Neapolitan pizza in charcoal barbecue

Question

If I make pizza on a stone using charcoal barbecue, can I get the charred bubbles of a Neapolitan pizza?

What is the source of these bubbles anyway?

Answer 1

The bubbles in Neapolitan pizza come from air, emitted by live yeast in the pizza dough, expanding when it's headed up.

While bubbles can be created by baking the pizza on a stone, it's not required. You'll also get bubbles by just rubbing some oil on the grill grates and placing the pizza dough directly on the grill. The key to getting bubbles is having well-made pizza dough that includes lots of air bubbles and baking it under high heat (500F to 900F).

If you do use a pizza stone on the grill,

1. check the packaging for the pizza stone to ensure it can handle the heat you plan to subject it to
2. pre-heat the stone on the grill before putting the pizza dough on it. this can take a long time.

Answer 2

The source of the bubbles is trapped carbon dioxide, which was created by fermentation in the pizza dough. The problem with using a BBQ grill to make pizza is that you simply can not contain the high heat needed for the perfect crust. As you probably know, a traditional pizza oven has a low ceiling, with its opening at the front. This allows, not only the surface, where the pizza is placed, to reach the 700F + mark, but for the temperature inside the oven to be extremely high as well. The best pizzas cook in 3-5 minuted. This set up (along with well made dough) is what creates the kind of crust most aficionados are after. There are two problems with a BBQ grill: 1: They are usually not created from materials that will retain heat for a long time, and 2: As soon as you lift the cover you loose the heat, and there is not enough fuel to recreate the proper atmosphere once the grill is covered again.(Even my Big Green Egg performs poorly for pizza.)

You can make a adequate version of pizza on a BBQ grill, with some practice, but I doubt you can create a typical Neapolitan pie.