Pepperoni Pizza

This has definitely been the summer of homemade pizza. Ever since I realized the grill gets infinitely hotter than the broiler (essential to pizza making) I can't get enough of the homemade stuff. I have done classic pizzas and healthy pizzas, fancy flatbreads, and now finally one with a delicious crust. My latest discovery, for making the pizza look pretty, is assembly on the grill. It's much easier to get an empty crust onto the grill and assemble the toppings quickly there, than it is to get a fully assembled and unstable pizza onto the grill without collapsing the toppings into the center. So while the last of grilling season is upon us, make sure you have grilled up at least one tasty pizza this summer!

Dough:
1 cup of warm water
1 1/8 tsp of active dry yeast (1/2 a packet)
2 1/2-2 3/4 cups of flour
1/2 tsp of salt
Olive Oil for coating the bowl

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the dough blade, dissolve the yeast into the water. Let sit for 5-10 minutes until foamy. Add in 2 1/2 cups of flour and salt. Process by pulsing until combined. Process until dough is soft and slightly tacky, adding additional flour (1 tablespoon at a time) as necessary. Lightly grease a large bowl with olive oil. Turn dough out onto the counter and roll into a ball. Put it in the greased bowl, and cover, let stand until dough has doubled inside, about 3 hours (or a little longer is fine), or refrigerate overnight and then let stand on a counter all day and it will also be ready for dinner. When dough has risen, punch down and remove from the bowl. Divide the dough in half and roll each half into a ball. Let the dough rest for 20 minutes before rolling out into pizza shape. Flatten dough into a disk, and then work your hands around the edges stretching the dough into a circle. Lay on a floured surface (preferably a movable one, like a large cutting board) and roll out to desired thickness. I rolled mine out as thin as I could without ripping the dough in the middle, but leaving it thicker around the edge for a delicious crust. Repeat with second dough ball. (adapted from Chris Bianco's Recipe)

Toppings:
1 1/2 cups of pizza sauce, bought or homemade
2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese (or more to taste)
1/8 lb of sandwich style pepperoni

Pre-heat the grill. Make yourself a plate that has all the toppings on it. Take the dough and the toppings out next to your grill. Carefully transfer the crusts to the grill. Working quickly, top each pizza crust with sauce, the pepperoni and then cheese. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Using a large grill spatula, check to make sure crusts are firm then rotate the pizzas. Lower heat or turn off grill and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes, until cheese is gooey and the crust is cooked through. Slice using a pizza roller and enjoy!

Happy Eating!