Barbecue Chicken Pizza

By: Stephanie on 5:33 PM

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Pizza dough recipes haunt me. They seem to take an extraordinary amount of time to prepare (24+ hours of chilling/proofing), require ingredients I don't have (I bought instant yeast in bulk, oops), or never come out tasting right (I'm looking at you, Cook's Illustrated).

That's why I'm super pleased to announced I've found an excellent pizza dough recipe and put it to good use making a barbecue chicken pizza! The whole process takes 45 minutes to an hour, which is faster than you can get a pizza delivered out here in the boonies. (Are you reading this, Mazzio's?)

Barbecue Chicken Pizza

Time: approx. 45 minutes, Servings: 2

Dough

• 3/4 c. warm water
• 1 tbsp. instant yeast
• 2 c. flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. olive oil

Add water to dry ingredients in bowl of standing mixer. Using dough hook, mix for 2 minutes on medium speed (4) and 2 minutes on low speed (2). Dough will be firm and easy to handle and smooth, not sticky. Grease medium bowl with 1 tsp. olive oil. Form dough into ball and place in bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for approximately 30 minutes.

Freshly formed dough ball

Sauce

• 1 clove garlic, grated or minced
• 1/4 c. barbecue sauce (we recommend Stubb's!)
• 1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
• 5 dashes of hot sauce like Tabasco (or to taste)
• 1 tsp. salt

Combine ingredients in small saucepan over low heat. Simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until flavors combine. 

Simmering sauce!

Topping

• 1 chicken breast, cooked and chopped
• 1/2 c. red onion, sliced
• 1/2 c. fresh tomato, chopped
• 1 1/2 c. Gruyère cheese
• 1/2 c. Parmigiana cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease baking sheet with olive oil. Roll dough into rectangular shape about 12" x 9". Spread sauce evenly over dough, leaving a 1/4" to 1/2" border around edge. Top with cheese, chicken, tomato, and onion. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until crust is golden.

Toppings

Cheese

Formed crust

Sauced crust

Topped pizza, pre-oven

Pizza, post-oven!

Some notes
After proofing (the technical term; hey, I worked at Domino's in college!), the dough should be nice and soft. It may have some air bubbles, which you should pop. The dough should be very easy to work with- it will be slightly elastic, so when forming the crust, push gently. If you rip the dough, just patch it up with extra dough from a thicker part of the crust. No harm done! You also don't have to use fancy cheese like Gruyère and Parmigiana. I happened to have lot of both on hand thanks to cheese-of-the-month club. You could easily substitute Swiss or mozzarella; whatever your personal preference is what works. The crust is a great base for any type of pizza, so feel free to go crazy with your own sauce and topping combos. Don't forget to share!