Ingredients

  • 1 cup warm water
  • 1 package ( 1/4 ounce) active dry yeast
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus oil for greasing the bowl
  • 2 ½ to 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • Arugula-Tomato Topping (see recipe)
  • Marinated Pepper And Zucchini-Slaw Topping (see recipe)
  • Grilled Tuna, Tomato And Onion Topping (see recipe)
  • Eggplant Caviar And Parsley-Mint Salad Topping (see recipe)

    Four main-course servings or 16 slices

    Preparation

    1. Combine the water and yeast in a mixing bowl and stir until the yeast dissolves. Stir in 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 cup of the flour. Stir in a second cup of flour and the salt. Sprinkle some of the remaining flour over a work surface and on your hands. Scrape the dough out of the bowl and onto the work surface. Gradually knead in additional flour until the dough no longer feels sticky.
    2. Lightly oil a large bowl. Shape the dough into a ball and rotate it in the bowl to coat it with the oil. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and set in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. Punch the dough down and knead it for about 1 minute. Return the dough to the bowl and let rise until doubled again, about 45 minutes.
    3. Meanwhile, about 30 minutes into the second rise, start a charcoal fire. When the dough has doubled, punch it down and divide into 4 equal pieces. (At this point, the dough can be rolled into 4 balls and frozen. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator prior to use.) Lightly oil the backs of 2 large baking sheets. Roll out each piece of dough into a 9-inch circle (pizzas don’t have to be perfectly round) and place them on the baking sheets. Cover with plastic wrap.
    4. When the coals turn white, place 1 or 2 of the pieces of pizza dough on the grill (depending on its size) and cook for 1 minute; they will start to puff. Turn the crusts over with a spatula and grill until browned and crisp, about 2 to 3 minutes longer. Watch constantly to keep crusts from burning. Repeat with the remaining dough. Immediately top the pizzas and serve.
    • The basic dough recipe can be doubled or tripled. Roll out and grill one batch at a time, keeping the rest refrigerated. In the variations that follow, the additional ingredients can be stirred in with the olive oil and first cup of flour in Step 1 of the grilled pizzas recipe.

    2 hours 30 minutes

    Dining and Cooking