Tuesday, August 5, 2008

BBQ Chicken Pizza/Pizza Dough



Deliciousness in a pan: if you love BBQ chicken pizza and have a working oven, then nothing should be stopping you from making this at home. It is so easy and so good. I'm even including my no-fail pizza dough recipe in case you go all out on the from-scratch-ness.

2 T. olive oil
1/2 pound chicken
2/3 c. barbecue sauce
1 recipe pizza dough (or frozen, or premade)
3/4 c. shredded Gouda (I left this out and used 2 c. mozzarella instead)
1 c. shredded mozzarella
3/4 c. shredded parmesan
1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced
3 T. chopped fresh cilantro

Preheat oven to 400. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and saute until golden brown, about 12 minutes. Remove from heat. When chicken is cool enough to handle, dice chicken to yield a little over 1 cup. In a small bowl, toss chicken with 2 T. barbecue sauce. Set aside.

On a floured surface roll out dough and place on a greased sheet pan. Shape to fill the sheet pan. Spread remaining barbecue sauce evenly over pizza dough. Sprinkle Gouda, mozzarella, Parmesan, onions and chicken over top. Bake for 20 minutes or until cheese bubbles. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and cut into pieces.

I call this no-fail pizza dough because I've messed it up in countless ways and it still remains delicious. I've overcooked it, undercooked it, used bad yeast, you name it. Delicious. I think it's the garlic. Another great thing about this recipe is that you don't have to rise the dough if you are in a hurry. Just roll it on the pan and bake.

1 c. warm water
1 T. yeast
1 T. sugar
2 T. oil
3 c. flour
2 t. crushed garlic
1 t. basil (I omit this for the BBQ chicken pizza)
1 t. salt

Dissolve yeast in a bowl with warm water. Add sugar, salt and oil and spices as desired. Mix well. Gradually add flour to form a stiff dough. Knead on a floured surface until smooth.

Rising (optional): Place in greased bowl. Turn dough over to grease top; cover and let rise until double.

Divide dough in half for two medium pizzas, or roll out entire dough for 9x13 pan 1/4-1/2 in. thick. Cover with pizza sauce. Ad your choice of cheese and toppings. Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes.

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