Pizza & Sandwiches
Grilled Pizza with Prosciutto
Description
Turn out pizza oven-quality pizzas with this technique from Johanne Killeen and George Germon, who pioneered grilled pizzas at their Providence restaurant, Al Forno.
Ingredients
- 1 (1/4-ounce) envelope active dry yeast
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 pinch sugar
- 2 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons whole wheat flour
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 1/2 to 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- Toppings
- 1/2 pound Fontina cheese, shredded (about 2 cups loosely packed)
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese (about 1 1/2 ounces)
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- Two 14-ounce cans chopped Italian tomatoes, drained
- 1/2 cup basil leaves, cut into thin ribbons
- 12 paper-thin slices prosciutto di Parma, torn into large pieces
Directions
- Combine yeast, water, and sugar in a large bowl and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Stir in salt, whole wheat flour and olive oil. Gradually add 2 cups of the all-purpose flour, stirring with a wooden spoon until dough is fairly stiff. Turn dough out onto a well-floured work surface and knead, gradually adding as much of the remaining all-purpose flour as necessary, until it is smooth, elastic and no longer tacky, 5 to 6 minutes.
- Transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl and brush surface with olive oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let dough rise in a warm, draft-free place until it doubles in bulk, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
- Punch down dough and knead lightly, then return it to bowl. Cover bowl and let dough rise again until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes. Punch down dough again and use immediately or refrigerate.
- Light a grill, preferably using hardwood charcoal. Set grill grate 3 to 4 inches above coals. Toss Fontina with Pecorino Romano cheese in a medium bowl.
- Divide pizza dough into 6 equal pieces; work with 1 piece at a time and keep remaining dough covered with a towel. On 3 lightly oiled baking sheets, flatten and stretch dough with your hands to form six 8-inch rounds each 1/16 inch thick; do not make a lip or stretch dough so thinly that it tears. Brush dough rounds with olive oil.
- When grill is hot (working in batches if necessary), gently drape pizza dough over hot grill grate and cook until dough puffs slightly, the underside firms up and grill marks appear, about 1 minute. Rotate dough once and cook for 30 seconds.
- Brush top of pizza rounds with oil and flip them over, using tongs. Scatter 1/6 of the garlic and cheese over each pizza, followed by 3 heaping tablespoons of chopped tomatoes. Drizzle each pizza with 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil.
- Slide pizzas near hot coals but not directly over them. Using tongs, rotate pizzas frequently, checking often to make sure that undersides are not charring. Pizzas are done when cheese is melted and tomatoes are hot, 3 to 4 minutes. Scatter 1/6 of the basil and prosciutto over each pizza and serve pizzas hot off the grill.
