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onto the cooking grate without ripping or squishing it, you can either use a wooden baker’s peel (one of those large paddle/shovel-looking things) or just use a large rimless baking sheet (or the bottom of a turned-over regular baking sheet). We make pizza a lot, so we have a paddle. You can get one for less than fifteen dollars at your local discount supercenter.
M EDIUM H EAT
    The big secret to grilling pizza is to use “medium heat” that’s about 400°F. If the heat is too high, the dough will burn. I promise you, the dough is going to brown at 400°F! You have much more control over the process if the heat isn’t blasting. So start by preheating the grill to that sweet spot of 400°F.
T HE P IZZA P ROCESS
    Each ball of my Pronto Presto Pizza Dough (see page 55 ) will make a twelve-inch pizza. Here’s what to do once you’ve made it: Spread the dough on a floured work surface and flatten it with your hands into a thick round. From this point, it is easy to roll, stretch, and/or pull the dough into a twelve-inch round. If the dough retracts, just cover it with a damp towel and let it relax for about five minutes, then proceed. Be sure that you have enough flour under the dough that it doesn’t stick.
    Now sprinkle and spread a couple of tablespoons of flour onto the baker’s peel (or rimless or upturned baking sheet). It should be in a very thin layer. Transfer the dough round to the peel and reshape it as needed. Give the peel a gentle shake to be sure that there is enough flour under the dough that it slides easily, and add more if needed.
    Bring the dough to the grill. Using long tongs, dip a wad of paper towels in olive oil and lightly but thoroughly wipe the cooking grate to grease it. (Don’t let the oil drip onto the burners, or you’ll have some scary flare-ups!) Slide the dough round from the peel right onto the grate. Close the grill lid. Cook until the underside of the dough round is set and browned, three to five minutes. Brush the top of the dough with a little oil. Using a wide spatula, flip the dough over. Brush off any flour from the top of the dough. At this point, quickly add your toppings.
    Cover the grill again and cook until the bottom of the pizza is very toasty and the cheese on the topping is melted, three to five minutes more.
    Use the baker’s peel and spatula to remove the pizza from the grill. Let it stand for a minute, and then cut into wedges and serve hot. Return to the kitchen and repeat with the remaining dough and topping ingredients.
T OO M UCH ON T OP
    Speaking of ingredients, you can put just about anything on pizza. But, you do have to be careful not to overload the dough, or your pizza will end up looking like a boob-job gone bad—sad and saggy. Also, there are some popular ingredients that should be cooked (grilled or sautéed) in advance: pork or turkey sausage and ground meat, most vegetables (they give off juices as they cook that will make the dough wet and soggy), and bacon and pancetta. Once you get to the grilling stage, you are really just warming up the toppings on the pizza, and not actually cooking them.
P AR - COOKING
    When you have a crowd, it helps to have the dough partially cooked so that all you need to do is top, heat, and eat. To pre-cook the dough (or par-cook it as they say in those fancy culinary schools), roll it out, and grill until each side is just set andbarely browned, about 3 minutes per side. When you are ready to serve, return the dough to the preheated grill and cook to warm the underside, about 1 minute. Turn the dough over, add the toppings, and grill until the other side is toasted and the toppings are hot and melted, 3 to 5 minutes more.
T HE D OUGH AND THE S AUCE
    A pizza basically has three components: the dough, the sauce, and the toppings. Toppings can be as simple as grated cheese thrown on top or as elegant as precooked sautéed gourmet meat-and-vegetable combinations. You can