Mouth-Watering Pizzas

By Veronica

 

It is rich, it is fat, it is sweet, no wonder why pizza is one of the most eaten food in the world! It combines all the components that make food taste so good with ingredients naturally packed with glutamate (tomatoes, cheese, mushrooms, meat), making your mouth to water in anticipation of the next bite. It is colourful, flavourful and skilfully combined, and cooked to bring out all the different textures on one single dish. Who can resist the crispy caramelized onions, runny mozzarella with the sweet and sour sauce? And for meat eaters, the peperoni starting the curl up, bringing up the salty flavours… I bet you are already salivating!

Like all good things, of course, it must be consumed in moderation but by making it yourself, you will be able to make a healthier (or not) version of this Italian cuisine monument.

We have selected here 3 recipes from the chefs at the Weber Grill Academy. These include the recipe for the dough (but you always can use ready-made dough at room temperature if you are short on time). Make one of each or mix up toppings onto each pizza so everyone eats at the same time. That's all up to you.

 

Important tip: Always place your Weber pizza stone in the BBQ before you start it so it heats up slowly with your BBQ. If you put your stone in once the BBQ is very hot, the temperature shock can make the stone to crack!

 

German Pizza Bread with Potato & Bacon

 

THE INGREDIENTS

DOUGH

• 7g dry yeast
• 5g salt
• 400ml lukewarm water
• 350g wheat flour type 550
• 150g spelt flour type 1050
• 100g extra flour for working WORKING

 

TOPPING

• 2 medium-sized potatoes
• 1 onion
• 1 bunch of chives
• 200g cheese
• 450g sour cream
• 400g black forest ham
• Salt & pepper

 

INSTRUCTIONS

 

In the kitchen:

• Begin with the dough. Mix the dry yeast with the salt and water. Let the yeast dissolve.
• Mix the two types of flour in a food processor and add the water mixture.
• Knead for 10-15 minutes – until it forms a smooth dough.
• Roll it into a ball on a floured surface and leave it in a covered bowl to rise for about 1 hour.
• Peel the potatoes and cut them into 1⁄2 x 1⁄2 cm cubes.
• Blanch them briefly in boiling salted water until they are almost done. Drain.
• Peel the onion and slice thinly. Add a bit of salt to it.
• Wash the chives and cut very finely – place them in the fridge.
• Grate the cheese and slice the ham.
• When the dough has risen, divide it in 8 pieces. Form them into small oval-shaped pizzas and place them on the baking tray dusted with flour.
• Brush the pizzas with sour cream, leaving about a 1 cm margin around the edge.
• Top with sliced ham, potato cubes, onion and cheese.

At the barbecue:

• Prepare the barbecue for indirect heat – approx. 250°C.
• Put the pizza stone on and let it preheat for 15-20 minutes.
• Place the baking tray with the pizzas on to the stone and close the lid.
• Let them bake for 6-8 minutes.
• Regularly check that the crusts are not burning. If so – move slightly on the stone.
• Remove pizzas from the grill when the dough is golden brown, the topping has browned and the cheese is melted.
• Serve with a generous amount of chives and salt and pepper to taste.

 

 

Classic Italian Style Pizza

 

 

THE INGREDIENTS

• 350ml cold water
• 100ml beer
• 50ml oil
• 15g fresh yeast (approx. 5g dry yeast)
• 2 tsp coarse salt
• 150 durum spelt flour
• 500g Italian flour (tipo 00)
• 250g Tomato Sauce
• 350-400g Mozzarella, or cheese of your choice
• Toppings of your choice eg. olives, pepperoni, mushrooms, artichokes

 

INSTRUCTIONS

 

IN THE KITCHEN:

• Combine the water, beer, oil and yeast. Add the durum flour and salt and knead well. Add the tipo 00 flour a little at a time until the dough has the proper consistency.
• Divide the dough into lumps of 150 g for mini pizzas and 250 g for larger pizzas.
• Form each lump of dough into a nice ball, cover with cling film and let it rest in the fridge for at least 3 hours before using.
• Roll the dough out and cover with tomato sauce, cheese, toppings and more cheese – in that order.

AT THE BARBECUE:

• Prepare the grill for direct heat. Place the GBS Pizza Stone on the GBS cooking grate and let it heat up for 15 min.
• Place the tray with the pizza on the baking stone and cook for 15-20 minutes until done.
• Tip: Try toppings you like, the more toppings you add, the longer the pizza will take to cook. Watch out that your crust doesn't get burned on the bottom.

 

 

Pizza with Wild Rocket & Parma Ham

 

THE INGREDIENTS

TOMATO SAUCE:

• 1 tin tomatoes, chopped
• 1 tsp oregano, dried
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Salt & pepper

50/50 DOUGH:

• 300g, strong white bread flour
• 300g, Tipo 00 flour (Italian pasta flour)
• 1 sachet of instant dried yeast
• 3 tbsp, extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp, caster sugar
• 2 tsp, salt
• 375ml, warm water

TOPPING:

• 50g sun dried tomatoes
• 250g buffalo mozzarella
• Wild rocket to garnish
• 100g Parma ham

 

INSTRUCTIONS

Method:

• Place all flour into a large mixing bowl, add the yeast sachet, salt and sugar. Then add the  warm water and mix until all combined.
• Knead the dough for 7 minutes adding extra Tipo 00 flour if the dough is too sticky. Allow to rise in a warm room for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
• With floured hands, scrape the dough from the bowl and knead roughly for a few minutes to expel excess air. Split into five equal balls and leave to prove for a further 30 minutes.
• Set up your barbecue for grilling (direct heat), 260 degrees C and place the pizza stone on to pre-heat for 10 minutes. Spread the coals evenly across the whole grate area.
• Roll the dough into five 12" bases, thinly spread with tomato sauce and cover with toppings. Keep the wild rocket leaves until the pizza is cooked.
• Use a floured pizza paddle to transfer pizzas to the pre-heated pizza stone. Bake for about 4 minutes or until the base is light and crispy. 
• Garnish with the wild rocket.

 

Can't find what you are looking for? Weber Barbecue Bible has loads of finger-licking recipes or if you prefer a hands-on experience and learn with the pros, book a course here.