BBQ Chicken Pizza to prepare for grill season
Spring is soon on its way, and it’s easy to judge this by the incoming green on once bare bushes and trees. In my mind, summer is synonymous with grill season and bbq everything (grilled pizza being a favourite pastime). But until the sun gets higher in the sky and daylight hours become longer, I’m content cooking up a delicious bbq chicken pizza in my humble kitchen. Usually the flavours atop the pizza play a subtle roll and only enhance the flavours of the pizza dough and quality cheese, but in this bbq chicken pizza recipe the chicken and abundance of barbecue sauce plays the starring role.
BBQ Chicken Pizza (via idovermani, Flickr)
This recipe is great because it makes for a change from traditional pizza recipes because of the absence of pizza sauce. Obviously I love pizza and pizza sauce, but occasionally I’ll opt for a new kind of topping that pushes some pizza boundaries. Using barbecue sauce is place of pizza sauce is a great example of a modern take on pizza.
BBQ Chicken Pizza Recipe
ingredients – makes 2 pizzas
2 boneless chicken breasts, skin removed
¾ cup bbq sauce, plus 2 -3 tablespoons for the topping
1 packet active dry yeast (2 ¼ teaspoon)
1 ½ cups warm water (45 degrees)
1 teaspoon sugar
3 cups all purpose flour
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
Mozzarella cheese
1 red onion, sliced
1 handful rocket, washed
Method
1. In a large bowl, mix the yeast, water and sugar. Let sit for five minutes until the yeast becomes frothy. Stir in the oil and salt and gently fold in the flour. Continue adding flour past the three cups until the dough is smooth and elastic. Roll onto a floured surface and knead for 5 to 10 mintues to let the gluten develop. Grease a large bowl with oil and place the dough inside. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
2. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Place the two chicken breasts into a ovenproof dish and cover with bbq sauce. Toss to coat evenly and place in the oven for about 20 minutes, until chicken is cook. I recommend flipping once or twice to make sure it cooks evenly and gets heaps of the yummy bbq sauce. Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, chop into small pieces and set aside.
3. Back to the dough. Crank up the oven to 230 degrees and place the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into two balls, and taking one, flatten it on your work surface. Stretch until it can’t stretch anymore and let sit for five minutes while you tend to the other.
4. Grease a pizza pan and lay the prepared crust down. Take a spoonful of bbq sauce and smear onto the pizza dough, leaving 1 cm on the sides free of sauce. Sprinkle half the chicken and red onion on top and cover with half your Mozzarella. Do the same for the other and bake in the oven for 15 minutes until the cheese is melted and the crust is thoroughly cooked. You may need to rotate the pizzas half way through the cooking time. Sprinkle with rocket on top and serve.
