This method and recipe turns your standard charcoal kettle grill into a coal-fired pizza oven.  The result is a crispy crust with gooey cheese.  It truly turns out pizzeria type results.  You can use any pizza dough — from a mix, refrigerated, or from scratch.  I chose to make dough in my bread maker.

Dutch Oven Lid Pizza cooked on a Charcoal Grill

Bread Machine Pizza Dough Recipe:

Ingredients:

• 3/4 tsp. Salt
• 4 cups All Purpose Flour
• 2 1/4 tsp Active Dry Yeast (1 packet)
• 1 3/8 cups Lukewarm Water
• 3 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 tsp. Garlic Powder
• 1 tsp. Onion Powder

Add all ingredients to your bread machine.  Run on “Dough” setting.  On my bread maker, the setting is “Manual – White Bread.”

[NOTE:  I’ve made this dough in my stand mixer a couple of times and it works just fine.]

Bread Machine Pizza Dough

After the dough is ready, place in an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap.  Let rise until doubled in side.

Dough after rising and resting

This recipe creates enough dough for 2 12-inch pizzas or 3 10-inch pizzas.

Pizza Sauce Recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 6 oz. can of Tomato Paste
• 1/4 cup Water
• 2 Tbsp. Ketchup
• 1 tsp. Dried Italian Parsley
• 1 tsp. Dried Basil
• 1 tsp. Dried Oregano
• 1 tsp. Garlic Powder
• 1 tsp. Onion Powder

Mix ingredients together.  You can adjust amounts to your taste and add more water if you’d like a thinner sauce.

Dutch Oven Lid Pizza Cooking Procedure:

Start charcoal in a chimney starter.  Pour coals into a ring around the outside edge of your grill.

Charcoal in a ring around the outer edge of a kettle grill

Place grill grate on grill.  Place Dutch Oven Lid upside down in center of grill grate.  Put the lid on the grill with the vent open to preheat the lid.

Dutch Oven Lid as a pizza stone on a kettle grill

While the grill preheats, we can get the pizzas ready.

Divide dough into two or three pieces depending on size of pizzas.  I made 3 smaller pizzas.

Divide the dough into equal pieces.

On a floured board, use a rolling pin to create 3 1/4″ thick crusts.  Roll from the center out, turning the dough a quarter turn after each roll.  This creates an even crust and the dough won’t pull back as much.

Roll out the pizza dough with a rolling pin until it's 1/4" thick.

Spread a thin layer of pizza sauce on the dough.

Add pizza sauce to your crust.

Add your toppings.  I like to put the toppings under the cheese.  You can do it either way.  For this pizza, I used smoked hot link sausage, ham, grilled onions and red peppers, and a shredded 4 cheese blend.

A pizza topped with smoked hot link sausage, ham, grilled onions and peppers, and cheese.

By this time, your Dutch Oven Lid will be nice and hot.  Make sure your bottom vents are closed and your top vent is open.  This will cause the fire to burn cooler and longer.  Place your pizza on top of the dutch oven lid and put the lid on your grill.

Pizza on a dutch oven lid over a charcoal fire.

Your pizza will be done in 5-10 minutes depending on how hot your fire is.  Be sure to watch the crust closely so you don’t burn it.

Finished dutch oven lid pizza.

Check out this crust!

A crispy, golden brown crust

Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda’s:

• Make a ring of aluminum foil to hold the dutch oven lid steady.  It will also lessen the heat around the edge of the dutch oven lid to prevent scorching the crust.
• There are an infinite number of toppings to try, so have at it.
• I’d like to try a dessert pizza with grilled fruit (I’m thinking peaches), cinnamon, sugar, and a sweet glaze.
• You could also use a cast iron skillet or Cast Iron Pizza Pan instead of the dutch oven lid.

Here’s a video of the process from start to finish: