Grilled Rosemary-Crusted Pizzas

Yield: Four 8-inch Pizzas

This is a really fun idea for a dinner party. I clipped this recipe from Bon Appetit many, many moons ago. I adapted it to use a whole grain flour and it’s been a favorite since. The dough takes about an hour to rise, so plan accordingly. You can roll out your individual crusts ahead of time and refrigerate them until you are ready to grill them. You can also prepare your toppings in advance and have them in small bowls so that once the crusts are ready, your  “toppings bar” is ready for guests to make their own pizzas.

Ingredients for dough:

• 1 cup warm water
• 1 tablespoon sugar or honey
• 1 envelope dry yeast
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cups (or more) whole wheat pastry flour (or all purpose flour)
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

Procedure:

1. Combine water and sugar in food processor. Sprinkle yeast over and let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes.
2. Add oil, then 3 cups of flour, and salt. Process until dough comes together, about 1 minute.
3. Turn dough out onto floured work surface. Sprinkle with rosemary. Knead until dough is smooth and elastic, adding more flour by the tablespoon if dough is sticky, about 5 minutes.
4. Lightly oil a large bowl. Add dough; turn to coat with oil. Cover bowl with plastic, then a towel. Let stand in a warm draft-free area until dough doubles in size, about 1 hour.
5. Punch dough down. Knead dough in bowl until smooth, about 2 minutes.
6. Divide dough into 4 equal pieces. Roll each piece out into a 9-inch round. (Dough can be refrigerated at this point, separated by parchment paper).
7. Prepare grill for medium heat and oil grill well.
8. Place 2 dough rounds on grill. Grill until top of dough puffs and underside is crisp, about 3 minutes. Turn rounds over and grill for 1 minute. Transfer to baking sheet with well-grilled side up.
9. Top your pizzas with whatever you like! See below for suggestions.
10. Using a large metal spatula, return topped pizzas to grill. Close the grill or cover the pizzas loosely with foil. Grill until cheese melts and dough is cooked through and browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer to plates and serve.

Suggested ingredients for toppings:

• tomato sauce
• pesto
• olive oil
• garlic
• peppers
• onions
• kalamata olives
• mushrooms
• pepperoni
• grilled chicken
• prosciutto
• pineapple
• ham
• mozzarella cheese
• parmesan cheese
• goat cheese
• fresh tomatoes
• chopped basil