Barbecue Chicken Pizza

I’ve been meaning to post about pizza essentially since I started this blog, but I just haven’t gotten around to making it. Which is crazy, because homemade pizza is so, so easy.  It does involve making a yeast crust, but the dough is incredibly simple and forgiving and comes together in a snap with a short rise.

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First pour honey into your water and then warm it in the microwave…20-30 seconds.  Whisk to dissolve honey, check the temp and rewarm if needed to get the water up to 105-115 F (think hot bath water or hot tub temperature if you don’t have a thermometer).  Then sprinkle in yeast and set aside until it’s foamy like so:

Mmm, I love the smell of yeast.  It smells like fresh bread…

Meanwhile, in a food processor, pulse together flour and salt, then pour in yeast mixture and oil and pulse once more.  The dough comes together in seconds.  (You could do this by hand, it will just take longer…whisk together the salt and flour, make a well in the center and pour in the liquids to combine)

I have a small processor…I’m not sure of the exact dimensions, but it’s just barely big enough for this dough.

Turn out onto a floured surface and knead for a few minutes until it’s all smooth and elastic…OR, just sprinkle some flour into the bottom of a large bowl and give it a few kneads (I just punch it, press it away from me, then fold over and repeat).

Remove dough, spray the bowl with non-stick spray, return dough to bowl and let rise somewhere warm for 40 minutes-1 hour.  It should be big, fluffy, and about doubled in size.

My dough didn’t rise as much this time as last time I made pizza with this recipe, but I think it’s because the house was a bit chillier.  It tasted the same in the end though, so no big deal. (Don’t know if your dough has doubled in size? Check out that and more tips from SmittenKitchen)

Pour onto your greased baking sheet, and shape into your pizza crust (I’ve got a round one, but you can use a regular cookie sheet too and make a square pizza).  This dough is so soft and pliable…there’s no sticky frustration at all.  Love it.

Now just add your toppings!  I usually go the easiest route with store-bought pizza sauce, shredded cheese, and pepperoni, but today I’m using leftover chicken and barbecue sauce!

Barbeque sauce (with little drops of cilantro on half…yuck), then cheese, cooked chicken tossed with more barbeque sauce, caramelized onions, and black beans

Into a 450 F oven for 10-15 minutes…until everything’s all bubbly and delicious.

Ta da!  It actually doesn’t look much different…I wish I had added something to make this more colorful…it looks so brown!  Tastes incredible though.

Mmm.  This crust is so tender and fluffy, but sturdy enough to hold a whole host of toppings.  I was also afraid that with the short bake time it wouldn’t cook through, but it is perfect!

And I love barbeque chicken pizza…the sauce and caramelized onions are killer, and the cilantro adds a nice fresh note to round everything out.  I just happened to have the perfect set of leftovers in your fridge but seriously, use whatever you’ve got and make a fantastic custom pizza!

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Need some ideas?  Here are a few you should try:

• Margarita pizza—brush on olive oil for sauce and cover with slices of fresh mozzarella, tomato.  Finish with fresh basil and a sprinkle of sea salt
• Buffalo chicken pizza—cooked diced buffalo chicken with sliced jalapeño (canned) and pineapple
• Mashed potato pizza—I’ve been meaning to try this but haven’t had any leftover mashed potatoes!
• Carnitas avocado sauce pizza—Just click the link.  I would eat this.  The whole pizza.

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Barbeque Chicken Pizza

Makes 1 medium sized pizza

For Crust (From Vicks)
1 1/8 tsp active dry yeast (1/2 of a packet)
½ T honey (you could probably use sugar)
½ + 1/8 cup water
1 ½ cups flour
½ tsp salt
½ T olive oil

For the Pizza
1 boneless skinless chicken breast, cooked and cut into bite sized pieces
½- ¾ cup barbecue sauce (make it homemade!)
1 cup mozzarella cheese
½ of a large yellow onion, caramelized onion
Fresh cilantro (optional)
¼ cup black beans, drained and rinsed (optional)

• In a small bowl, combine honey and water, then warm in the microwave for 20-30 seconds.  Whisk to combine, then test the water temperature and rewarm if necessary (the temp should be 105-115 F.  If you don’t have a thermometer, dip in a finger and it should be the temperature of a hot tub or hot bath); whisk in yeast and let sit 5 minutes until foamy
• While yeast blooms, pour flour and salt into a food processor and blend to combine.  Pour in yeast mixture and olive oil and process until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides.
• Pour dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for a few minutes until it becomes a smooth and elasticy ball; place ball in a greased bowl, cover, and let sit in a warm place for 40 minutes until doubled in size.
• While the dough rises, get your onions caramelizing, barbecue sauce reducing, and chicken cooking!
• Once the dough rises, preheat oven to 450 F and pour dough onto a greased baking sheet and press into desired shape and thickness (the dough is really soft and easy to work with)
• Spread desired amount of barbeque sauce on pizza, top with chicken (tossed in sauce), caramelized onions, beans, shredded mozzarella cheese and bake for 10-15 minutes.
• Garnish with fresh cilantro and allow to cool before slicing