Smoked ARTISAN MARGHERITA PIZZA

Smoked ARTISAN MARGHERITA PIZZA

prep

2 hrs

cook

12-15 min

feeds

3-5

Some paint, others film, we pizza. Crafting a wood-fired artisan pizza is simple when you have the right tools and a great recipe.

Ingredients

3 cups warm water

1 Tablespoon active dry yeast

1 Tablespoon salt

4 cups all purpose flour

2 1/2 cups bread flour

Red pizza sauce

Fresh Mozzarella, sliced

Fresh Basil leaves

Parmesan or Asiago, grated 

Olive oil

Dough Recipe:

3 cups warm water

1 Tablespoon active dry yeast

1 Tablespoon salt

4 cups all purpose flour

2 1/2 cups bread flour

Pizza Recipe:

Red pizza sauce

Fresh Mozzarella, sliced

Fresh Basil leaves

Parmesan or Asiago, grated 

Olive oil

Instructions

Dough

Step 1

You will want a large, clean bowl or bucket, with a loose fitting lid, to make and hold the dough in.

Step 2

Measure 3 cups warm water into the bowl; add yeast, salt, and flour.

Step 3

Mix until all the flour is moist. The dough should be firm but slightly sticky.

Step 4

Let this rise until it has doubled, about 1 hour.

Step 5

The dough is ready to shape into dough balls or put in the fridge until ready to use. Scrape the dough out of the bucket or bowl, using a bread scraper, and shape into 6 dough balls, each the size of a large orange.

Step 6

Let them rise at room temperature for 30 minutes if not chilled and about 2 hours if chilled.

NOTE

The bread flour in the recipe is required to be able to stretch your dough very thin. You will find that a rolling pin will not be necessary. The dough should also be wetter than normal dough so that your pizza crust will have the air pockets of true artisan bread; you should have a small bowl of flour nearby to help you handle the sticky dough. Form the crust.

Pizza

Step 1

Place a cast iron pizza pan or stone in the pellet grill and turn to 400-500°F.

Step 2

Prepare a pizza peel with flour and stretch a dough ball out to a 12-14-inch circle, using your hands.

Step 3

Place on the pizza peel and top with a thin layer of sauce, fresh Mozzarella slices, fresh basil leaves, sprinkle of Parmesan or Asiago, and a drizzle of olive oil.

Step 4

Shake your pizza peel quickly back and forth to make sure your pizza is loose and moving. If it isn't moving you will need to carefully put a bit of flour around the edges and continue shaking it and stretching the edges a bit to get it loose.

Step 5

Lay your pizza onto the preheated pizza pan or stone by shaking the pizza from the peel with small quick jerks.

Step 6

Bake pizza in pellet grill for 12-15 minutes at 400-500°F.

Step 7

Remove. Slice. Serve!