How do you make Italian pizza dough on the BBQ?

Making Italian pizza dough often scares people, it seems complicated and a lot of work. Yet this is not so bad, as the most important ingredient is patience. What could be better than sitting in the garden and spoiling all your friends and family with the very best pizzas made on that one and only kamado. In this article we make Italian pizza dough the Neapolitan way. This means that the dough has to rise for a long time, but the result is certainly impressive. With this recipe you can escape reality for a moment and imagine yourself in a classic Neapolitan pizzeria!

Slow rise

The slow rise of pizza dough is essential for the end result of the pizza base. So if you want to make this recipe, keep in mind that you start about 21/22 hours before you want to make the pizzas. The dough needs to rise for 15 hours in the refrigerator and after shaping it for another 6 hours at room temperature.

Fresh yeast or dry yeast?

When making an Italian pizza dough you use yeast. As described earlier, it deters people from working with yeast. With the right doses of patience, this is not difficult at all. But which yeast do you use, fresh or dry yeast? You can use both variants, but you use less dry yeast than fresh yeast. Suppose you need 9 grams of fresh yeast, then you can replace this with 3 grams of dry yeast. In other words, you use 1/3 dry yeast compared to fresh yeast.

WWhat materials do you need to make a pizza on your kamado?

The best pizzas are made at a temperature between 350 and 450 degrees. Since normal convection ovens usually cannot exceed 250 degrees, making pizza in a kamado is the perfect solution! But what do you actually need to get that perfect pizza on your kamado? The answer is quite simple, a pizza stone that fits in your kamado. The pizza stone gets hot in the barbecue and ensures that you get a nice brown crust. Can't figure out which pizza stone it will be? We use it ourselves this pizza stone by Kamado Joe who just op coolblue.nl and bol.com can be ordered. Of course, a pizza peel is also important, so you can easily move pizzas from the table to the barbecue.

Tip: Do you want to make pizzas every day and do you own one? Kamado Joe, the Do Joe is an innovation made by Kamado Joe where you place a ring in the kamado and slide the pizza in through a slot. This means you don't have to open the lid and you get the feeling even more like you are using a real pizza oven!

Making dough by hand or with a machine?

A true Italian will always tell you to make pizza dough by hand. Classically, this is how it happens and is probably for the best. If you are a bit lazier, you can of course also make dough in a mixer with a dough hook.

Let's get started, knead!

You now have enough information to get started! The ingredients can be found at the bottom of this article, this recipe is based on 6 pizzas. Weigh your ingredients on the scale. Mix a small amount of the lukewarm water with the yeast until the yeast is dissolved. This goes last in the mass, since salt and yeast are not friends. Mix the flour and salt in a mixing bowl or blender until completely combined. Now add the water (without yeast) and knead until it is mixed. The yeast can then be added with the rest of the water. Knead this for approximately 10 to 15 minutes, until the mass is smooth and less sticky. Make it into a ball so the dough can rest.

The rising of the dough

Let the dough rest for 10 minutes at room temperature. After this you will notice that the dough becomes even smoother. Brush the dough with a little olive oil and cover it to prevent it from drying out. Knead the dough again 10 to 15 times with your hands, this is important because this ensures the air in your dough. Let the dough rest for another 15 minutes. Knead it again 10 to 15 times and let it rest again. This time 30 minutes. Then knead it another 4 to 5 times, shape it into a nice ball and place it in a container or bowl that still gives the dough room to rise. Be sure to grease the bowl and the top of the dough with olive oil, this will ensure that it does not stick and does not become dry! Cover the bowl and let it rise in the refrigerator for 15 hours.

Portion, ball up and rise a second time

The dough has now risen in the refrigerator for 15 hours and will have become slightly larger. We are now going to portion the dough into portions of approximately 250/260 grams. Then make balls and place them in a pizza container (or other container) that has been rubbed with olive oil. Grease the dough balls again with a little olive oil and cover them with plastic foil and a tea towel. Let them rise at room temperature for 6 hours.

Make pizza shapes

Prepare a round plate large enough to make your pizza shape, preferably one with a slight rise towards the outside. Dust the plate with flour and place your bulb on it. Start pushing it out slowly from the inside so that you get a nice round pizza. Are you unable to do this? You can always use a rolling pin, but this won't help the rising process in your pizza, so keep that in mind.

Also dust the pizza peel with flour and place the pizza on it. Your pizza is now ready to be topped! Don't put too many garnishes on it, otherwise your pizza will be too heavy and there is a chance that the dough will stick to your pizza peel.