Wood-Fired Bruschetta Pesto Pizza
Wood-fired pizza night has its own countdown in our home! We love to make a variety of pizzettas to share. Our current favorite is pesto-based, topped with bruschetta, creamy burrata cheese, and finished with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. We make a Neopolitan-Style crust that rises for 24 hours before going onto our hot grill. Fair warning, these will disappear quickly! Please note, your dough will need a second rise before going onto the grill. To save time we recommend preparing your bruschetta at least one hour before serving.
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We use our Traeger Wood-Fired Grill, and a pizza stone for this recipe.
Dough Recipe
We have a family of 6, and adapt the recipe by King Arthur Baking Company for our crust. We have found their '00' Pizza Flour works well! The original recipe yields 2, 10-12" pizzas.
Yield: 6-7 pizzettes
4 cups King Arthur '00' Pizza Flour
1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast or instant yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons salt (We prefer French Grey Salt for our savory recipes, and bread)
1 1/2 cups lukewarm water (105℉ to 115℉)
1. Add all ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Use a dough whisk or your hands to form a dough. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise at room temperature for 20-24 hours.
2. After the dough has risen, lightly dust your work surface with flour. Gently pull the dough out onto your work surface, and divide in half. I prefer to use a bench scraper. Form each half into a ball. Lightly grease a shallow baking dish with olive oil, and transfer the balls of dough into the dish. Cover with a lightly floured dish towel, or a lightly greased piece of plastic wrap. Allow to rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour before preparing your pizzettes.
Bruschetta
I prefer to make the bruschetta, and chill it a few hours before serving. If you are short on time, make it while your dough is on its second rise.
Yield: Enough for 2 pizzettes
1 pint grape tomatoes, quartered
2-3 cloves of garlic, crushed and minced
6-8 fresh basil leaves, chopped or torn
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
1. Add all of the ingredients into a small mixing bowl, cover, and refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.
Wood-Fired Bruschetta Pesto Pizza
You will see in the photos below, that I like to prep my own pizza station while our grill is heating up. It allows me to work quickly and make a variety of pizzas. While this recipe is for our Bruschetta version, we make what each member of our family likes best!
Place your pizza stone directly on the grill grates.
Preheat your Traeger Wood-Fired Grill (lid closed) to 500℉ for 1 hour. We used Traeger's Signature Blend Hardwood Pellets
Dough
Extra-virgin olive oil
Balsamic vinegar or glaze
Pesto
Shredded cheese - We prefer a blend of whole milk mozzarella, provolone, parmesan, and romano cheeses)
Bruschetta
Burrata Cheese - We buy locally sourced whenever possible, but BelGioioso Burrata can be found in most grocery stores. It is found in the specialty cheese section, and comes in a tub with 2 - 4 oz. balls.
Coarse cornmeal
Steps
1. Sprinkle a handful coarse cornmeal onto your pizza peel, and set aside.
2. Gently flour your work surface. Take one ball of prepared dough, and use your bench scraper to cut it into thirds. Take one third, and use your hands to gently stretch it into a small pizzette. Ours are usually about 8-10" in length and 4-5" in width. Don't stress about the shape, rustic is delicious! Lay this out on your prepared pizza peel.
3. Lightly brush the entire top of your pizza with olive oil. Add your desired amount of pesto, and top with shredded cheese. Give your pizza peel a little shake. Is your pizza moving freely for transfer? If not, find those sticky spots, and add more corn meal.
4. Carefully open your grill and transfer your pizza to the stone. Close the lid, and head back to start your assembly again. Each pizza may take 10-12 minutes. I am usually prepping my fourth pizzette before I take off the first.
5. Top your pizza with the bruschetta, burrata, and drizzle with balsamic vinegar or glaze. We hope your friends and family enjoy pizza night as much as we do!
Our favorite tools, photos, and printable recipe card are below! Enjoy!
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