Love me some pizzas on the "barbie"!

My friend Emily introduced me to barbecuing pizzas a few years ago and we've been doing it every summer since. I've done it with all kinds of pizza doughs, too, but I've found my favorite, so I thought I'd share. Also, I apologize for not having pictures. We just made it two days ago and I meant to take pictures, but I forgot and a couple people have asked for tips and recipes, so I thought I'd better just post this. Maybe I'll do another post later with pics.

I got this recipe for pizza dough out of my church cookbook. You know a recipe out of a church cookbook is tried and true!

Erin's Favorite Pizza Dough
4 1/2 c. flour
1 T. rapid rise yeast
1 1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. very warm water
3 T. olive oil

In large bowl, combine 3 cups flour, undissolved yeast and salt. Stir very warm water and olive oil into dry ingredients. Stir in enough remaining flour to make soft dough. Knead dough on lightly floured surface (or in a mixer with the dough hook). I use the dough hook in my mixer and run it on medium speed for just a few minutes. Knead or mix until smooth and elastic, about 4-6 minutes. Spray with cooking spray and cover for 10-30 minutes until it's about doubled in size. Punch dough down and split into 4 balls. (if you're just baking pizza in the oven, you could just make 2 balls. However, for the grill, it's easier to work with smaller pizzas.) Roll into desired size and top. Bake at 450 for 15-20 minutes (or grill!).

Ok, so that's my dough recipe. Once you have the dough ready, brush the top of the rolled dough with olive oil (or veg. or canola oil if you're feeling thrifty). Then, make sure you have all your toppings next to your preheated grill, ready to top. Keep it pretty low, so the dough doesn't burn. Place the dough on the grill, oiled side facing down. Oil the other side and then close the lid for 3-4 minutes to let the dough start to cook. Then flip your dough over and put your toppings on quickly. Once you have all your toppings on, close the lid and give them all time to melt and get hot. Check the bottom every few minutes to make sure it hasn't burned. Once you think it's done, take it off and impress everyone with your delicious pizza!!!!

Here's a few ideas for topping your pizza:

BBQ Chicken - instead of pizza sauce, use bbq sauce. Then top with mozzarella, grilled chicken strips, pineapple, red onions.

Greek Pizza - instead of pizza sauce, use a pesto or a creamy garlic sauce. Then top with feta instead of mozzarella, grilled chicken, olives, and artichoke hearts.

Gosh, the possibilities are endless: a salsa/refried bean base with taco toppings for a yummy taco pizza; canadian bacon and pineapple for a hawaiian pizza; I prefer a combo pizza with pepperoni, bell peppers, onions, and olives. Sometimes, because I need life to be simple, I only make pepperoni and I love it that way, too.

I gotta tell you, I love good pizza in any form, but pizza on the grill has an entirely different flavor and it's SO GOOD!!!!! Please give it a try and leave me a comment and tell me how it worked for you!