A couple of weeks ago, I posted a recipe for tater tot pizza. When I made that pizza, I doubled the recipe for the dough and froze half to use later, since it’s really not any more work to make a bigger batch of dough. Today, all I had to do for a scrumptious homemade pizza dinner was thaw the dough, prepare the toppings, and bake! If you’re using dough from the freezer, you’ll want to take it out at least two hours ahead of time. Mine had only been out of the freezer for an hour or an hour and a half when I started to get really hungry, so I, um, resorted to blow-drying the dough for a couple of minutes. After all, as Julia Child said, “Remember, you are alone in the kitchen.” I suppose that defeats the purpose if I admit it on the Internet, but oh well. My short-cut worked, the pizza tasted fantastic, and it’s still not as bizarre as the time I was making fudge and a screwdriver and hammer ended up being involved (but that’s a story for another day).
I can’t recommend this pizza enough. It’s a nice change of pace from tomato sauce-based pizza and it’s every bit as good as the California Pizza Kitchen version…or maybe even better (in my own humble opinion, of course)!
- 3/4 cup warm water
- 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (1 packet)
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for bowl
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups flour
- 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 6-8 ounces boneless skinless chicken tenders
- 1/2 – 2/3 cup barbecue sauce, divided
- 1 cup grated cheese (I use a combination of cheddar and colby)
- 1/4 red onion, sliced
- 1/3 cup cilantro, chopped
- Place 3/4 cup warm water in a large bowl. Add yeast and let sit about 5 minutes, until frothy in appearance.
- Add sugar, oil, and salt to yeast and water. Stir until clumps are dissolved. Add flour and stir with a rubber spatula until a sticky dough forms.
- Lightly coat a separate large bowl with olive oil. Transfer dough into oiled bowl and drizzle a bit more olive oil on top. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Place in a warm location and let sit about 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- In a nonstick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil over medium heat for 1-2 minutes. Cook chicken until meat is no longer pink, about 5-7 minutes on each side. Once cool enough to touch, chop into small bite-sized pieces. In a medium bowl, mix with about 1/4 cup barbecue sauce.
- Prepare toppings: grate cheeses, cut red onion, and chop cilantro.
- Roll out dough on a lightly floured baking sheet until about 1/4 inch thick (I got a rectangle of about 14 by 10 inches). Pinch edges with fingers. Brush surface with 2 tablespoons vegetable oil. Spread about 1/3 cup barbecue sauce evenly over surface. Layer toppings in order: cheese, red onions, chicken, cilantro. Optional: sprinkle a bit more cheese on top after chicken.
- Bake 20-25 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Cut into pieces and serve.
- If you are using frozen dough, remove from the freezer about 2-3 hours before you want to begin making the pizza.
- To speed things up, feel free to use dough or a pre-made crust from the store.
- Dough recipe adapted from Everyday Food (March 2010).
What is your preferred brand of barbecue sauce?
I don’t often use barbecue sauce, so I haven’t tried very many different ones. This time, I bought Kroger-brand hickory smoke barbecue sauce and thought it was quite good.