pan)
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus ¼ tablespoon for the bowl

DOUGH DIRECTIONS:

1. Pour water, yeast and sugar in a small bowl and stir until the yeast is dissolved. Let it sit for about 5 minutes to make sure that the yeast is active. A thin layer of foam will appear on the top.
2. In a big bowl add the flours, salt and cornmeal. Make a little indentation in the flour mixture with your fingers, and add the yeasted water and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Mix well with a strong spoon (or your fingers) until you can form a ball. Knead the dough on a clean surface about 8 minutes or until the dough is smooth (add a little flour to prevent the dough from sticking to the surface).
3. Shape the dough into a ball, add the remaining olive oil in a bowl and turn the ball of dough to coat the surface. This prevents the dough from drying out, and makes a crusty surface.
4. Cover the bowl containing the dough with plastic wrap and place it in a draft-free, warm place for 2 hours or until the dough rises to almost double size.
5. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour (or overnight if possible) to firm up the dough and to enhance the flavor. This will make it easier to roll out the dough, and the longer it chills, the better the flavor and texture will be. The dough will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

ROLLING AND GRILLING DIRECTIONS:

1. For pizzas: Preheat the oven to 500⁰F (260⁰C)
2. Take the chilled dough out of the refrigerator and punch it down gently to remove gas (alternately, if you don’t want to make the dough from scratch, you can use fresh store-bought pizza dough).
3. Divide the dough into two parts, shape each part to a ball, and use a rolling pin to roll one ball at a time into flat circles (about 12-inch / 30 cm). If the dough sticks to the surface, sprinkle a little cornmeal over the dough.
4. With both hands, gently transfer the dough to the hot charcoal grill, grill pan, flat grill or Panini pan. The dough will start to bubble on the top, and after about 2 to 4 minutes (depending on your choice of grill pan) the bottom will turn crispy with brown charred stripes from the grill pan.
5. For flatbread: Add your preferred toppings on the crust and serve
6. for pizza: Put your pizza crust on a baking sheet and add your desired toppings. Place the pizza in the oven close to the broiler/heating elements and bake until your cheese is melted and slightly browned.