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Recipes

Pizza on a BBQ (or oven)

How do you make pizza on a BBQ? You just make pizza on a BBQ! All you need is a BBQ and a metal plate to lay the pizza on. Item list:

  • BBQ (Coal, gas, whatever)
  • Metal plate or metal pizza dish
  • Optional: wooden pizza serving & cutting boards
  • Pizza dough (Quick or 72 hour, see below)
  • Tomato sauce (or salsa sauce)
  • Toppings

Quick pizza dough (Pizza Hut style)

Ingredients, enough to make two personal sized pizza’s:

  • 450 grams flour
  • 250ml water
  • 1 packet (7 grams) of yeast
  • 2 tablespoons (30ml) (olive) of oil
  • 1 tablespoons (15ml) of sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon (1.5ml) of garlic salt
  • 1 teaspoon (5ml) of fine salt (the regular kind)

Mix all dry ingredients together (the flour, yeast, sugar, garlic salt, salt) in a bowl, then add the wet ingredients (water, oil), and start mixing. Mix with one hand on the bowl, and one hand in the bowl, to maintain a good grip.

Once the dough solidifies a bit to a (still rather wet) ball, sprinkle some flour on the counter-top & start really kneading it. Around 10 minutes of kneading should be enough to get a decent ball together.

Now place the ball of dough back in the bowl (or a new one, or some container of sorts), and let the dough rise in a dark, warm-ish place (although others prefer a cold place, like the fridge). After a couple of hours the dough should have expanded enough to use (that’s the yeast working its magic). Up to 48 hours is fine.

Next step is to knead the dough again a bit (not too much) and start using it!

72-Hour pizza dough

More time, more taste! Recipe from baking steel. Items needed:

  • A large bowl
  • A kitchen scale
  • A measuring cup

Ingredients for a massive amount of pizza (4-5 people):

  • 1100 grams (7 1/2c) of bread flour 
  • 38 grams (4 tsp) of fine sea salt
  • 2 gram (1/2 tsp) of active dry yeast
  • 780 grams/0.78 litres of water (70% hydration)

Ingredients for a more manageable amount (2+ people):

  • 500 grams of bread flour / 00-flour
  • 17 grams of fine sea salt
  • 1 gram of active dry yeast
  • 355 grams/0.35 litres of water (70% hydration)
  • Optional: some dry oregano to mix in

You’ll notice there’s no sugar and far less yeast in this recipe compared to the quick dough. This is because this dough will get far longer to ferment, which gives the yeast far longer to be active.
Now use the ingredients as follows:

  1. Grab a large bowl, keep one hand in, and one hand on the outside. Also grab a large wooden spoon for mixing
  2. Put all dry ingredients into the bowl (flour, salt, yeast)
  3. Slowly pour the water in the bowl, all the while using the wooden spoon to combine (or one of your hands if you like)
  4. Lightly flour your counter-top and/or make your hands wet or oil them to be able to handle the dough without sticking to it
  5. Remove the moist dough from your bowl and place on the counter-top
  6. Kneed for max. 3 minutes until it forms a loose ball. It won’t be elastic, but clumps should be gone
  7. Lightly oil a (new) bowl, place the dough in it, and cover with either a damp, clean, kitchen towel or plastic (saran) wrap. This will make sure the dough doesn’t dry out
  8. Leave the dough for 24 hours at room (22 c) temperature. It should roughly double in size and is called a ‘bulk ferment‘
  9. The next day, flour your counter-top again, place the dough on it and wet/oil your hands
  10. Divide the dough into 8 or 4 equal parts to make dough balls
  11. Place the dough ball into an oiled container, but a lid on, and place in the fridge from 48 to 96 hours
  12. Remove from fridge at least 2 hours to allow it to get to room temperature before using. If you have a way-too-cold fridge & live in a country without heating, try at least 4 hours

Making dough balls

Again, following the Baking Steel method. They have images, so it’s easier to follow their write up, but I’ve written my version of it below for posterity:

  1. Take one of your divided up parts of dough, and heap tons of flour over it, on both sides
  2. Rest the dough on both your palms, and press your fingers inwards, to make effectively a little pita-bread.
  3. Rotate 90-degrees & press again
  4. Now repeat 25+ times, until taught. Don’t be aggressive, this will hurt the gluten strands
  5. Now place the smooth side in your palm and use your other hand to pinch the dough ball closed like it’s a dim-sum. The pinch can be aggressive

Ingredients for a basic tomato sauce

  • Sieved tomatoes (just a regular pack, or a can of whole tomatoes which you then blend)
  • Oregano (dried, fresh, doesn’t matter too much)
  • A pinch of garlic salt

Just mix the ingredients.

Topping suggestions

  • Firecracker Salmon + optional: capers
  • Chorizo (spicy sausage)
  • Literally anything else, it’s pizza!

Cooking the pizza

  • Get the BBQ nice and hot and let the fire go down. You want white-hot coals for this one
  • Prepare your pizza on the metal pizza plates
  • Optional: Cook your dough for 2 minutes before putting your toppings on
  • Leave it in for 6-10 minutes (depends on your BBQ)
  • Slice & serve your pizza!