Dutch Oven Pizza

Considering making pizza and camping are two of my favorite hobbies, this a something I've wanted to do for a long time.

The start of any cooking venture is the preparation. I have here a 12" dutch oven with lid hook, tongs for briquette distribution, briquette chimney, fire pit and table to hold ingredients.

On the preparation table I have my homemade pizza dough (which I will discuss in a later post), cheese, meat, tomatoes, a board for dough prep, a silicon brush to spread the oil and a peel to receive cooked pizza.

While the briquettes reach perfection I prepared the dutch oven using olive oil to keep the pizza from sticking and to add flavor to the crust.

I fit the dough inside the dutch oven and added a bit more olive oil to help keep the crust from getting too dry.  One could use a tomato or white sauce here instead. I topped this cheese only pizza with a blend of mozzarella and sharp cheddar cheese.

Using the tongs place 4 to 6 briquettes on the fire pit floor (I used a small bbq grate because the ground in the Pacific Northwest is always damp). You don't need much heat on the bottom but be sure to evenly space the briquettes. Dump the remainder on the lid of the dutch oven. This will drive the heat down and cook your toppings without over-cooking the crust. As time passes you may need to transfer briquettes from the lid to the bottom. Cook time should be roughly 12 minutes. However you will need to check and rotate the dutch oven periodicity.

When cooking multiple pizzas using one dutch oven be sure to remove the oven from the heat and be cautious while building your next pizza in the hot dutch oven. The second and third pizzas were topped with olive oil, serrano ham, chorizo sausage, spanish salame, tomato, a blend of asiago, mozzarella, parmesan, provolone and fontina cheeses. The results are a crispy-thin crust with a moist top and a great chew. A light delicious pizza while you are roughing it.