As I write this, the temperature here in the South Valley has been more than 95 degrees for thirteen consecutive days.  So it's not a good plan to fire up the oven to make pizza--but actually a gas grill does a great job.  Yes, you can use charcoal too, but just make sure it has burned down to coals so that you don't burn the dough.

And that was my problem yesterday--I was so afraid of burning the dough that I undercooked the pizza on the first pass and had to put it back on the grill to firm up and brown the crust.  The finished pizza should not flop; it should be stiff as the proverbial board.  Another word of warning: homemade dough is not uniformly thick, so it takes a lot of concentration and adjustment of the flame to get it cooked just right.

In this recipe I attempt to recreate the wonderful thin-crust pizza from wood-fired ovens in your very own backyard. The homemade crust, stolen fair and square from Steven Raichlen, has something that Pizza Doodle Express does not: chile. But if you're lazy and don't want to make your own dough, you can use a 12-inch, pre-baked pizza shell. You can also easily make the dough in your bread machine. It is very important to have a clean grill for this recipe, as any residue on the grill will give the crust an off flavor. Why not make both toppings and divide the pizza?