Pizza on the Grill: You'll Never Go Back

"You better cut the pizza in four pieces because I'm not hungry enough to eat six." Yogi Berra

By Meathead Goldwyn

The Science of Grilled Pizza. A great pizza is incredibly easy to make from scratch at home, even the dough, whether you cook it outdoors or in, but beware, once you get the hang of it, you'll never be satisfied with eating pizza in a restaurant again. Grilled pizza comes closer to the brick oven pizza than anything you can do indoors, and it beats the snot out of the stuff that arrives steamed and soggy in the cardboard box. Here's the concepts you need to make yourself into a first class pizzaiolo.

A Taxonomy Of The World's Different Pizza Styles. There's Neapolitan, Roman, New York, Chicago, St. Louis, and mores. See which pizzas I think are the iconic styles of the world. Then write to me and complain.

Recipe: No Knead Neapolitan Style Pizza Dough. Another very simpledough, but this is the Neapolitan crust, light on top and crunchy on the bottom.

Recipe: No Knead Roman Style Pizza Dough. The best crusts come from fresh, minimal ingredients, home made dough. This recipe takes only about 2 minutes to make the dough, there's no kneading, and it needs a few hours to "proof". It freezes well. It is best a thin crunchy crusts.

The Science Of Flour. There are many different types of flour. Here's what you need to know and what you need to use for pizza.

The Science Of Yeast. Like flour, the choices are confusing. We'll straighten it out for you.

Recipe: Pizza Margherita. Legend has it that this simple but elegant pie was first made by a Neapolitan baker named Esposito in 1889 in Naples to commemorate the visit of Italy's Queen Margarita to Naples. He decorated it with the red, green, and white colors of the Italian flag.

Recipe: Pepe's White Clam Pizza. New Haven is famous for Yale, but to foodies, it's an old haven for pizza, the most famous of which is Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, founded in 1925. In fact, the Zagat Guide called it "Connecticut's most popular restaurant". Period. And Pepe's most famous pie, and a local icon, is their signature white clam pizza.

Recipe: Grilled Capicola Pizza. Capicola is a traditional cured and lightly smoked pork product from Naples, related to bacon, only better on pizza.

Recipe: Provencal Pissaladiere (Caramelized Onion Pizza). Provence, the region of southern France that meets the Mediterranean, also makes notable pizza. Here's a typical one, and a real change of pace: No tomatoes, no cheese, plenty of pleasure.

How To Build A Wood Burning Pizza Oven. If your into pizza and bread baking and you know which end of a trowel to hold, here are the plans.

Pizza Tools. Here are links to info about a pizza stones, cutters, and paddles (peel).

...more to come (to be notified when new recipes and other articles are published, be sure to subscribe to our free, spam free, email newsletter "Smoke Signals").