Grilled Asiago Rounds

Recipe by Susan Reid

How do you get fresh, warm bread in July without overheating the kitchen? Mix up some dough and fire up the grill, that's how! This dough makes plenty of flavorful, small round loaves, perfect for tearing apart and dipping into a spread, or topping with some zucchini caponata for a quick small meal. Once you have the rounds ready to grill, cooking all 16 mini loaves should take less than 20 minutes. Then everyone can sit down and dig in!

Prep
30 mins
Bake
30 to 45 mins
Total
9 hrs 30 mins
Yield
16 small breads
Grilled Asiago Rounds - select to zoom
Grilled Asiago Rounds - select to zoom
Grilled Asiago Rounds - select to zoom

Instructions

Prevent your screen from going dark as you follow along.
  1. For the starter: Weigh your flour; or measure it by gently spooning it into a cup, then sweeping off any excess. In a small bowl, combine the flour, water, and yeast. Cover and let sit at room temperature for at least 8 hours, or overnight.

  2. To make the dough: In the bowl of your mixer or the bucket of your bread machine, combine the starter, water, semolina, yeast, and olive oil, stirring until the mixture is smooth.

  3. Add the flour, salt, cheese, and parsley or pizza seasoning, and mix until a soft dough forms. Knead the dough for 6 to 8 minutes until it's smooth and springy (or use the dough cycle on your bread machine).

  4. Let the machine finish its cycle, or place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover with greased plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled, 45 minutes. 

  5. After the dough has risen, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into 16 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and let the dough rest for 10 minutes while you make sure the grill is hot and clean. You can refrigerate the dough, covered, for up to 3 hours at this point, if you need to adjust your timing or want to prep things ahead of time.

  6. To grill the bread: Flatten the balls of dough to 4" rounds about 1/4" thick. Spray the dough lightly with some olive oil, and place it on a medium-hot section of the grill. After 2 minutes, give the dough a quarter turn without flipping it over to make nice diamond-shaped grill marks. Cook another 2 minutes, flip the dough over, and cover with an aluminum pie plate or metal bowl if you have one. Cook another 2 to 4 minutes, then remove from the grill and serve. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.

Tips from our Bakers

  • Two of these rounds make a great "bun" for a grilled piece of fish or portobello mushroom.
  • After scraping the starter out into your mixing bowl, pour the rest of the recipe's water into the bowl the starter was in. Give the water a quick stir to loosen any clinging bits of starter so they get into the final dough, and you'll give yourself a head start on cleanup at the same time.
  • You can use this dough to make a pizza, either grilled or baked.