Camping Day 6 – Memaloose State Park, Mosier, Oregon

Campfire Cooking #8 – Campfire Pizza

Today we traveled a little farther down the Oregon Trail along the picturesque Columbia River.  What beautiful sights!  We stopped at Memaloose State Park, just off Highway 84.  The campgrounds were nicely laid out, the views were beautiful and the facilities were really clean.  They even sell wood and ice!

Tonight’s campfire cooking project will be pizza.  First, let me stress the importance of tending your fire when cooking pizza.  The best way to ensure even cooking without burning is to first start your fire outside of the grill grate area and, as the wood becomes hot coal, push the coals under the grill grate.

As for the rest of it, it’s as easy as pie (pizza pie, that is).

Campfire Pizza

Place a cast iron skillet with a lid on it (I used my Dutch oven lid) on the grill grate.  Let this preheat while you prepare all other ingredients.

Next prepare the sauce and dough, shred the cheese and cut toppings.

Pizza Sauce:

One can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon freshly chopped oregano
3 sprigs of thyme leaves
5-6 basil leaves cut chifinade style
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
Mix all ingredients together and set aside.

Mix Dough:

5 cups flour
2 cups bottled water
1 tablespoon yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil (I use a blend of olive, grapeseed and corn oils)

Mix 2 cups of the flour and all other ingredients together in a large bowl.  Let mixture rest a few minutes until bubbles start forming.  Next add in remaining 3 cups of flour, mix until combined and kneed for 6-10 minutes.  Let dough rest 10 minutes before using.

Once everything is ready, sprinkle a flat pan – in this case I used my tortilla pan – with a little corn meal.  This will be the pan from which you transfer pizza on to your hot cast iron.  Next assemble the pizza on your prepared transfer pan.  Open you cast iron lid, slip the pizza onto the hot pan and put the lid back on.  Bake the pizza for around 8 minutes (checking for doneness part way through).

When pizza is done, remove using a large spatula.  Transfer onto a little tin foil and cut.

The pizza was so good that even the locals were trying to get some.

Eat Well!

~Trish