This page contains affiliate links. If you use these links to buy something I may earn a commission. For more information, read the full Privacy Policy.

About the recipe
I’ve been perfecting my homemade kneaded-by-hand pizza dough recipe for more than a year now. I like a rustic-style pizza with a thin and chewy (not crispy) crust. Over the last year, I also gathered and was gifted tools to help me make the best pizza pie, including a pizza stone and a pizza peel. Now that there is beautiful weather out, my partner and I decided to try out making pizza on the barbecue and IT WAS AWESOME! So here, I share it with you today. If you don’t have all the tools needed for this recipe, please scroll down in the blog post for some alternatives!
Jump to RecipeThe ingredients
To make this pizza dough, you only need a few basic ingredients:
- Unbleached all-purpose flour
- Pizza yeast
- Salt
- Sugar
- Cold water
- Olive oil
And all of your garnishes and toppings!


Topping ideas
You could stick with the classic cheese pizza, but here are some topping ideas for your pie:
- Sauces: tomato-based or cream-based sauce (check out my homemade Alfredo sauce recipe)
- Cheese: fresh or grated mozzarella, feta, goat cheese
- Vegetables of choice: bell peppers, tomatoes, onions, zucchini, mushrooms, olives, artichokes
- Meats: chicken, salami, pepperoni, sausage, anchovies (my personal favourite)
- Fresh herbs: basil, parsley
The steps
Making the dough
This pizza dough is 100% kneaded by hand, so you don’t need a stand mixer.
You start by mixing all the dry ingredients in a large bowl, then add your cold water. The dough is first mixed with a wooden spoon, to make sure the wet and dry ingredients are well combined.
Afterwards, you can start kneading the dough on your floured work surface. I use a folding and turning motion to knead my dough for about 10 minutes. If you want to see a video showing you how I knead it, look at my Pizza highlight on my Instagram.
Jump to RecipeWhen you are kneading your dough, feel free to add flour to your surface as needed, so it doesn’t stick.
Once you have a nice smooth ball, it’s time to cut it in half and make two equal-sized dough balls. The next step is to let both dough balls rest in a covered oiled bowl, in a dark and warm spot, like your oven, for 2 hours.
After the resting time, you can start shaping your dough. First, you want to press the dough on a floured surface to make a 6-in circle. The next step is to stretch it by gently using your fists and knuckles until you have a 10-in pizza pie.
You can then put the pizza on a floured pizza peel. Make sure your dough can move around before adding your toppings.

Baking the pizza
To bake this pizza, I use a pizza stone. A pizza stone is made out of ceramic mimics the process used in a brick oven.
It’s important to preheat your pizza stone, no matter where you bake it (traditional oven or barbecue). That way, your pizza crust starts to cook as soon as you transfer it to the pizza stone and it will cook more evenly.
I baked the pizza in the barbecue because it allows the environment to be so much hotter. The flame also gives the crust nice smoky flavours.
Don’t have a pizza stone? Don’t have a BBQ? Don’t panic!
- If you wish to make the pizza in the oven, preheat your pizza stone for at least 30 minutes before using it, at the hottest setting your oven can get.
- If you don’t own a pizza stone, you could use a sheet pan, but the results won’t be as good – and I wouldn’t use a sheet pan in the BBQ.
- If you bake your pizza in the oven, lower the heat to 450°F and bake it for 7 minutes, then broil for 2 minutes, or until golden.


How to store
This pizza dough can be made ahead and stored in the fridge to use the next day.
I never tried freezing the dough, but I don’t see why it couldn’t be done!

The best homemade BBQ-baked pizza (no stand-mixer needed)
Equipment
- pizza stone
- Pizza Peel
- BBQ
Ingredients
- 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour and more for dusting
- 1 tsp pizza yeast
- ½ tsp sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 1½ cups cold water
- 2 tsp olive oil
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, mix the flour, yeast, sugar and salt.
- Make a well in the middle and slowly add the cold water, while mixing with a wooden spoon until combined. The dough will be wet and sticky.
- Sprinkle flour on a work surface and your hands. Transfer the dough to the work surface and sprinkle it with more flour.
- Knead the dough for 10 minutes, until you form a smooth ball. Add more flour to avoid sticking.
- Cut the dough in two pieces and form two balls.
- Coat the inside of two bowls with olive oil. Place each ball in a bowl and roll around to bowl to coat with olive oil.
- Cover the bowls plastic wrap and let rise for at least 2 hours in a warm spot, like a closed oven.
- After the resting time, put the pizza stone in the BBQ to preheat while you prepare your pizza (see note 1).
- Sprinkle the work surface and pizza peel with flour. Take a dough ball out of the bowl, and on the work surface, and press down until a 6-inch round is formed.
- Then, start to gently stretch the dough using your fists and knuckles until you get a 10-inch diameter pizza. Put on the pizza peel. Make sure it can be moved around and slides well.
- Garnish the pizza with your favourite sauce and toppings.
- Slide the pizza on the preheated pizza stone and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until golden brown on the edges and bottom (see note 2).
- Repeat steps 9 to 12 with the second pizza.
- Remove the pizza from the BBQ and let rest for a minute before cutting and enjoying!
Notes
- If you wish to bake the pizza in the oven, preheat your pizza stone for at least 30 minutes before using it, at the hottest setting your oven can get. If you don’t own a pizza stone, you could use a sheet pan, but the results won’t be as good – and I wouldn’t use a sheet pan in the BBQ.
- If you bake your pizza in the oven, lower the heat to 450°F and bake it for 7 minutes, then broil for 2 minutes, or until golden.
Leave a Reply